Major shake-up at DDB London as MD Murray departs

Murray's departure is set to be confirmed today by Michael Bray, president of DDB Europe, who will also announce the start date of Stephen Woodford as new chief executive and chairman.

Murray will leave DDB in January and is said to be considering starting a brand consultancy. He joined DDB in 1992 as an account director from Publicis London.

Woodford was set to join the agency in July and replace chief executive Paul Hammersley, who joined The Red Brick Road. However, contractual ties with the Engine Group, which owns WCRS and where he was chief executive, meant his arrival was postponed. He was replaced by Peter Scott, founder of WCRS. He is now expected to join DDB London in January.

Bray is also set to confirm the merger of Burkitt DDB into its larger sister agency. This move has been expected since Lowe London won the £15.5m John Lewis account in August from Burkitt DDB. That news was first reported by Campaign in October.

The merger will mean the Burkitt name will disappear from advertising as part of the move. The agency's former chairman, Hugh Burkitt, left eight years ago.

Last month, Burkitt DDB won the £1.5m advertising account for the President Emmental cheese brand. In September, DDB London won the Financial Times £5m European advertising account.

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This article was first published on brandrepublic.com