Gillespie joins Google to cement agency relationships

by Mark Banham, Brand Republic 17-Jan-07, 08:30

LONDON - Jonathan Gillespie, former head of radio at Omnicom's pooled buying unit OPera, has joined Google in a senior position.

Gillespie, who joined Google this week, is understood to have reached his decision to join the online search company after approaches to take up the still vacant managing director position at the Radio Centre, reporting to Andrew Harrison, its chief executive and former Muller dairy managing director.

It is believed that Gillespie had also been interviewed for an unspecified senior role at the burgeoning Channel 4 Radio, reporting to Nathalie Schwarz, director of the network.

At Google, Gillespie will be one of possibly three leaders who will oversee agency relationships for the online giant in the UK.

He has acted in a consultancy role since he left OPera in July 2005, and headed up UK Music Week, the radio industry's week-long promotion of UK music, for the Radio Advertising Bureau.

He was one of OPera's founding directors and joined from OMD UK, where he was in charge of radio buying, in May 2004. He was formerly head of radio at Omnicom agency BMP Optimum.

On his departure, Marc Bignell and John Overend, OPera's joint managing directors, took over responsibility for Gillespie's radio duties, working with the heads of radio at OPera's agencies: OMD UK; Manning Gottlieb OMD; and PHD.

Gillespie joined OMD UK from Virgin Radio and has also been awarded a radio fellowship by the RAB. The change to online takes his career in a new direction.

Mark Howe, managing director for sales at Google UK, said: "Jonathan is one of a series of senior hirings we are due to make over the following few months. We are actively looking to build our relationships with the agency community, something we have not had the opportunity to focus on recently, but is certainly one of our main priorities now."

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