Five candidates were short-listed by Theophilakis. The choice of Gulli
was unanimous, with both Theophilakis and Matthew Godfrey, Bates
Singapore chief executive, describing him as the best candidate for the
job.
"I wanted someone who had the same points of view on advertising (as me), but at the same time the person had to be open to change and was not afraid to shake things up a bit,
said Godfrey.
Gulli, who was previously a copywriter at JBR McCann in Oslo, said no personnel changes would be made in the creative department in the short-term.
But he does want the agency's seven creative teams to change the way they operate. "I want to change the mindset in terms of having more co-operation with the account service people,
Gulli said.
Norwegian expatriates Theophilakis and Gulli knew one another in Norway, but the pair had never worked together at the same agency until now.
