Lowe Direct loses founding member after six months

Creative director of Lowe Direct Stephen Walpole has left the company, six months after he helped found the below-the-line agency.

Walpole has decided to leave the ad business and is looking into a number of opportunities, not related to advertising.

In January Walpole, along with the rest of the senior management team at GGT Direct, walked out of the agency to provide the Lowe Group with its first direct marketing arm. The others were chief executive Tony Watson, managing director Nick Young and data planning director Ian Taylor.

Co-managing partner Watson says when the four men opened Lowe Direct in April they knew Walpole was even then thinking about getting out of the business and so planned their management structure with this in mind.

Watson adds: “We knew he was becoming disillusioned with the business. But we also knew his help in setting up the new agency would be invaluable.”

He says that Walpole’s position as a partner in charge of creative planning will not be filled. His duties will be split between managing

partner Taylor and joint creative directors Steve Broadhurst and

Simon Plent.