Rubel makes sudden departure as Beacon president

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