PR’s a wonderful thing and it appears to be onwards and upwards at Aegis-owned Carat UK, with Jo Sutherland from the group’s mobile agency Fetch replacing Rick Hirst as CEO of Carat UK. Hirst, who joined from Mcgarrybowen (also owned by Carat’s ultimate owner Dentsu) is moving to an unspecified international role.
Except that Carat, whose UK billings fell last year according to Neilsen, has also been wielding the axe, making between 20 and 30 middle-ranking executives redundant in what (to them) was a surprise HR-led cull.
But back to the PR. Sutherland (below) told Campaign she plans to focus on: “injecting more innovation, pace, and being mobile-first. It’s a solid business and I just want to make it brilliant.”
Dentsu Aegis Network UK & Ireland executive chairman Stef Calcraft (there still seem to be a lot of people with fancy titles at Aegis, there’s also Media Brands UK & Ireland CEO Matthew Platts) said: “Jo brings a dynamic mobile-first philosophy to the heart of the business. She is a progressive leader with a collaborative style that inspires more innovative ideas and solutions for our clients, our people and our media partners.”
Is losing your job an “innovative solution?” Suppose it might be.
