Grey’s Acquisition Headaches

September 20, 2007

G2 Interactive, whose clients include Campbell’s and Cover Girl and is also a subsidiary of Grey, recently bought Refinery - an independent digital shop. Our sources say that the road to full integration has naturally, been a little rough, causing chaos at their 5th avenue headquarters. There’s been some high level resignations from all disciplines including Kathryn Lineberger and Graham Storey (both VPs of Creative) this week and VP of Technology, Brad Yuan, (who is now a Director of Development Outsourcing at MTV Networks) who quit in August.

HR has also made it clear they’re not promoting any one nor are they increasing salaries on a yearly basis as of today. That seems reasonable considering that the shop is in total flux due to the acquisition. Our spies also say that President John Paulson is pretty much asleep at the wheel and that more resignations are on the way.

We’re calling out to all G2 employees… how’s it really going over there?

We contacted Jessica Owen Ward, Director of Communications at G2, for a response. She did not have information on Graham or Lineberger (so who knows what’s going on there), but has this to say more generally:

The only changes in senior level creative positions at G2 Interactive have been directed by us and have not been resignations – with the exception of one member of the team who departed in the knowledge that they were going to let go due to performance

These changes have been driven by our effort to build a new model and partnership, and are a natural part of any integration plan.

Any changes have been implemented to support the creation of an operationally efficient structure, to deliver a high-performance service that clients in the digital space require today.

Bob Lukasik and Richard Feifer -the 2 senior long-standing Creative Directors at G2 Interactive continue to lead all of the the agency’s creative efforts.

G2 Interactive is experiencing ongoing growth and momentum in the digital space and will continue to build the business to best meet the needs of our clients.

Posted by superspy Filed in Grey Worldwide

6 Responses to “Grey’s Acquisition Headaches”

co-worker Says:
September 21, 2007 at 4:18 pm
Talent is there, but morale is down. The John Paulson comment is a low blow. Whoever sent that comment doesn’t know what they’re talking about and just aims at the head. G2 is a group of talented individuals who put their blood sweat and tears into the work for this agency - the real problem is:
1) Proper Compensation
2) Incentives
3) Departmental Ego’s
g2 employee Says:
September 21, 2007 at 4:24 pm
Talent is there, but morale is down. The John Paulson comment is a low blow. Whoever sent that comment doesn’t know what they’re talking about and just aims at the head. G2 is a group of talented individuals who put their blood sweat and tears into the work for this agency - the real problem is:
1) Proper Compensation
2) Incentives
3) Departmental Ego’s
the Kmart of agencies Says:
September 24, 2007 at 6:13 pm
Talent? When did they get talent? They’re the laughing stock of advertising. It’s where creatives go to die. My dog poops out better art direction.
Jessica Owen-Ward Says:
September 26, 2007 at 3:06 pm
The statements attributed to me in the September 20, 2007 posting were general statements about staffing changes occurring due to the agency’s restructuring. These statements in no way referred to, and were not intended to refer to, Graham Storey or Kathryn Lineberger.
Jessica's a backtracker Says:
September 29, 2007 at 4:34 am
Director of Communications at G2? You failed. I read slander and character assassination.
G2 Brings More Bodies Into The Fold « Agency Spy Says:
April 2, 2008 at 6:45 pm
[...] thing” if you’re going to keep doing it, yeah? G2’s acquisition of Refinery was a disaster. There were high level resignations. Unhappy employees. Maybe they should set home base straight [...]

Agency Spy