Matthew Bull appointed chief executive of Lowe London

Bull, who is a creative by background and has been running Lowe Bull Calvert Pace since 1996, replaces Chris Thomas, who is leaving after nearly two years in the role.

Announcing the appointment this week, Tim Lindsay, President of Lowe & Partners Worldwide, said: "Matthew has done an outstanding job in South Africa. He has made Lowe a real force there, building it into a top 10 agency, forging a great relationship with Unilever and establishing it as a major creative powerhouse.

"Importantly, he has also made it the number one place to work. I know he will bring a great deal of joie de vivre and a strong sense of leadership to the London office."

Bull, 39, has worked in South Africa throughout his advertising career. He co-founded Bull Calvert Pace in Cape Town with Lowe in 1996, which was the first start-up that Lowe bought into outside the UK. He initially acted as both creative director and chief executive, later becoming chairman when the agency merged with the Lintas office in Johannesburg after the Lowe network merger with Lintas in October 1999.

Under his stewardship the South African agency has become the 8th biggest in the region. It has landed numerous creative awards, including three Cannes Golds and a One Show gold for campaigns for Dulux, Coca-Cola and The Cape Times. Campaign magazine also voted its 'Any colour you can think of' Dulux campaign the best international print campaign of 2002.

In addition, Lowe Bull Calvert Pace was officially appointed the top creative agency in South Africa in 2002 by the country's premier Loerie Awards, knocking TBWA Hunt Lascaris off the number one spot for the first time in 10 years.

Commenting on his move to the UK Bull said: "There is no other opportunity in the world I would leave my own agency and my country for. I'm obviously not coming for the weather. This is a huge, but irresistible challenge."

Lowe & Partners was founded by Frank Lowe in London in 1981, with 5 people in 2 rooms, billings of US$ 15 million, and the ambition to build a top 10 global agency through producing effective, high quality creative advertising. Today, the group is ranked 4th among worldwide agency networks, with offices in 90 plus countries, over 9000 employees and an enviable reputation for building powerful brands through outstanding creative work. Lowe is a member of The Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE:IPG), one of the world's leading organisations of advertising agencies and marketing services companies.