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Ben Langdon, McCann-Erickson's UK chairman and chief executive, has

been handed the network's top regional post, taking control of

McCann-Erickson Worldwide operations for Europe, the Middle East and

Africa.

Langdon takes over the post of regional director of McCann-Erickson EMEA

from the agency veteran Don Dillon, who retires from the post at the age

of 56, and breaks a sequence of three Americans who have filled McCann's

top European position.

His appointment will end reports linking Langdon with jobs outside

McCann and will trigger a hunt for successors to head both McCann's

London and UK group operations and the role of European regional

director for Universal McCann that Langdon has occupied since

January.

Langdon said: "We are building off a strong base but we can aim to

become qualitatively better as well as quantitively. This will be

important in the difficult year we envision. We need to invest in the

things that will ensure our success when we come out of recession."

Langdon will control McCann-Erickson and Universal McCann directly, and

will also chair a regional board including McCann Worldgroup "corridor

companies", such as MRM, Momentum and Futurebrand.

The appointment was announced in New York today (Thursday) by McCann

Worldgroup's chairman and chief executive, Jim Heekin. "I see several

challenges," he said. "There's pushing the quality bar higher and

continuing to integrate other disciplines, and the task of keeping costs

in line with shrinking revenues while trying to increase revenue.

Leaders who do both will thrive."