Sony’s top Euro marketer tipped for chief Saatchi and Grey positions

Sony’s European marketing chief David Patton has emerged as the frontrunner for the chief executives job at both Saatchi & Saatchi and Grey. Patton has been at Sony for 12 years and is the man behind the company’s multi-award-winning “Balls” advert for its Bravia LCD televisions.
It is understood that Grey has already offered him the chief executive role, which was vacated at the start of the year by Tamara Ingram, who left to run WPP’s $1bn (£500m) global Procter & Gamble account.
But Marketing Week understands that Saatchi & Saatchi could be†Patton’s preferred choice because of the career progression of some of the agency’s previous chief executives. Royal Mail boss Adam Crozier is a former Saatchi & Saatchi chief and previous incumbent Lee Daley has moved to Manchester United as commercial director with a seat on the board.
Patton joined Sony in 1995 as vice-president of marketing for its computer entertainment division. He is currently vice-president of communications for the main Sony brand.