Euro Lets Heekin Put The Past Behind Him

At a breakfast meeting at New York's Mercer Hotel in late March, Jim Heekin acknowledged the 900-pound gorilla in the corner of the ultra-stylish downtown eatery. "You might be wondering," the 27-year ad veteran began. Across the table, Euro RSCG Worldwide chairman and CEO Bob Schmetterer listened as Heekin broached the unpleasant topic of his dismissal from McCann-Erickson WorldGroup. Just a month earlier, Heekin's 10-year run at McCann had come to an unceremonious end after a series of financial botches, mainly involving the network's European operations, resulted in a $181.3 million accounting imbalance at parent Interpublic Group. One of the biggest lessons Heekin learned from the episode? "Life is not always fair, and big business is not always fair," the former WorldGroup chairman and CEO said bluntly last week. "The experience underscored what I've always known. You have to have world-class financial organizations and the right kind of systems and processes at your disposal to have visibility of your numbers at all times." The circumstances surrounding Heekin's departure did not concern Schmetterer. A year ago, Heekin was one of seven executives Schmetterer was eyeing for a new senior-level post at Euro RSCG. "The reality is, Jim was on my list long before it was announced he was leaving McCann," said Schmetterer, who stopped considering other candidates after their second meeting. "It became clearer that a good deal of [IPG's] problems were going back in history longer and longer—well into the '90s, under a previous administration." After the initial meeting, a six-month courtship ensued, with more breakfasts at the Mercer, lunches at Fiama and dozens of phone conversations Schmetterer squeezed into his intense travel schedule. The discussions culminated last week in Heekin accepting the post of president and COO at Havas' Euro RSCG. "This is going to be my last stint anywhere," said Heekin, 54, who had also been talking to Grey Global Group and Leo Burnett, according to sources. (He has also worked at J. Walter Thompson and Bozell in his career.) "I wanted to work with someone I respected. Life's short, particularly once you cross 50." Heekin will partner with Schmetterer, 59, who has been strapped since he added the duties of Havas president and COO late last year. Though Heekin will take some of his daily operational duties, Schmetterer denied he is grooming Heekin to be his successor at New York-based Euro RSCG, saying, "I have no plans to move full time into the Havas role." Heekin joins Euro RSCG at a trying time for its Paris-based parent, which two weeks ago reported a first-half net loss of $65.8 million and a 20 percent revenue decline to $945 million. Havas also is undergoing a $203 million reorganization that includes 850 job eliminations in the second half and closure or sale of 20 businesses. Heekin calls it "growing pains." "Havas and Euro have grown through acquisitions. Some companies work out. Some don't," he said. "The core is very healthy, which is amazing." After the restructuring, Euro RSCG, which is absorbing 17 marketing-services units from its siblings, will represent 80 percent of the holding company. Still, it will only be half the size of McCann. Heekin says the midlevel status does not deter him. "I've worked for WPP and IPG," he said. "The fact that this is a smaller, leaner organization where decisions can be taken very quickly without a lot of levels of bureaucracy was incredibly appealing." Heekin said his immediate focus is implementing Euro RSCG's "Power-of-One" strategy, in which ad and marketing-services units are organized regionally under a single management structure and profit-and-loss center. Another task is shoring up new global accounts. Euro RSCG recently won overseas business from Coca-Cola and Carrefour but has suffered domestic setbacks, notably Subway and Yahoo! "The competitive part of the business has always motivated me," said Heekin, a former college linebacker who won business including MasterCard and Wendy's at McCann. "It's kept me going 1,000 miles per hour. I think Euro RSCG is ripe for growth." Former colleagues applauded the appointment. "Jim is able to command loyalty from people, and he gives loyalty in return," said one. "He's also very clear about conveying what should be done, and he listens—I mean, really listens—to what others have to say." That trait may stem from his study of psychology at Williams College. A self-described "advertising brat" who grew up in Summit, N.J., as the son of a former Ogilvy & Mather president, Heekin resisted advertising at first. He taught high-school English in Grosse Pointe, Mich., before starting in JWT's research department in 1975. "My dad would drag me into the city to hear David Ogilvy talk," Heekin recalled last week. "My dad would turn to me and say, 'Isn't this great?' and my response was, 'I don't know what you're talking about. I'd rather be playing baseball.' " —

Brand Marketing

Euro Lets Heekin Put The Past Behind Him

Ann M. Mack

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Ann M. Mack