Cornelia Harder new CEO of the Draftfcb/Lowe Group

 
The Draftfcb/Lowe Group is announcing a change in management at the beginning of June. The Wallisellen-based communications agency, which operates on the market under the names Draftfcb and Lowe, intends to set the course for a successful future, according to a press release issued on Monday. The two previous Managing Partners Peter Leutenegger and Kurt Schmid are handing over the management of the agency group for strategic reasons following the completed merger of Draftfcb and Lowe in Switzerland. The new CEO will be 46-year-old Cornelia Harder, a trained advertising manager who has held positions in the investment and consumer goods industry on both the client and agency side and has more than ten years' experience in agency management. She was responsible for marketing communications at the umbrella organization of Swiss milk producers (SMP) and is regarded as the midwife of the advertising dairy cow Lovely. In 1995, Cornelia Harder crossed the Röstigraben to work for Publicis in Lausanne, where she looked after national clients such as Nestlé, L'Oréal and SwissLotto. After six years, she was asked to return to Zurich to take up the post of Managing Director. During this time, Cornelia Harder was also active in the industry associations BSW Leading Swiss Agencies as president and board member, as well as on the board of SW Schweizer Werbung. In the fall of 2005, she switched to media marketing at Publigroupe.
Their two predecessors will remain closely associated with the agency group. Founder Peter Leutenegger will remain Chairman of the Board of Directors, while Kurt Schmid will take on new tasks outside the Draftfcb/Lowe Group, but will remain associated with the agency. Together, they will ensure a smooth handover over the next few months.
According to the press release, the Draftfcb/Lowe Group recorded growth in fee income of over 140 percent in Switzerland in 2007 and doubled its workforce to over 60 employees during this period.