• by Joe Mandese  @mp_joemandese, August 5, 2003

At a time when many top U.S. media shops are aggressively recruiting the best and brightest British agency talent, Interpublic's appear to be having trouble holding on to theirs -- at least States-side.

MediaPost has learned Murray Dudgeon, exec VP-worldwide operations director of Universal McCann, has left the U.S. operations and moved back to UM's London office, where he will continue as global operations chief. Meanwhile, Andrew Sharp, senior VP-director of media industry analysis at Interpublic's Magna Global USA unit has also joined the UM's London office in a similar capacity.

Interpublic insiders say the moves are coincidental and that both executives are relocating for personal reasons, but the loss of two high-profile Brits represents cultural and structural changes for the U.S. shops.

To fill Dudgeon's void, UM has created a new C-level committee comprised of COO Jean Pool; chief strategy officers George Hayes and Mark Stewart; chief negotiating officer Donna Wolfe and chief technology officer Greg Smith, which will report to CEO Robin Kent.

The new organizational structure follows another recent high-profile change, the departure of Sean Cunningham, who resigned in June as exec VP-managing director of UM to become president of the Cabletelevision Advertising Bureau.

It's unclear exactly what role Magna's Sharp will serve in UM's London office, but he is well regarded as a key strategic thinker and one of the best economists tracking the media industry. Some see him as a logical successor to UM's chief forecaster Bob Coen.