DUSSELDORF: Rainer Zimmermann, chief executive of the holding
company for Germany’s largest agency, Kohtes Klewes, has been promoted
to chair BBDO Worldwide Germany, the holding company of the country’s
largest advertising agency.
Zimmermann has already worked closely with the BBDO group, as it owns a
49.9 per cent stake in European Communications Consultants (ECC), the
Kohtes Klewes holding company.
PR accounts for around 20 per cent of BBDO’s revenues, while half are
generated by advertising.
BBDO is owned by Omnicom, and Kohtes Klewes is part of Omnicom’s
international Porter Novelli network.
Zimmermann will take over in January from Anton Hildmann, the current
chairman of BBDO Worldwide, who is retiring at the end of the year and
relocating, for personal reasons, to the US.
Zimmermann was a surprise choice for the job. Last year Uwe Schmidt, who
heads BBDO advertising in Germany, was designated to take up the
chairmanship after Hildmann retired. Schmidt is now leaving the company
and will announce his next job in February.
Hildmann said he regretted Schmidt’s decision to leave.
Kohtes Klewes recruited Zimmermann as a consultant in 1992, and he was
promoted to managing partner and chief executive of the agency in
1996.
In October this year he was promoted to head ECC, which was created in
May. Gregor Schonborn took over from Zimmermann as chief executive of
Kohtes Klewes.
Zimmerman will not be replaced at the holding company, which will be run
by its 15 existing managing partners.
