The sacking comes only four months after Mediaedge:cia UK group chairman Rob Norman took control of the agency, following the move of Fiona McAnena to WPP research arm Kantar.
Whitmore was previously managing director of The Media Edge before its merger with CIA, whereas Norman has spent most of his career at CIA. Media observers said Whitmore's ousting signalled CIA's intention to dominate the merger.
Matt James worked with Norman at CIA in the mid-1990s before joining Manning Gottlieb OMD in 1997 becoming, in October 2000, at age 29, the youngest head of a media agency. He left in October 2002 after a six-month notice period saying that we wanted to quit the media agency world.
Norman commented: "I am delighted that Matt has decided to join us. He is a first class operator and was a key contributor to Manning Gottlieb's success. It is sad that James is leaving and all of us want to express our gratitude for his contribution over the years and for putting together such a capable team."
The departure of Whitmore comes as Mediaedge:cia reorganises its structure beneath James, with the creation of two client services director positions. The roles are filled by deputy managing director Andy Martin and business director Ian Redman. Norman said the roles of the agency's other four business directors -- Stuart Sullivan-Martin, Hamish Davies, Carol Middleton and Simon Adams -- would be retained in the new structure.
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