Kantar chief ousted as Bain flexes its muscles
Eric Salama had already signalled plan to leave after surviving stabbing
Eric Salama has been abruptly ousted as chief executive of Kantar, the market data business he helped build, after private equity group Bain Capital decided to cut short his remaining time at the company, according to two people familiar with the matter.
Mr Salama had already announced in December that he would be stepping down this summer for “personal reasons” after recovering from a stabbing outside a London café early last year.
But following a dispute over unspecified business decisions Mr Salama was told on Friday that he would be relieved of his responsibilities with immediate effect, even before a successor had been found, according to the people.
They said the decision was taken by Bain Capital, which bought a controlling stake in the business from WPP last year.
“It’s a power play,” said one. “Bain take a different view on how to manage the business. Fundamentally, they want to run it.”
The boardroom coup came three days after Adam Crozier, the former chief executive of ITV, took over as chairman of Kantar. Three people with knowledge of the situation said Mr Crozier was not closely involved in the process. The Kantar board only formally met to approve the decision on Sunday, two days after Mr Salama was informed.
Although Bain took the decision, WPP, which still holds a 40 per cent stake in Kantar, were informed.
Until a new chief executive is appointed, Kantar will be run by the heads of its respective business arms with the group board handling any disputes. A third person familiar with the decision said Mr Salama’s early departure will give remaining executives the “space and empowerment” to implement some key decisions and test new ideas.
But one insider at Kantar questioned the benefits of moving Mr Salama early. “I do think it is very odd because there is no individual running the business now,” the person said. “It is a very strange situation.”
Kantar confirmed Mr Salama would step down with “immediate effect”. In a statement the company thanked Mr Salama “for his immense contribution and leadership”.
Mr Salama, Bain Capital and WPP declined to comment.
With its traditional market research division under pressure from tech companies, Kantar is expected to look at cost-savings and its priorities for future investment.
Mr Salama was lauded as “the architect of Kantar’s success” by Bain Capital when he announced his plan to step down in December. He has been at Kantar since it was bought by WPP in 1988 and was once tipped as a successor to Martin Sorrell at the holding group.
Mr Salama, 58, cast his decision to leave, which came shortly after Bain Capital completed its acquisition, as purely for personal reasons. He said he had taken time to “reflect” after being stabbed with an eight-inch knife in January 2019 that punctured his lung during an attempted robbery in the London suburb of Kew.
At the time of his stabbing, Mr Salama joked that as an Arsenal fan “the most distressing aspect” of the ordeal was “being identified as a Chelsea fan in some press reports”.
He has spoken openly about the psychological aftermath of the events and his decision to return to work at Kantar within a week of the attack. “It was probably a week too early, but we were right in the middle of putting a business plan together and just about putting presentations to private equity,” he told the Financial Times in December.
Bain Capital had in December asked Mr Salama to remain as a non-executive at Kantar after he leaves in the summer. While the offer is still open, Mr Salama is highly unlikely to take up the role, according to one person close to the situation.