IPG's Plans For Lowe: 'Dividing, Conquering'

Last week’s news of Interpublic Group evp Stephen Gatfield coming in to watch over Lowe illustrates the parent company’s growing impatience with Lowe’s turnaround and raises questions about the role of current management, sources said.

It’s unclear what Gatfield’s specific duties will be, what title he’ll take and how that will affect CEO Tony Wright. IPG declined to comment, and Wright was unavailable. Gatfield said the new management structure would be about “dividing and conquering.”

Gatfield’s arrival is said to be part of a series of sweeping changes for the shop, whose 2005 was largely defined by client losses in major markets with few global wins.