Grey sidelines Alberts to head £100m Fortis account

Grey London is understood to be moving its chairman and executive creative director Dave Alberts to head the £100m global ad account for financial services group Fortis, which it won this week (MW November 1).

The agency picked up the business following a three-way pitch against Leo Burnett and Ogilvy Advertising. The global incumbent on the account was Publicis, although Fortis has worked with a roster of agencies in the past for local markets and retail, investment and private banking arms.

Fortis general manager of global communications Adrian Martorana told Marketing Week that its brief is to create a communications strategy to work across all three businesses.

Alberts leads Grey’s creative department, but he latest move has fuelled speculation about Alberts’ future at the agency, which he joined in 2003 after being appointed from Australian MotoPartners as a replacement for Tim Mellors by then chief executive Garry Lace.