Nurock appointed president, CEO Grey Canada

Carolyn Carter, CEO and president of Grey Group Europe, Africa and Middle East, said at the announcement in Johannesburg yesterday, “Ann has led Grey South Africa through a dynamic resurgence, compiling a superlative record of growth and creative success. Together with her talented management team, she has created a jewel in the Grey EMEA crown. Her appointment is well-deserved and she remains a tremendous asset to our network.”

Bongani Aug Khumalo, chairman of Grey Group Africa, added, “This is a great acknowledgement of South African talent and the excellent leadership that Ann has displayed. The accomplished team of Dallas Glover, Thandi Davids, joint MDs, and Mike Barnwell, executive creative director, will continue to deliver world-class marketing communications for our clients and their brands.”

17-year career span at Grey SA

Nurock's career at Grey South Africa spans 17 years. Appointed MD in 2000 and made CEO in 2004, she oversaw a dramatic transformation both in creative rankings and business wins. Among her many accolades, she was named Jewish Business Achiever of the Year (2004), finalist for Businesswoman of the Year and Boss of the Year (2004), as well as runner-up in Ad Person of the Year (2004). In 2005, Nurock became vice chair of ACA. She stood down in 2007 but has remained a board member.

Nurock was the driving force behind a key agency initiative, the Grey Action Programme (GAP) that saw Grey bring on PDI internships and give learners valuable hands-on experience in an agency environment. In 2007, CEO magazine nominated Nurock as one of the three most influential women in the media and communications category of South Africa's Most Influential Women in Business & Government Awards.

During the past four years, Grey South Africa has:

• doubled in size
  
• ranked as the most creatively awarded agency in the Grey network
  
• ranked as the sixth most creative agency in South Africa (Finweek), and
  
• consistently rated as a finalist for Agency of the Year (Finweek AdReview and Financial Mail AdFocus)

High profile wins

The agency's new business performance has included such high profile wins as brandhouse – Heineken and Amstel, Emirates Africa, Heineken Central Africa (all brands) – Spitz, Abalengani Holdings and Khulisa (pro-bono).

Said Nurock, “The foundation is in place for Grey South Africa to move to the next level of its growth and development. It is an exciting time at Grey and the right time for me to take on new challenges.”

Jim Heekin, chairman and CEO of Grey Group, said, “Ann will bring the same energy and innovation to her new post at Grey. She is a champion of powerful ideas that accelerate brands and has forged highly successful client partnerships. I know she, and her accomplished team, will deliver the finest resources to our clients across Canada.”

• Grey Group's European network, Grey EMEA, covers 80 cities in 59 markets, with over 5300 employees and is the group's largest operating region. It is the only network to win the EACA Agency Network of the Year Euro Effie in three successive years (2005, 2006 and 2007). Grey Group ranks among the largest global communications companies. Its parent company is WPP (NASDAQ: WPPGY). Grey Group's total offer includes Grey, advertising; G2, activation marketing; Grey Healthcare Group, healthcare communications; MediaCom, media planning and buying and GCI Group, public relations.