CIA Medianetwork top duo replaced in Euro shake-up

CIA Medianetwork International has parted company with chairman Rick Sheldon and shunted managing director Mike Morris into a new role in CIA Group,

the main holding company.

The two will be replaced by Mainardo Denardis, currently managing director of CIA Medianetwork Europe – which runs the continent excluding the UK. He joins on July 1.

CIA International, which co-ordinates an estimated 100m billings for clients such as Microsoft, Carlsberg, Calvin Klein and Wrigleys, will now also come under his control.

“After a succession of account losses – including Intermarché in France – the costs need to be stripped down,” says one industry source.

Morris is to create a new consultancy business for CIA to replace the Billett Consultancy which was shuffled off from CIA in April, following a buyout by founder John Billett.

At the time of the buyout, Billett said a consultancy owned by a major media buyer was no longer tenable because of perceived impartiality problems.

Sheldon, who is independently wealthy following his sale of a share of KMP to Saatchi & Saatchi in the Eighties, is understood to be setting up his own business.

In the past year CIA Medianetwork International has lost its pan-European co-ordination role for Nike and the 3m media buying and planning business for Alfred Dunhill, but has picked up 25m Microsoft business.

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