The controlling shareholder and managing director of AFA O'Meara, one of Dublin's best-known advertising agencies with sales of more than €20 million, has stepped aside from its top management team. Arthur Beesley, Senior Business Correspondent, reports.
In a break with convention, Mr Stuart Fogarty has not taken on the post of chairman of the firm in which he has a 75 per cent stake. The post was vacant for several months before a management reshuffle this week.
While latest abridged accounts for Aubrey Fogarty Associates, which owns the advertising business, show that it lost money in 2003, the company said it was profitable in 2004 and this year.
A well-known figure in advertising, Mr Fogarty (44) will remain with the firm but said he wished to concentrate his work on the client side of the operation. "It's nothing more than what it says. At the end of the day, 17 years is too long to run an advertising agency, never mind any business. Advertising is a young person's business."
Staff at AFA O'Meara were told at a special meeting yesterday morning that general manager Damien Bell will succeed Mr Fogarty as managing director.
Company director Shane Lynch has been appointed chairman. He succeeds Des O'Meara, who retired from the chairmanship last February, two years after Mr Fogarty's firm AFA bought out his firm Des O'Meara & Partners.
Mr Fogarty accepted that managing directors of family-owned businesses regularly take on the position of chairman when they move on from day-to-day management, but said that he had no desire to take that option. "I don't need the chairmanship," he said.
He had been critical in the past of advertising people who "slug it out" until the age of 65 and had no desire to do the same.
"I don't want to get involved anymore in cashflow and invoicing and staff holidays. There are better managers than me and Damian is one of those."
Mr Bell said that Mr Fogarty had taken the initiative himself to stand down from the top management. The change was fully accepted by the firm's board.
"Stuart has been considering it himself for some time. It was brought to the board in the last three or four weeks. It was unanimously and fully supported by the board."
The latest accounts show that the firm lost €258,585 before tax in 2003 and lost €413,860 in 2002. Mr Bell and Mr Fogarty said 2004 would show a profit.
