Editorial: Y&R's Fudge a smart wager.(Viewpoint)(Brief Article)(Editorial)

Advertising Age, May, 2003

WPP Group did three smart things in naming Ann Fudge chairman-CEO of Young & Rubicam: Hire an advertiser to run an agency and choose an African-American, and a woman, for the job.

Hiring a client executive to run a giant agency is a gamble. With years of experience at General Mills, General Foods and (till 2001) Kraft Foods, Ms. Fudge certainly knows how to buy advertising. But skeptics-some inside Y&R and other WPP shops-already ask if she can lead an agency and sell great ad ideas.

Y&R's first major client, in 1923, was Postum Co. It evolved into Kraft, which still employs Y&R. But Ms. Fudge offers more than ties to a key client. As a brand marketer, and as a director at blue-chip companies such as General Electric Co., she has established herself...

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