Howell Completes ITV Senior Management Line-Up

Former McCann Erickson Group president, Rupert Howell, has been appointed as managing director, ITV Brand and Commercial, taking up the post on 1 November 2007.

Howell will be responsible for the development of the ITV brand in all its forms and ITV’s commercial delivery.

The appointment brings to an end a four-month hunt following the departure of ITV commercial director Ian McCulloch in May, and completes Michael Grade’s senior management line-up.

“I was determined to assemble the most formidable team in UK broadcasting, and we identified Rupert as the ideal candidate to lead our brand and commercial development into the new era for ITV,” said Grade.

Candidates reported to have been in the running for the role have included the Sky Media managing director, Nick Milligan, Channel 4’s Andy Barnes and the managing director of the Mail On Sunday, Stephen Miron.

“Rupert is widely regarded as one of the most talented advertising executives working in the industry today and it’s a real coup for ITV to have attracted someone of his calibre,” said chief operating officer John Cresswell.

“We remain a business that is primarily advertising funded and Rupert’s role in leading the teams that generate this revenue across all our businesses is absolutely crucial to our growth strategy.”

Howell added: “I have long been fascinated by the media world in general and ITV in particular. ITV has been intertwined with my advertising career, both as a client and as the medium that carried most of my agency’s most famous and successful work (Maxell, Tango, First Direct, Ronseal, Pot Noodle, Egg). The opportunity to be part of an extraordinary team that is determined to turn around the UK’s most important commercial medium was too tempting to resist.”

Howell has enjoyed a successful career in the advertising industry having founded and led Campaign‘s “Agency of the 90s” Howell Henry Chaldecott Lury. This was sold to Chime Communications plc in 1997, where he became CEO. Latterly, he was president and regional director EMEA and chairman UK and Ireland Group of McCann Erickson, the world’s largest advertising agency. He was president of the IPA in 2000/2001 and of the EACA (European Association of Communications Agencies) in 2006/2007.

In May, Dawn Airey was confirmed as ITV’s new director of global content, with responsibility for developing ITV’s UK and international production, distribution and content exploitation businesses (see Dawn Airey Confirmed As ITV Director Of Content).

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