She has not yet revealed her next move and is to spend the next three months travelling. She joined the agency in 1998 from J Walter Thompson, where she oversaw planning for the Unilever North America account.
In her five years, she has built up the planning team, with a numer of hirings including the recent appointment of Jason Chebib to the role of planning director on Renault. She has also led the team who were behind the reports on the British consumer called 'The Dissatisfaction Syndrome' and 'The New Assertiveness'.
According to Purdy: "I have really enjoyed my time here at Publicis and I'm proud of the fact I leave behind a planning community second to none. I feel that I have now completed the job I came to do, and feel I need a change of direction."
Planning will now be overseen by Derek Morris, joint chief executive officer. Morris joined Publicis a year ago as chief strategic officer. The former BMP DDB media director has a background in media planning and was a founding member of the media communications agency Unity.
"During the last five years, the planning capability here at Publicis has gone from strength to strength. I'm looking forward to working increasingly closely with the team to take planning to the next level," Morris said.
Purdy was based in the US for eight years before returning to the UK to join Publicis. A sociology graduate, she worked in consumer research in Ireland and the UK before joining Young & Rubicam in New York in 1990. As a senior vice-president, she was in charge of planning on the agency's Colgate-Palmolive business. She joined J Walter Thompson in 1996.
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