Close-Up: Newsmaker - Stepping from the shadows at Burnett.(Leo Burnett Company Inc's Andrew Edwards)

Is the little-known Andrew Edwards the right man to replace Bruce Haines? Noel Bussey reports.

It isn't often that the biggest news of the week emanates from West London's Kensington Village. But, last week, Bruce Haines, the group chairman of Leo Burnett, resigned from the agency he has run for the past four years.

A new senior management line-up was almost instantly announced: Andrew Edwards, the chairman of Arc EMEA and the managing director of Arc London, will become the group chief executive, and Paul Lawson, the managing director of Leo Burnett London, will become the group managing director.

This will also lead to a new group structure, as the pair begin a process of integration between Arc and Burnett, something the network has already carried out in many other markets around the world.

The changes were announced in a press release written with practically unheard of candour, given the sensitivity of the situation.

Gone was the saccharine back-slapping that usually accompanies a major resignation, and in its place were some very frank words from both sides.

These included comments from Haines about being 'unable to reach an agreement with Tom (Bernardin, the chairman and chief executive of Leo Burnett Worldwide) over some key issues'.