WPP appoints Steven Heyer as non-executive director

18 May 2000

WPP Group plc ('WPP') announces the appointment of Steven Heyer to its Board with immediate effect. He is President and Chief Operating Officer for Turner Broadcasting System, Inc., a division of Time Warner.

At Time Warner, Heyer has overall responsibility for all of the primary product development, rights acquisition, revenue and cost streams of Turner Broadcasting System for all Turner news, entertainment and sports operations and networks worldwide. Under his leadership Turner has enjoyed 19 consecutive quarters of EBITA growth in excess of 20%.

In his six years with the company, he has led TBS's sales and marketing, promotion, merchandising, licensing, direct marketing, event/sponsorship, product placement, place-based media and new media initiatives worldwide. His early mandate was, and continues to be, leveraging all Turner properties companywide, including all of Turner's entertainment and news networks - as well as the Atlanta Braves, the Atlanta Hawks, the Atlanta Thrashers, New Line Cinema, WCW, and Cartoon Network Studios - in order to drive sales and marketing revenues. One year after joining the company, Heyer took on the additional responsibility for the remainder of Turner's international operations in Asia and Latin America, as well as worldwide distribution for all of Turner’s networks.

Prior to joining Turner in 1994, Mr Heyer was President and Chief Operating Officer of Young & Rubicam Advertising Worldwide, Executive Vice President Young & Rubicam Inc., a member of the Executive Committee and a member of the Board of Directors.

Before Y&R, he spent 15 years at Booz, Allen & Hamilton, Inc., where he was Senior Vice President and managing partner. He directed the firm's Consumer Industries Group which provides consulting services to packaged goods, consumer services, communications and media, retail and agribusiness clients worldwide.

Resident in Atlanta, Georgia, he is also chairman of the Board of Directors of the Cable Advertising Bureau and a Director of the Ad Council in the US, as well as being on the Board of Advisors of eHatchery and RealEstate.com, two private internet start-ups.