As details of the new management line-up became known, Michael Jones
confirmed that he was leaving as regional chief executive officer of
TME, at the end of April for a year's sabbatical. Jones said he had
planned the sabbatical last summer before WPP's plan to acquire Tempus
and its media subsidiary CIA was announced.
David Ng, currently regional finance director at CIA, will take on a
similar role in the merged entity.
While the merger has proceeded smoothly in other parts of the world, WPP still needs to discuss how much equity Dentsu will have in the new operation. Dentsu owns a third of TME, resulting from its joint-venture interests in the regional Dentsu Young & Rubicam network.
Austin, who was also CIA's regional CEO, said: "In the rest of the world, the merger is relatively simple, but in Asia it is a little bit more complicated.
We want to work with Dentsu as a key partner in Asia.
Another broad regional issue which will need to be resolved is the potential for client conflict with CIA handling LVMH and TME working on Chanel.
