Phil Rubel, president of Beacon, the Bcom3-Dentsu joint venture in
Tokyo, is unexpectedly leaving Japan to return to the US. The agency has
yet to decide on a replacement and, for the time being, it will be run
by a collective of senior managers under Nobuo Momose as chairman.
Momose, formerly an executive vice-president at Dentsu doubles as a
senior executive advisor to Dentsu's president, Yutaka Narita. Momose
previously was in charge of Dentsu's international operations.
Dentsu owns 34 per cent of Beacon and 21.7 per cent of Bcom3.
Beacon officials declined to comment on the changes, while Dentsu said
it could not comment on the affairs of another company.
Sources say Rubel will become an Executive Vice President at the Leo
Group in Chicago and will have global responsibilities for a number of
major clients.
Beacon was formed through a merger of the Tokyo offices of Leo and
McManus last year. Subsequently, and with encouragement from P&G,
Dentsu's P&G team relocated from Osaka to join the new venture.
Last year, Beacon billed Y45 billion (about USdollars 377 million), and
is expected to bill close to Y60 billion this year, primarily from P&G,
Philip Morris, General Motors, and Masterfoods (Mars).
