Euro loses long-serving CEO Stening

<p>Euro RSCG's Grand China division has lost its founding CEO Peter </p><p>Stening, but his departure is not expected to affect the network's </p><p>sprawling operation. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>"Peter put strong management in place with a view to his retirement," </p><p>said Euro Hong Kong managing director David Morgan. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>At the same time, Euro's Asia-Pacific CEO Vincent Digonet will oversee </p><p>the Grand China operation. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>In setting up the Grand China group in the late '90s, Mr Stening had </p><p>helped minimise the impact of the Asian financial meltdown on the </p><p>network, developing business in the crisis-free China market to drive </p><p>growth. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>On top of overseeing Grand China, which grouped Euro's agencies in Hong </p><p>Kong, Taiwan and the mainland, Mr Stening was also executive </p><p>vice-president for North Asia. He had been with Euro for more than a </p><p>decade. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>However, Mr Stening's exit coincides with the departure of one of Grand </p><p>China's biggest client - Philips - and several local accounts. According </p><p>to ACNielsen, Philips billed a little over Rmb 167 million (about </p><p>USdollars 20.17 million) in China and Hong Kong last year. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>While the Philips' loss was the result of a global realignment, the last </p><p>12 months have also seen the departure of Dragonair, KMB, Prudential and </p><p>recently HSBC from the Hong Kong office. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Mr Morgan said the agency had more than made up for the account losses, </p><p>winning more than HKdollars 150 million in new business in the last six </p><p>months. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>New business wins included Worldcom, CNN and Cartier. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Industry sources had, however, linked the account losses to Grand </p><p>China's lingering Internet hangover. "Having an interactive division to </p><p>support offline clients is one thing, but pitching for every dotcom </p><p>business is another," said an agency source. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Grand China was one of the first to seize Internet-related business </p><p>opportunities, picking up seven dotcom accounts by April last year, </p><p>before Mr Morgan's arrival. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>"There has been speculation that we had over-focused on dotcoms, but the </p><p>issue has been addressed by management," Mr Morgan said, adding that </p><p>dotcom clients now accounted for a small portion of the business. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>"Euro was not the only agency which suffered at the hands of dotcoms and </p><p>dotcom closures." </p><p><BR><BR> </p>