Publicis chief operating officer Enda McCarthy – seen by many as former UK chief Nigel Jones’ right-hand man – has left the agency just weeks after Jones departed.
McCarthy has been at the agency since September 2009, joining as chief executive of Publicis Modem, a move which reunited him with former boss Jones.
The duo previously worked together for more than three years at DraftFCB, where Jones was chief exec and McCarthy was president.
It was revealed in September last year that UK president and chief executive Jones was to rejoin DraftFCB this month in a global strategy role.
The agency recently bought Inferno to shore up its London operation, initially raising doubts about Jones’ appointment. However, the move, which triggered the exit of creative boss Dave Harris and UK chief exec Kate Howe, is understood to have no bearing on Jones.
McCarthy spent much of his early career in client services, and landed his first management role in 1996 at Euro RSCG Wnek Gosper, where he was a director. He then had spells at JWT and Nitro before joining Draft in 2006.
He quit just after Jones and then had a stint at Agency.com as president, before joining Publicis eight months later.
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Publicis COO Enda McCarthy exits as old pal Jones moves back to Draft http://t.co/uBLizMA0uw #advertising #directmarketing #digitalmarketing