Can Greet learn some new tricks to help Ikon rise to the reputational challenge?
So can James Greet do it a third time, this time at Ikon?
To recap, he set OMD on the path to success before departing for the world of recruitment.
Then he came to Mindshare, where he won Unilever early in his reign.
The challenge this time is a different one though.
Now he faces more of a rescue mission at Ikon after the trashing its reputation took following the bizarre departure of Dan Johns and rumours that swept the industry in the aftermath.
The allegations made elsewhere about Ikon’s online buying business model must certainly have caused some clients to ask questions. And the fact that Greet is not available until July is not going to help calm the ship quickly. I’m sure the conversations within the WPP family will be around an earlier start date.
I suspect that Greet may need to show a new set of skills this time around.
Where his talents have previously been around building a team of good people, he inherits an agency which already has a reputation for having one of the best cultures in the business. In that department, there may be little turnaround needed.
This time, the challenge he faces is killing off industry suspicion that his brief is to deliver greater profits to STW at the expense of clients. Regardless of whether that is truly the agenda, that’s the perception that needs to be addressed.
And the challenge for Greet is whether he can develop a new set of skills. Arguably, after the Unilever win, he didn’t have to try that hard to build Mindshare’s reputation or profile – so he focused his efforts elsewhere.
This time, Ikon’s issue is what the outside world thinks, so it’s arguably a much bigger priority, and a skill which Greet – or indeed his new boss Simon White – is yet to demonstrate. It will be interesting seeing if he’s able to learn a few new tricks.
Tim Burrowes
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