Bupa rocked as chief quits role

Bruce Tranter, marketing director of Bupa, has quit, sparking a

search for a replacement at the medical insurance company.

Although Bupa insists that Tranter, 49, decided to leave the role to

concentrate on ’special projects’, it admits the move could herald his

departure from the company ’in several months’.

Tranter’s sudden exit from the top marketing job comes only weeks after

managing director Val Gooding vehemently denied press reports that his

recent visits to several London agencies heralded a review of the health

insurer’s pounds 10m advertising account, which is currently held by

Ogilvy & Mather.

However, a Bupa spokesman denied that this had contributed to Tranter’s

departure from the company. ’Any thoughts of disagreements in that

respect are pure speculation,’ he said.

Meanwhile, Gooding has wasted no time in drafting in an ex-colleague,

former British Airways PR chief Peter Jones, who joined as head of

corporate communications in June, to caretake Tranter’s role.

Tranter has held the top marketing job since 1993. Prior to joining

Bupa, he was head of sales and marketing at Avis Car Rental and has also

worked at Gillette.

In May 1996, Bupa launched new advertising using the line ’You’re

amazing and we want you to stay that way’, which attempted to reposition

the company as a healthcare provider rather than merely a private

medical insurer.

The move followed the arrival of new entrants into the market, such as

Virgin and Legal & General.

Tranter was unavailable for comment as Marketing went to press.

See analysis, page 21.

This article was first published on Marketing