Ed Vick, the chairman and chief executive of Young & Rubicam
Advertising, is retiring from the agency after ten years.
Mike Dolan, the chairman and chief executive of Young & Rubicam Inc,
will take on Vick's responsibilities.
Vick, a Vietnam veteran, said he is retiring from the company to pursue
other interests. "I think we have accomplished a tremendous amount
during my time here and I'm proud to have been part of it," he said.
The move comes one year after WPP bought Y&R. Vick is reported to have
had the option to take a severance package worth about $4.5
million from 4 October.
Peter Georgescu, the chairman emeritus of Y&R and a 30-year veteran of
the agency, has been named a senior adviser.
In his expanded role, Dolan has announced an intention to develop a
stronger bond between Y&R Advertising and Wunderman to strengthen the
Y&R Group's offering. "We're going to knit them closer together and call
it an alliance," he said.
He also said the network would benefit from a changed creative
direction: "What we've built up over the last two years is really strong
assets around the globe. I'd much rather have a really good, strong,
working creative than have a big name in a diplomatic role."
An erstwhile president of Snack Ventures Europe, Dolan joined Y&R as the
vice-chairman and chief financial officer in 1996. He was appointed to
the WPP board of directors in January 2001 but, because of the new
responsibilities he will take on following Vick's departure, he will
step down from that role.
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