Cranmer, who announced his resignation in the summer, was expected to stay on at the group until March 2006. He leaves with no job to go to. He worked with Jacob for over a decade and the latter was seen as his natural successor.
Jacob, 43, has held several top jobs across Starcom's EMEA group and was previously managing director of Starcom Motive from 2000 to 2003, during which time he helped the group net wins from such clients as Gillette, BT, Aviva, COI Radio, LG Electronics and Kraft.
Jacob was a founding director of Bartle Bogle Hegarty Media in 1987, then Motive in 1995, where he established and led the company's international management unit.
Jack Klues, chairman of Publicis Groupe Media, said today: "Iain is a natural and profoundly qualified choice."
Jacob will be responsible for appointing a new chief marketing officer and an operations director in the region as one of his first priorities in the role.
The chief marketing officer will be responsible developing a strategic regional approach to new client acquisition and global client development, while the operations director would "support the efforts of the entire executive team".
As part of the new management structure, the creation of an EMEA executive committee, which will be responsible for formulating and driving strategic initiatives for the group, including business development, is also on the agenda.
In addition, Jacob will help find a replacement for his vacated role, with Starcom MediaVest UK chairman Jim Marshall reportedly earmarked for the job.
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