Affable Lerwill relaxed under pressure

Unlike peers such as Wren, Sorrell, Roth, Levy and Bollore, he is not attached to his BlackBerry by some invisible umbilical cord; in fact, it doesn't even make an appearance.

All he places on the table is a mobile phone, and that's only "in case of emergencies". He even apologises for interrupting lunch when he has to reply to a text, such is his courteous manner.

It's an affable style he says he incorporates into his management approach. He often sits in on pitches, but is not one to undermine his staff, unless he can be proactive: "I say to my people 'I'm here to help you' and if my meeting a client or sitting in on a pitch or writing to a client is going to be useful, then I'll do it."

He effortlessly breaks from talking business to tell anecdotes about his time at WPP, where he cut his teeth working under Sir Martin Sorrell. It's obvious he has learnt a lot from Sorrell about ubiquity.

Different styles

"I think different group heads have different levels of involvement and different people have different styles. Mine is to be available and to make myself available, which I judge as an important part of the relationship."

This involvement seems to be particularly prevalent in the pitch process for his two media agencies Carat and Vizeum. He says pitches need a disciplined approach: "If you go off the spec or don't do what they've asked you to, then clients have an excuse - if they're looking for one - not to pick your agency."

The network has a two-tiered approach to expansion, the first being the acquisition of new business. Clients recently won by Carat in the UK include the £26m Abbey National brief, the £3m World Wrestling Entertainment business and, just last week, the £10m Intercontinental Hotels account, while Vizeum acquired the £10m business for German utilities firm RWE and the £4.5m Eurostar account.

The second strategy has seen the network go through a rapid period of acquisition, acquiring digital agencies including Glue London and French businesses Planete Interactive and Webcontents to bolster its global online agency, Isobar. Agencies like German firm Roland Berger Market Research and Turkish company Plus Remark have likewise increased its presence in the global market research arena through Synovate. Lerwill is animated when discussing the network's expansion - he lurches forward, his elbows at right angles on the tablecloth.

"We're looking to grow both our media and research businesses faster than the market in any of the markets we're in. In 2004 we grew our revenues by 8.3% and the advertising market grew at about six."

Speaking at a press conference late last year, Vincent Bollore, chairman of the Havas Group - an oft-touted merger partner for Aegis - said "the game was open" for link-up between the two networks.

Financial problems

Despite the fact that the corporate investor has amassed 25% of Aegis stock, Lerwill dismisses the idea: "Havas and Aegis are very different groups. Havas is a full-service group with about, depending on the way you measure it, 15% of its activities in media, but it's not part of our strategy to go into full-service agencies." He also says the group's financial problems don't make it the most attractive dance partner at the network waltz.

Lerwill also scotches speculation about any official bid by either Publicis, or the joint venture between WPP and Hellman & Friedman: "To be absolutely clear, we never received an offer, we have not got an offer on the table and therefore the board has never been in a position of having to make that judgement, because nothing tangible has crystallised that will allow them to make that judgement."

For the time being, Lerwill is concentrating on the progress of the network: "As the chief executive managing the business and directing the strategy, my plan is to continue to be as successful as we have been, to execute and deliver a strategy to grow in new media and research and provide a global capability. All that will result, we hope, in enhancing shareholder value."

He doesn't try to conceal the fact that the network is still very much on the market and that his prime responsibility as chief executive is to maximise shareholder value, and one suspects the independent group will not stay independent for long, which would decrease the number of global agency networks from six to five.

"If there was another transaction of a corporate nature, which created greater shareholder value, then of course we are duty bound to have to look at it - and we will. Then you weigh them up," he says.

"For now, we carry on with the strategy." And on approaches by potential suitors? "Everyone has our phone number," he says.

CV

2005: Chief executive Aegis Group plc

2000-2003: Chief executive Cable & Wireless Regional plc

1997-2003: Finance director Cable & Wireless plc

1986-1996: Group Finance director of WPP Group plc.