Media Headliner: Alfonso Rodes maintains dynasty's low profile.

MPG's new chief executive could be forced into the limelight by Vincent Bollore's expansion plans, Alasdair Reid writes.

They certainly do things differently at Media Planning Group. All the other major planning and buying networks have become thoroughly Anglo-Saxon, with a pronounced US twang - and it's true even of agencies with a French heritage, such as Carat, or continuing French ownership, such as the Publicis Groupe outfits. The last vestige of a French accent at Optimedia - once upon a time the figurehead Publicis media brand - was lost when it was subsumed into Zenith.

But MPG continues to be unapologetically perverse in its determination not only to look French but to sound Spanish. And, it's also the only media network that survives as a family fiefdom - as the unveiling of its new chief executive underlined last week.

Alfonso Rodes Vila is to succeed his brother, Fernando Rodes Vila, who had held the top job since 1994, when he replaced their father, Leopoldo Rodes Castane.

This, the family's fans say, gives the network stability and a homely feel. But, some observers counter, there's a huge downside too. With no need to bust a gut to keep their place in a corporate hierarchy, or impress anyone, come to that, the family tends to be somewhat aloof.

They're not exactly secretive. You can't place them in the same league as, say, the UK's Barclay twins, who currently own the Telegraph Group. But they're hardly communicative either. Within the network, senior managers exhibit impressive levels of loyalty to the Rodes family - no-one, they say, can fail to be impressed by their quiet charisma and understated intelligence - but it's hard to find anyone who's anything but hazy about who these people really are.

For instance, senior advisors fall over themselves to apologise for the fact that Alfonso will not be available to talk about himself or his new appointment, pleading that we make the most of the press release. The closest it comes to daring revelation is the statement that 'Alfonso is 44 years old, lives in Barcelona and has three children'.