Wright's exit after less than a year in the role, in which she was responsible for a combined adspend of £40m a year, is a further blow for the financial services company, which was already reeling from the backlash against its decision to cancel the credit cards of 161,000 customers (Marketing, 6 February).
Wright said she will take a six-month sabbatical, spending time with her family and 'pursuing personal interests' before deciding whether to return to marketing on the agency or client side.
A former managing director of Manning Gottlieb OMD, Wright worked at WCRS overseeing the Abbey account before joining Egg in January 2006. She took up her combined role nearly a year ago after US bank Citigroup acquired Egg in a £575m deal. Egg chief of staff Helen Corey will take over her duties within the next couple of weeks and cover the position until a permanent replacement is found.
The timing of Wright's departure raises questions about the future direction of the Egg brand. Wright was seen as a safe pair of hands, having been involved in the decision to axe its 'guinea pig' ads last year after shifting Egg's integrated ad account into Publicis without a pitch.
Sean Larrangton-White, founder of senior marketers collective Tank!, claimed Wright's departure will leave Egg vulnerable at a time when it needs to reassert its reputation for friendliness and accessibility. 'Egg is starting to look like Humpty Dumpty on top of the wall,' he said.
Meanwhile, Patrick Barwise, professor of management and marketing at London Business School, suggested Wright may be leaving having been blamed for the storm of publicity around Egg's credit cards.
Wright's unexpected departure now poses the question of who will be willing to take on the challenge of rebuilding the Egg brand at a time when consumer spending looks set to be hit hard by the ongoing credit crunch.
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