Musical chairs at agencies as Saatchi chief heads to UK job

By IRENE CHAPPLE

The New Zealand chief executive of high-profile advertising agency Saatchi & Saatchi, Ian Christie, is leaving for London after 18 months in the job.

Andrew Stone, co-founder of rival agency GeneratorBates, has resigned.

According to industry gossip, Stone will shortly take Christie's place at Saatchis.

Christie, meanwhile, will pack up his family and head to London in January, where he becomes worldwide account director.

Christie says his departure after such a short time heading the local operation is "I like to think, because I've done a good job in New Zealand".

During Christie's time the agency won a huge number of awards including the Grand Effie for Anchorville and the Grand Axis for its adidas campaign.

The suggestion that Stone will replace Christie may be a case, as one insider suggested, of "people putting two and two together and coming up with 25".

Curiously, Stone played verbal gymnastics with the Herald when he was first questioned.

The Herald asked him if the rumours about his departure from Generator and a move to Saatchi were true. Stone said he had heard the rumours and could only laugh.

So did he deny them? "I can't comment on that," was all he would say. Then he stopped answering the Herald's calls.

Stone did, however, answer a call to Ian Smith, the Sydney-based chief executive of George Patterson, which owns GeneratorBates.

Smith, who confirmed Stone had resigned from GeneratorBates, had heard the rumour and had put it to Stone before to a call from the Herald, and then again after.

However, he reported with some confusion: "Andrew is adamant he is leaving to take time out from the business and will not comment on the Saatchi thing ... but we've all been around long enough to know how rumours work. I'm not 100 per cent sure what to make of it."

Smith said Stone was going to work out his contract with the company until the end of the year.

If he did return to Saatchi in the new year it would be a return of one of the agency's many high-profile ex-pats. Stone and David Walden, now running Whybin TBWA, shared managing director duties in the mid-90s.

Those working at Saatchi say they too have heard the rumour but only from outside sources.

Andrew Tinning, Auckland creative director, said, "We've all been having a laugh about it ourselves. I guess it will remain to be seen."

Meanwhile, another insider offers this gem: Stone has swapped his BMW for a Toyota Landcruiser.

This is, of course, just a rumour. But the Toyota account, as everyone who has ever sworn "Bugger" should know, is held by Saatchi.