Sean Neall Rejoins JWT Detroit as Global Business Director, Ford

DETROIT, March 5 -- Peter A. Schweitzer, President and Chief Executive Officer of J. Walter Thompson Company, today announced that Sean Neall, 51, is returning to the company as Executive Vice President, Global Business Director on the Ford Motor Company account, based at JWT Detroit.

Mr. Neall previously spent 13 years at JWT Detroit from 1984 to 1997, serving in account management positions on all Ford Car and Truck brands. He rose to the post of Senior Partner, Executive Management Director on Ford Division in the U.S., and managed the account from 1994 to 1997. During his tenure, Ford Division achieved four successive #1 brand sales rankings for Ford Cars and Trucks.

In his new role, reporting to the CEO, Mr. Neall will oversee the global Ford advertising account, the agency's largest, including Ford Cars and Ford Trucks, and such brand names as Ford Mustang, Focus and Thunderbird cars; Ford F-Series trucks and Ford Explorer and Escape SUVs. JWT serves Ford in nearly 60 countries and marks the 60th anniversary of its partnership with Ford this year during the automaker's centennial.

Peter Schweitzer said, "Sean brings a huge reservoir of experience from his 25 year career in automotive marketing, more than half that time spent at J. Walter Thompson. His leadership skills and strategic expertise will complement the creative vision of Tom Cordner, our Executive Creative Director. We are confident this partnership has the energy and passion to leverage JWT talent toward producing the finest brand-building work of any major agency."

Most recently, Mr. Neall served as Vice President of European Operations and Global Account Management for Urban Science Applications Inc. since 2000. In this capacity, he oversaw its operations in Europe, as well as worldwide account management and marketing for the company, a global channel management consulting firm specializing in the automotive industry. Between 1997 and 2000, Neall served as Client Services Director on Ford of Europe at Ogilvy & Mather.

He is a graduate of Oberlin College and was a Rockefeller Scholar at Yale University and Yale Law School.

"The team at J. Walter Thompson always has done a fantastic job supporting Ford," said Steve Lyons, president of Ford Division. "We're confident they will continue to develop innovative new communications under Sean's leadership."

The Ford/JWT partnership has produced award-winning mainstream advertising and pioneered new approaches to integrated communications that have included digital online communications, the development of brand-centric entertainment content as well as direct, database and relationship marketing.

J. Walter Thompson, an agency of WPP , ranks as the fourth largest advertising agency in the world and the second largest in the United States with global billings of $11.5 billion.