Iris Worldwide CEO Ian Millner to ship out of Asia

An Iris spokesperson said,  "Ian will be returning at the end of the year, by which time he will have been out in Asia for nine months, and has fulfilled many of his objectives for going out there, which included reviewing our capability and enhancing our product offering."

Much was made back in March 2010 of the company's decision to relocate many of its senior management from the UK to Singapore and Sydney in order to drive growth in the region.

Asked whether Millner's return to the UK was an indication that growth in the region had not been as significant as anticipated, spokesperson said, "I can confirm that our Asia operation is continuing to go from strength to strength. We’ve won lots of new business recently, including being tasked with launching brand campaigns for Johnnie Walker and DKNY Jeans, as well as handling all the communications for the Barclays Singapore Open, all within the last two months."

The marketing communications agency hasalso reportedly merged its PR, experiential and sports marketing agencies into one division following a company-wide restructure.

Reports say the merger is part of wider changes within Iris that saw 21 jobs axed. The agency’s existing 25-strong PR group is to be combined with its larger experiential division, which has 40 staff, and its smaller sports marketing team of six.

Millner is quoted as saying that the agency had decided to combine the practices to create less confusion for clients. At that time, the management structure of the new agency had yet to be decided.

Iris’ shake-up worldwide also included the recent departure of George Nimeh, regional digital director Europe and the mid-August closure of the Germany office; the operation in Spain was also in doubt. Company co-founder Stewart Shanley is also returning to the UK from his posting in the Americas.