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SBHD: Jeremy Sinclair

Jeremy Sinclair is the agency’s longest-serving employee, having joined Cramer Saatchi as a copywriter in 1968. Sinclair became creative director of Saatchi & Saatchi in 1973, chairman and executive creative director in 1982, and then, in 1987, was appointed joint chairman of Saatchi & Saatchi International before taking on joint deputy chairmanship of Saatchi.

In February 1992, he returned to creative activities as Saatchi’s worldwide creative director charged with handling the Mars, Procter & Gamble and Hewlett Packard international accounts.

With Bill Muirhead’s departure for the US in March 1994, he took on the additional role of European chairman.

SBHD: David Kershaw,

Appointed chairman of Saatchi & Saatchi Advertising a year ago, has been incensed at the board’s treatment of Saatchi and apparently spent his Christmas holiday in Mexico mulling over his next move.

He is fiercely loyal to Maurice, so on that level his resignation is no surprise. But in view of the 12 years he has given the agency, which culminated in winning the £40m National Lottery account, the decision must have been hard.

Kershaw has an MBA from the London Business School. Regarded as charming, others testify to a volatile temperament. Undoubtedly, he is the consummate adman.

Kershaw, like his mentor Bill Muirhead, is strongly aligned to the British Airways business. He also spent five years developing a relationship with Mars and is close to Dixons chief executive director John Clare.

SBHD: Bill Muirhead

Muirhead joined in 1971 after moving from Dorland. He progressed steadily through the ranks until his career took off with the British Airways account. He became close to BA’s boss Lord King, setting a pattern for much of his career – Muirhead is renowned for cementing contacts at senior level. His successor as chairman of the London office, Kershaw, maintained the rapport with BA, learning much from Muirhead and their close involvement with the account makes it the hot favourite to move.

Muirhead is credited with retaining the Conservative Party account after the 1987 election against incredible odds.

He has also maintained his contacts in his US role – he is particularly close to David Montgomery of Mirror Group Newspapers, for instance, and both MGN and BSkyB arrived at Saatchi without a pitch, through Muirhead links.

He took over the US post in March and is credited with raising morale after a difficult period for the agency, though observers say it was too soon to say if his tenure could be deemed a success.