Digital boss departs major city agency

After just five months in position, one of the Manchester’s biggest advertising agencies has parted company with its head of digital.
Cheetham Bell JWT today confirmed that Jonathan Scott has left the agency.
His arrival had been heralded by the company as an appointment of the “skill sets we need to propel us to the next stage in our ambitious growth plan” when the appointment was announced in July. Scott, took up the position after working as marketing and new business director at video creative agency Connected Pictures, handling clients including Sony BMG, BBC and Levi’s Europe.
He was also reported to be part of the team that wrote the strategy and commercial plan for the launch of Tesco.com (then called Tescodirect.co.uk).
Stressing that the decision had nothing to do with the current economic climate, CheethamBell JWT’s CEO David Bell told me Scott had been operating under a probationary period.
He said: “We took the collective decision that, going into 2009, he wasn’t the best person for the job.”
Bell said a decision on whether to re-structure or replace the position had not yet been taken but that the agency was considering different options.
CheethamBell JWT employs about 90 staff in Manchester and has this year won some major clients including being named the sole agency for First Direct.