Wunderman chief heads to the exit

The man who Wunderman chief executive Mel Edwards appointed two years ago over the head of executive creative director Dave Harris – her former boss at Lida – is himself now heading for the exit door.
UK chief creative officer Matt Batten joined in December 2012 from Wunderman in Australia, just a month after Edwards (then known as Mel Cruickshank) was appointed. He is leaving “to pursue new opportunities”, although quite which agency these are at is not known.
It is no secret that Edwards and Harris never quite saw eye to eye in their Lida days – Edwards was managing director; Harris creative partner – so when Edwards switched to Wunderman, insiders questioned how they would get on.
Batten was soon hired as Harris’ boss, triggering his resignation within a matter of weeks. After a spell at DraftFCB London, Harris now works as an independent creative consultant.
Batten’s departure coincides with a management shake-up at Wunderman, Edwards has recently been promoted from UK to EMEA chief executive, with Chris Perry joining from Fabric to replace her.
Perry said: “Matt leaves with our best wishes and thanks for his hard work over the last few years.”

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