Bury to replace Perera at Octagon

IPG-owned sports marketing agency Octagon has replaced the head of its London operation John Perera with former Ogilvy & Mather chief executive Tom Bury after a restructuring its business.

Perera quit the operation recently, and it is thought he had no job to go to. His departure preceded this week’s announcement that Octagon is rebranding its operation across the world.

Bury’s appointment, predicted exclusively in Marketing Week (MW September 2), gives him the role of managing director of Octagon marketing across Europe, Africa, Asia and Australia. He will report to Alasdair Ritchie, Octagon president of marketing for those regions.

Bury left O&M in January following a string of account losses. He had run the agency for seven years as managing director and then chief executive.

Under Octagon’s global restructure, the company has axed its previous divisions, including Advantage. It will now be split into five companies: Octagon Marketing, Octagon Athlete Representation, Octagon CSI, Octagon Motorsports, and a Latin American joint venture Octagon Koch Tavares.

Frank Lowe, Octagon founder and chief executive officer, says: “This unification is a logical move forward. The time is now right to launch a new brand of sports marketing.”

Octagon is the second largest sports agency in the world, with annual billings of about &£500m. Mark McCormack’s International Management Group is market leader, with claimed annual billings of &£750m.

The company represents the interests of sports stars and personalities, including tennis players Anna Kournikova and Martina Hingis.

Mike Burton, former joint managing director of Advantage International, has returned to Octagon in the US.