Myners suddenly stepped down on 9 October, citing "time commitments", after an eventful six-month stint that included the August announcement that the group's founder Lord Chadlington would be retiring and Myners would lead the search for his successor.
Reports suggest that Chadlington, who was due to remain in post until his successor was chosen, got more closely involved in this process than Myners, who was working with the top recruitment firm Korn Ferry, was happy with, even going as far as to sit in on an interview Myners had arranged with a potential candidate.
Myners' departure leaves the Huntsworth board somewhat rudderless, unless you include the embattled Chadlington, but with some intriguing dynamics.
Speculation as to the future of Huntsworth, and whether it will continue as a single entity or its component parts – Grayling, Citigate, Red and Huntsworth Health – could be sold off, inevitably centres around two major shareholders.
The larger is Chinese marketing services group BlueFocus, led by CEO Oscar Zhao, which acquired its 19.6 per cent stake in 2013 as part of a strategic alliance that Chadlington had long pursued as a way into the Asian market.
However, Huntsworth is yet to make its mark in the East with just six per cent of revenues coming from Asia, the Middle East & Africa. Its heavily Western profile could make it attractive to BlueFocus, which last year acquired We Are Social.
The other major shareholder with nine per cent is Terence Graunke and his private equity firm Lake Capital, which has just pulled off the near-£100m acquisition of Engine, a more broadly-based marketing services group than the PR specialist Huntsworth.
Both Graunke and Zhao are directors on Huntsworth’s board, meaning they would have to resign their positions in order to make a formal bid.
Interim results published in August showed revenue falls at Grayling, Citigate and Red, offset by growth at Huntsworth Health, while the group's operating margin dropped from 11.4 to 9.5 per cent year-on-year.
Another profit warning could be on the cards before the year is out and, even if not, second half-year profits are unlikely to be a ray of sunshine.
