Ogilvy tempts Flagship’s Quarendon for hi-tech role

Ogilvy PR has named Simon Quarendon, deputy chairman of Flagship

Group, as MD of its technology practice. He replaces Lyle Closs who has

moved to become marketing director at internet telephony company

Callserve Communications. Callserve is an Ogilvy client.

Quarendon will report to Ogilvy’s UK head Donna Zurcher. According to

Zurcher, technology clients make up 25 per cent of the London office’s

total fees, which last year were pounds 5 million.

Traditionally, the technology division has relied heavily on its major

client IBM. Quarendon’s brief will be to ensure the division is not so

reliant on one client.

’My brief is primarily the IBM account, to manage it across Europe, and

after that it is to build the practice in London and establish its

credentials in the technology field,’ said Quarendon. He plans to double

the hi-tech division’s fee income inside 12 months by winning business

across the entire technology spectrum from traditional technology

companies to dot.coms.

Quarendon has a proven track record in hi-tech PR. Before the creation

of the Flagship Group last year, he ran his own company Words Group

which included hi-tech specialist agency Words Etc.

In departing Flagship, Quarendon has sold his ’minority shareholding’ to

the remaining board. No successor has yet been named.

Earlier this month Ogilvy announced that Nick May was joining the agency

as European president in April from Edelman PR, where he was director of

healthcare (PR Week, 3 March).