Sir Christopher leaves the board along with Warren Hellman of US investment company Hellman & Freidman, who was also a member of the Young & Rubicam board prior to its acquisition by WPP.
The two are replaced by David Komansky, chairman of investment bank Merrill Lynch, who joins as a non-executive director, and Howard Paster, the former chairman and chief executive officer of Hill & Knowlton, who is now a director of WPP.
Sir Christopher had been close to becoming the next WPP chairman, but WPP chief executive Sir Martin Sorrell came under pressure about the appointment. Resistance to his appointment came from within the City, where there had been criticism of Sir Christopher's work as chairman of engineering group TI where his salary of 拢1.4m was almost 拢400,000 more than Sir Martin's.
WPP in the end bowed to pressure and sought a new candidate. It settled on Philip Lader, the outgoing US ambassador to the UK, in early 2001.
Komansky brings to the WPP board a wealth of financial experience, serving as chief executive officer of Merrill Lynch from 1996 to 2002, having worked at the bank since 1968.
In addition to his financial experience, Komansky serves as vice-chairman of the board of directors at the New York Stock Exchange; as a director of Schering-Plough; and as a member of the International Advisory Board of the BritishAmerican Business Council. He is also a trustee of Tsinghua University in Beijing, China, where he also serves on the university's executive education advisory board.
Paster joined the WPP parent company in August 2002 in the new role of executive vice-president, public relations/public affairs, overseeing WPP's portfolio of public relations and public affairs businesses. Prior to joining WPP, he served as assistant to US President Clinton and director of the White House Office of Legislative Affairs.
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