Editorial: New Grey chief needs to please the old and new.(Grey London)(Editorial)

The fact that Grey London is looking for its fifth chief executive in nine years underlines just how difficult it has been for the network's chiefs to find somebody who can give the agency a recognisable profile.

Running the place can be a poisoned chalice. The job has not often proved the means to enhance a reputation.

Little wonder that filling the post has previously been a protracted process. Finding a replacement for Tamara Ingram, who is departing to run WPP's global Procter & Gamble business, may prove to be no easier.

Grey's response in recent years has been to throw money at top talents who might not otherwise have given the agency the time of day. This policy can hardly be called an unqualified success. Indeed, it has led to some spectacular cultural mismatches and some unwelcome publicity.

The problem is not so much that the agency is broken. Indeed, its senior managers point to double-digit growth, which comes from an even mix of incremental and new business. It is more about how it should face the future.

Despite being absorbed into Sir Martin ...