• by Steve McClellan  @mp_mcclellan, November 6, 2013

JWT put its succession plan in place Tuesday with the appointment of Gustavo Martinez as Global President effective in February 2014. The WPP ad shop also said that Martinez would succeed Jeffrey in 2015 as Worldwide CEO. At that time Jeffrey will become Non-executive Chairman. 

When he assumes his new position next year all JWT global discipline leads and regional heads will report directly to Martinez, JWT said. The agency generates approximately $1.4 billion in annual revenue according to the Wall Street Journal. 

Martinez, 50, joins JWT from Interpublic’s McCann Worldgroup where he was president, Europe and Asia. Earlier the native Argentinian worked at Ogilvy & Mather and Saatchi & Saatchi. 

At Ogilvy Martinez was Global Director of Global Brand Management and New Business Director at O&M Worldwide.  During his career he has lived and worked in several European outposts as well as the U.S. and Canada. He grew up in Spain and holds a Ph.D. in Economics from the Universidad de Barcelona. 

“Over the past few years Gustavo and I have cultivated a relationship of mutual admiration and respect,” stated Jeffrey. “He is passionate about the business, devoted to clients and understands that the key asset of the business is the caring, nurturing and understanding of its people.”  Martinez, declared Jeffrey, “is the future of JWT.” 

Jeffrey has led the agency for 15 years, the last 10 of them as Worldwide CEO. He said that he will work closely with Martinez in the year leading up to the succession “to guarantee that we continue to provide the very best support to our clients and the agency, and to ensure a seamless transition in 2015.”