Consider the case of one Wayne Best; back in April we asked you, “Where In The World Is Wayne Best?“. The former ECD at Taxi New York had reportedly left the agency, and we weren’t sure where he landed.
We found out that Best ended up freelancing for none other than JWT NY. We’ve confirmed that he still works there, and a source close to the matter says that if possible, he/she believes the agency would hire him. (Ed’s note: We presume he’s at the CD level, since um Ty Montague already has like 10 ECDs working for him)
Anyway, today we heard a rumor that Best had been hired full time by the agency, (as in a few days ago) which wouldn’t align well with the hiring freeze we told you about last week. However, we put the hiring rumor to bed this morning, when a call to the agency debunked it. But, that isn’t to say he won’t be hired in the future, according to our source.
Remember the alleged e-mail that went around describing WPP’s hiring freeze? Well we got our hands on it, and posted it after the jump. Click “continued” to see it, and read between the lines about what this means. For example, has JWT NY CFO Lewis Trencher approved Best’s continued employment?
More: “Where In The World Is Wayne Best?”
Ed’s Note: The guy in the photo is Paul Richardson.
We called Trencher’s office to find out, but he did not respond by the time this story was published. Check out part three in the e-mail. It reads, “Freelancers and temporary staff continue to be a poorly controlled cost in many of our companies. The CFO’s are required to take full responsibility for the approval of all ‘new and existing’ freelancers.”
Essentially, it leaves all the power in the financial guys’ hands. A shitty job, if you ask us, but if it’s gotta be done…This could be the first litmus test for how the freeze will go, and there’s undoubtedly more to come.
Yikes. Though the announcement isn’t necessarily surprising, it doesn’t bode well for those of you who are vying for work inside WPP’s hive. Nor does it help the folks who are applying elsewhere, who will have that much more competition from the now blown-off WPP applicants. Harrumph. And what about guys and gals like Wayne Best? We hope none of them get the axe.
And then there’s Enfatico. What the hell is going on there? We aim to find out.