JWT Thinks Locally

Local ties and packaged-goods experience are key criteria in J. Walter Thompson’s search for a new Chicago president, the agency’s top North American executive said.

JWT Chicago president Brian Heffernan resigned under pressure last week after four years of mediocre new-business results and, according to sources, in the midst of a search for his replacement. The agency has contacted executives at sev eral of Chi cago’s major shops, sources said.

The office, which claims $600 million in billings anchored by its Kraft Foods business, remains one of the top five shops within JWT’s worldwide network based on billings and revenue, said Bob Jeffrey, JWT’s president of North America.