±±¾©Èü³µpk10

In December 2003, it looked as though Interpublic was close to signing Blamer, but Grey managed to hang on to him, offering him a promotion to the role of president and CEO of Grey Worldwide North America.

Interpublic had been in discussions with Blamer, who was previously president and CEO of Grey Worldwide New York, to take a senior role at FCB, but talks broke down with Grey desperate to hang on to the man tipped to take over from Grey Global chairman and CEO Ed Meyer.

A lot changes in a year. Grey Global has been bought by WPP Group and Blamer has decided to vote for an early Christmas and finally accept Interpublic's offer.

His departure might come as a bit of a shock to Tim Mellors, the former executive creative director of Grey Worldwide, who came out of retirement in June to rejoin the agency as president and chief creative officer of Grey Worldwide North America.

Blamer and Mellors being reunited was said to be the result of a lengthy effort on the part of Blamer to lure his former colleague over the pond.

Blamer is to take over from Brendan Ryan, who stays at FCB in the role of agency chairman and who had pursued Blamer for almost two years before he finally signed on the dotted line.

David Bell, Interpublic CEO and president, referred to WPP's takeover of Grey as making Blamer's hiring finally possible.

"Recent developments at Grey made today's news possible. Adding an executive of Steve's calibre to the mix is another huge win for us," Bell said.

In taking the top job at FCB, Blamer returns to where his career began in advertising in the 1970s when he worked on the Sunkist account at FCB in Chicago. He later moved to DDB Needham before returning to FCB Los Angeles to work on the First Interstate Bank account.

After a two-year break, he joined Grey in 1989, first working in Los Angeles, but later he spent stints working around the world for the agency, moving to Grey London in 1998 before returning to the US in 2000 to head Grey's New York headquarters.

Blamer said: "In light of the recent acquisition of Grey, I also came to realise that I'm at a point in my career at which I want to be part of an organisation whose values reflect my own and whose management I both like and respect -- thus my choice of Interpublic."

If you have an opinion on this or any other issue raised on Brand Republic, join the debate in the .