Group Press Releases
Appointment of Group CFO
15 March 2007
Aegis Group plc (“Aegis”), the media communications and market research group, today announces that Jeremy Hicks, group CFO, will be leaving Aegis on 1 April 2007. The position of group CFO will be taken up by Alicja Lesniak.
Alicja is a chartered accountant who has worked in a broad range of roles in marketing services agencies over the past 20 years. These positions include financial and operational positions, based in both Europe and the US.
From 1995 to 2006 Alicja was at BBDO, the Omnicom-owned advertising agency. She spent seven years as CFO of BBDO EMEA and a Board member of BBDO Worldwide Inc, and more recently was a consultant to BBDO. Before BBDO, she held a number of senior positions in marketing services, including CFO of Ogilvy & Mather Worldwide and MD of J Walter Thomson UK.
Alicja sits on the Boards of DTZ Holdings plc and SThree plc as a non-executive director. She will join the Board of Aegis on 31 March 2007.
Jeremy joined Aegis as group CFO in 2000. Since then, Aegis’s revenue has more than doubled, from £473m to £997m, and profits have risen from £64m to £116m. Following his recent marriage to an American citizen, Jeremy intends to relocate to the US, where his wife and her family are resident.
Commenting on the changes, Colin Sharman, chairman of Aegis, said:
“I’d like to thank Jeremy for all he has done, helping Aegis more than double its revenue during his tenure. We are sorry to see him go, but understand that his future lies on the other side of the Atlantic. We wish him well with the next chapter of his life and career.
“I cannot think of a better successor than Alicja. She knows the agency world inside out, has a natural feel for our business and has many years of international experience. Her achievements to date have been impressive, and we are excited about the contribution she will now make at Aegis.”
For further information contact:
Charlotte Elston
Aegis Group plc
+44 (0) 20 7070 7708
Tim Spratt, Charles Palmer
Financial Dynamics
+44 (0) 20 7831 3113
Note to editors
Jeremy Hicks, 53
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Aegis Group plc
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Abbott Mead Vickers Plc
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Hambros Bank Limited
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County Bank Ltd
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Touche & Ross
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Jeremy is also a non-executive director of First Choice Holidays Plc, and has previously held non-executive directorships at Data Sciences PLC and Hemmington Scott Publishing Limited.
Alicja Lesniak, 55
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BBDO Worldwide
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Ogilvy & Mather Worldwide
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J Walter Thomson Group
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WPP Group plc
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Arthur Andersen & Co.
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Various finance positions in industry |
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Arthur Andersen & Co.
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No further disclosures are required under 9.16.13 of the UK Listing Rules.