An unprecedented number of Fortune Promoseven’s senior management have been fired or have ‘left of their own accord’ following a major shake-up of the agency.
Azmi Yafi, CEO of the agency’s Dubai operations; executive creative director Peter Russell; deputy managing director Christie O’Higgins; and creative director Leslie Oakes have all gone, although the agency would not say in what circumstances they had left. A number of mid-level account managers have also ‘moved on’ from the Dubai HQ.
Russell (pictured) had been in his role for less than a month, having been appointed ECD at the end of November following the departure of Marc Lineveldt to Saatchi & Saatchi.
It is not known whether further departures are imminent, but a rebranding of Fortune Promoseven is expected within the next few months.
Kamil Najjar, regional marketing director at P&G, has stepped in to replace Yafi as CEO, while Daniel Georr has been flown in from the network’s Beirut office to take up the position of executive creative director.
Tom Roychoudhury, chief innovations officer at MCN, Fortune Promoseven’s parent company, said the agency was looking to re-model itself along the lines of McCann London, which has a ‘perfect blend of creativity, effectiveness and innovation’ according to its website. “We are restructuring because we want to be a completely different agency,” said Roychoudhury. “We want to be different in two ways. Different to what we were and different to what’s already out there. Fortune Promoseven wants to rebuild itself along the lines of the agency for tomorrow.”
FP7 is part of MCN, which is an Interpublic group company.
Campaign Magazine Middle East 
Just a couple of quick points… Christie O’Higgins didn’t leave. She was (or had planned to) going to take time out to do her own thing, catch some rays, surf a couple of waves, that kind of stuff. But she’s very much around, and in the building as they say. Leslie Oakes is on his way to London, but will continue to be a key member of staff at the agency. No shake up, no fallout there.
Some of those who moved on, did so following their own goals and pursuits. One or two may have been part of a philosophical realignment.
The agency isn’t remodeling after McCann London. It may end up playing in the same kind of space, but there isn’t really an effort to be a wannabe McCann London. The aim is to create a new atmosphere, a new forward thinking environment, with new talent, new focus and new initiative towards equipping the agency for the challenges of tomorrow. Yes, that means being different to being the ‘FP7’ that was, and yes, that’s being different from the competition.
Change is the only real constant (old cliche, I know) in our industry, and those who don’t adopt it and don’t adapt to it are going to be also rans. There’s no new mantra that’s going to make Promoseven ‘McCann-esque uber’, but there’s a renewed vigor and an impetus because that’s the need of the hour. There’s a clear vision and focus to emerge as the agency of tomorrow.
I’m not going to comment in the ink version of Campaign, but just to remind us all, who’ve done battle in our field, the line between bravery and madness is a thin one. Someone has to cross the Rubicon. And from where I’m standing, the army’s holding up pretty well. ālea iacta est!
There isn’t anyway that ‘hospital feeling agency’ could model itself on anything else that resembles an agency…
hahahahahaha…Tom Roychoudhury…..what a pathetic attempt at a cover up job!
Booyakkasha, I agree with you and would add that FP7 is ‘a military camp feeling agency’ along with totalitarian attitude mixed with some butchery smell.
Working for these guys was my life mistake, and getting rid of their harmful memory is a therapy.
Shame on advertising they are.
Considering the lack of attention to 4 main problems:
1) Online ads are lacking attention to brand advertiser brief details – common btwn the suit and creative team (nio matter how sml. hahah)
2) Creative formats are outdated and ineffective – the budgets are pathetic.
3) This is a weak economy and much of quality work can be done in a simplified office whilst cutting down client to client travel. We’re not serious enough.
4) Adversity not diversity: is what is occurring, so lets change it and the supervision from which seems to be lost in the party.