A statement from Kinetic revealed that the former Asia-Pacific MD of poster publicity, which merged with WPP’s Portland to form Kinetic in 2005 had decided to “take advantage” of the opportunity for a phased buy-out of individual shareholders.
Graham divested himself of his shares two years before the final year of earn-out.
“Ron has played an important role in Kinetic’s success and tremendously rapid growth in Asia,” said Kinetic Asia-Pacific CEO Alex Thompson. Graham is expected to take a break from the industry, before moving into consulting. “As the global Kinetic network continues to grow and change, the needs are different and it is time for me to do something different too,” he said.
Graham was promoted from managing director to COO of Kinetic Asia-Pacific in October 2005. His move followed the arrival of Thompson, who moved to Asia from Europe to take on the newly created role of CEO.
Thompson added: “Ron’s knowledge of the out-of-home medium in the region is second to none, and we have benefited enormously from his input. I have no doubt he will continue to be a positive influence in his next role.’
Graham’s responsibilities would be distributed among the Kinetic management team for now, but a successor would likely be needed in the future given Kinetic’s fast growth, said Thompson.
