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The brief resulted in several Direct Marketing Association awards for its previous agency, Harrison Troughton Wunderman (HTW). Joshua beat Kitcatt Nohr Alexander Shaw at the last stage of the pitch, having seen off Partners Andrews Aldridge and cchm:ping in the earlier rounds.

Thompson attributes the M&G win to Joshua's creative skills and track record in financial services. "M&G is an exciting win for us because it's a revitalised brand," he says. "It's been a big boost for the agency and new business keeps the place fresh. Our creative strengths were important in the pitching process. Creative is changing - it's much more content and experience driven."

However, Joshua has had its creative ups and downs recently. Last year, creative directors Brian Storey and Xanthos Christodolou left to launch DM agency Wand. Another creative director, Steve Broadhurst, left last September without a job to go to.

This year, Joshua parted company with NatWest and Norwich and Peterborough Building Society. It also lost out on the £15m global marketing communications and loyalty programme for Star Alliance, which went to DDB WWAV.

But it has bounced back, winning new business such as Tussauds, Sensodyne and now the high-profile M&G.

Thompson started his career aged 17 as a trainee at the agency that was eventually to become BBDO. By the age of 22, he was managing director of a sales promotion business and then took the plunge - with his credit card - to set up PML (Promotional Marketing Limited) in the mid-80s. The business was eventually acquired by Grey Worldwide, which was bought by Sir Martin Sorrell's WPP two years ago.

Joshua was born out of PML and the agency is rebranding as Joshua G2 this month, bringing the business into line with the rest of Grey Worldwide's global marketing services agencies.

For his part, Thompson has earmarked digital as the area in which Joshua intends to keep a step ahead of the competition. "Technology is growing rapidly and changing how consumers interact with brands." he says. "We've been a very conservative industry - what we sell to clients now will have changed in six months, so we need to be ahead of the consumer."

It is this strategic thinking and commercial astuteness that has garnered Thompson respect from friends and clients alike. "Peter is able to read both the people motivations and the business challenges of any situation," says Mark Thomson, director of sales and customer service at Royal Mail and a friend of Thompson.

Joshua is now a top 10 DM agency with a turnover that is thought to be close to £40m. Despite the pressures of managing such a sizeable business, Thompson is keen to keep in close touch with clients. "Even though Joshua has worked on our account for a long time, the agency wowed us in a pitch earlier this year and was reappointed," says Marian Chapman, head of marketing communications at the Post Office. "Peter obviously played a large part in this and he is highly valued by senior people here."

Observers are keen to see what Joshua will do with M&G, and Thompson himself acknowledges that HTW will be a hard act to follow.

"M&G is a very important piece of business and everyone will be looking at Joshua and wondering what it will do with it," says one agency chief.

Thompson's response is to advise observers to watch this space because any changes to M&G's direct marketing will not be unveiled until early next year.

"At the moment we're planning a campaign that is a light update of the existing creative and what M&G has done in the past," he says.

Thompson has overcome many challenges in his career so far, including dyslexia. But if there is one thing that might get the better of him, it's golf. "He lifts his head on a regular basis and tops the ball, causing him to be, frankly, a quite lousy golfer," confides Royal Mail's Thomson.

THOMPSON'S CHALLENGES
- To extend Joshua's international work
- To ensure the agency continues to innovate on the digital side
- To maintain the quality of work for which M&G has become known