• by David Kaplan , November 17, 2004

After two-and-a-half years, Jim Rose, the North American chief executive for Havas' MPG, is stepping down from his role and leaving the company to pursue an undisclosed "management opportunity" in Texas.

In the interim, members of the MPG management team will continue to operate as before, reporting directly to Fernando Rodes, global chief executive for MPG.

A replacement for Rose will be named soon, the company said in a statement.

Rose joined MPG in May 2002. He succeeded Antoni Rossich, who stepped into the position the previous November.

Prior to joining MPG USA, Rose was CEO at QXL Ricardo PLC, a Pan European e-commerce company that operated in 12 countries including the United States. Rose has also served as chief executive of United Information Group, a wholly owned subsidiary of United News & Media, a business-to-business publisher. Before that, he spent six years working for AC Nielsen.