Carphone Warehouse chief Angus walks out

In a surprise move, Carphone Warehouse marketing director Lesley Angus is to leave the company in the middle of a &£14m review – and only six months into the job.

Angus clashed with her friend and Carphone Warehouse founder Charles Dunstone over who controlled the company’s marketing plans.

Dunstone, who has known Angus socially for six years, poached her in March from Virgin Clothing, where she was the company’s launch marketing director.

One source close to the company says: “This is often the case with people who found successful companies. They think they know everything, especially the way their business should be marketed.”

Angus’ brief was to beef up the company’s marketing department and formulate plans for the recently enlarged group.

In January, Carphone Warehouse bought Tandy from US parent InterTan, and in May it purchased Tecno photographic stores from a private consortium. Both acquisitions were for undisclosed sums.

Angus expanded the marketing department from four to 13, and called an advertising review to cut the number of agencies involved with the mobile phone retailer.

The agencies pitching for the account are Lowe Howard-Spink, Duckworth Finn Grubb Waters, Young & Rubicam and the Advertising Brassiere. Their work is understood to be in research.

Angus spent three years at Disney in a variety of marketing roles, including European marketing director of Disney stores, before moving to Virgin Clothing for 18 months.

Sources close to Dunstone say he is not expected to replace Angus with a senior marketer.