CLOSE-UP: Newsmaker/David Kester - Who will keep D&AD on the straight and narrow?

The departing D&AD chief executive is a tough act to follow, John Tylee reckons.

Minutes after a long phone interview marking the imminent end of his eight years as D&AD's chief executive, David Kester is back on the line.

He's worried that what's written about him might give the impression that he's the organisation's single-handed saviour. That's not true. He wants to make clear that D&AD's revival is testimony to the efforts of a dedicated and talented team.

Certainly, the widespread perception is that D&AD's transformation from a shambolic and corrupt organisation facing financial collapse to a super-efficient charity spending pounds 1.5 million a year nurturing the best young creative talent is largely owing to Kester's highly organised management style.

Indeed, if there's criticism of him at all it's that in turning D&AD from a body incapable of running a whelk stall to a well-oiled machine, he has caused it to lose some of its unique character. Kester himself adds some credence to this view.

'Running D&AD isn't like running an ad agency,' he declares. 'It's more like a small business where you have to keep all the balls in the air.'

But Andrew Cracknell, the Bates UK executive creative director, wonders if Kester's D&AD is overdoing the businesslike approach. 'After all the previous mistakes and wild excesses, I wonder if the pendulum has swung too far the other way,' he reflects.