Ludgate two join Luther Pendragon partnership

Issues management specialist Luther Pendragon has restructured into

a six-strong partnership and recruited former Ludgate directors Tim

Trotter and Andrew Sharkey as partners.

Trotter, who joined the agency as a non-executive director in July 1998,

is now taking a hands-on role. He was non-executive chairman of Ludgate,

but left the agency a year after its acquisition by advertising and PR

group McCann-Erickson. Sharkey left his post as a director at Ludgate in

October last year.

The partnership structure is a revenue-sharing and decision-making

arrangement, not equity-sharing.

Decisions at Luther Pendragon were previously taken by its chief

executive George Pitcher and the agency’s and co-founder, Charles

Stewart-Smith.

Both are now partners in the firm.

The other partners are Ben Rich, a public affairs expert, and Catherine

May, a telecommunications expert. Both were previously senior

consultants at the agency.

Managing director Nick Taylor will continue in his role as the firm’s

finance director, and will have a casting vote.

The agency hopes to recruit more partners from the ranks of its

25-strong staff as they develop into senior consultants.

Rich said: ’To retain people who are very sharp, want to go places and

are good at speaking their minds, you need to create a structure that

allows for progression.’