Fine is leaving to start up his own consulting operation, focusing on his skills of planning for brand delivery and channel management.
While he works out his six months notice, he has been joined by McCann Erickson Manchester managing partner Peter Gamble, who is dividing his time between Manchester and Leeds.
An agency spokesman said the arrangement had been put in place to ensure continuity and did not mean that Fine's successor had been decided.
Last year, McCann Erickson rebranded its Leeds agency Fine as the McCann Erickson Dialogue Centre to capitalise on growing client demand for more results-led activity.
Fine sold the agency that bore his name to McCann in 1999 and stayed on as chief executive.
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