Frankel, Chicago, announced the departure of president Dan Rose and said a restructuring expected this week would include "significant layoffs" for the shop, according to a release.
The reorganization reportedly will include a sizable staff reduction, with the December loss of the Frito-Lay account (XTRA!, Dec. 18, 2001) pushing the count up higher in a reorganization that has been in the works since last summer, according to ceo Jim Mack, who takes on most of Rose's duties and also assumes the role of chairman from founder Bud Frankel in a separate move. (An industry legend, Frankel remains part of the agency's executive committee and will stay active on several long-standing accounts.)
Rose, a 15-year Frankel veteran, volunteered to be among those let go. "We laid off a lot of really good people this year, but we hadn't laid off anybody on the executive committee," says Rose, who plans to take a year's sabbatical.
It will be Frankel's third round of layoffs since January 2001, when the shop had about 740 employees. Mack told PROMO the reorganization is a reaction to new realities in the agency world and not a signal that the company is struggling financially.
