Steve Ridley (left) is stepping down as CEO WPP-owned out of home giant Kinetic after 15 years with Kinetic and its predecessor Poster Publicity.
Ridley became CEO in 2010, taking over from Eric Newnham who led the sale of Poster Publicity to WPP. Newnham became chairman and then left following the completion of an earn-out to found rival OOH agency Talon in 2012. Talon handles Omnicom Media Group’s £140m business in the UK.
Ridley will be succeeded by Rupert Day, boss of WPP’s Tenth Avenue company which oversees Kinetic and some mobile businesses. Day, who’s planning to appoint a new CEO for Kinetic, says: “We thank Steve for all his efforts in making Kinetic the success it is today. He leaves the company in great shape and ready for the future.”
Under Newnham and then Ridley Kinetic has become a global giant with billings of over $4bn. It’s not known what Ridley’s plans are but he would be quite a catch for a rival OOH agency.
