Hill & Knowlton boss Marcus Warner departs after eight months
PR agency Hill & Knowlton has had its second change of leadership in less than a year with the departure of Marcus Warner after just eight months at the helm.
Warner joined Hill & Knowlton last July from Norton Rose and prior to that PricewaterhouseCoopers.
He was brought in to replace CEO Michelle Hutton who moved to Edelman.
This time the WPP agency has looked within, with 20 year veteran Sue Cook taking charge as acting MD.
According to Hill & Knowlton, Warner is leaving “to explore opportunities internationally in the corporate world”. Vivian Lines, Hill & Knowlton’s Asia Pac president, said in a statement: “I am sorry to see Marcus leave, but his heart lies on the client side rather than agency and we respect that decision. He has helped re-engineer H&K in Sydney over the past year so that we are in a far stronger position today.”
Cook will take the title of acting managing director and also continue with her role as regional director, health. She said: “I am pleased with the momentum we are seeing in our business. In the last six months we have added 15 major new clients to our roster and I am confident 2011 will continue to be a great year for us.”
It was unclear at the time of posting whether Hill & Knowlton plans to search for a new CEO.
H&K is in a far stronger position today? How is that possible with the mass exodus it has experienced in the last 12 months? The ship has sunk.
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wonder what the turnover at H&K is like at AD/AM level? Is it just an issue at the top or has there been a lot of turmoil at all levels?
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1) If your ship is heading through rough waters get a qualified and experienced captain.
2) There’s more to being a CEO than just telling everyone you’re the CEO.
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Three posts critical of H&K & no defense? Do they not realise their staff and potential staff are probably reading this?
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When things are tough in WPP they are TOUGH.
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