NEW YORK Interpublic Group's Draftfcb has shuffled its leadership deck, with COO and president Laurence Boschetto -- a 12-year agency veteran -- succeeding Howard Draft as chief executive officer.
Draft takes the new title of executive chairman, while Boschetto also remains the shop's president.
Jonathan Harries, worldwide CCO, adds the title of vice chairman.
In a statement, IPG chairman Michael Roth described the new order as "a natural evolution for the management team. It acknowledges their individual contributions to the agency's achievements to date and positions each of them to focus on specific areas that will be vital for Draftfcb going forward."
Draft outlined the rationale for the moves in a staff memo yesterday:
"It's been my distinct privilege to be the chairman and CEO of Draftfcb since we became one company [in 2006 following the union of Draft and Foote Cone & Belding].
"I'd been dreaming about creating a holistic, completely through-the-line agency for years, and with the enthusiastic support of Michael Roth and Interpublic, the market conditions were finally ripe for it. Frankly, it couldn't have come to fruition without the strategic leadership and active support of two of the best partners I could ever have. That would be Laurence Boschetto and Jonathan Harries."
Draft said the pair had earned a reward for "their many Herculean efforts on behalf of the company," adding: "As an agency, we've made significant progress, but there is still much that Laurence, Jonathan and I plan to accomplish in the coming years with the rest of our leadership team."
Continue to next page →
