Publicis Groupe president, COO Roger Haupt was quoted in a company release saying, "Steve is the ideal choice to take over from John. A founding employee of Zenith Media when it made history in 1988, Steve has more than 20 years experience in the provision of media services. He was also instrumental in setting up Zenith USA in 1995, and has led ZenithOptimedia in EMEA since 1997."

Perriss added, "I am delighted Steve is to take on my role. As well as being highly regarded and respected throughout the ZenithOptimedia global network, with a reputation for extremely effective client service, Steve is also a very charismatic and personable leader and I know that all of those who have worked with him over the years will join with me in congratulating him on this appointment.

"We have got a fantastic team in place which helped me come to my decision to leave. Along with Rich Hamilton (CEO of The Americas), and Adrian Sayliss (Global CFO), Steve has been part of the global executive team which has been the key driver of our success. Nobody knows our business better than Steve and I have complete confidence in his ability to take the business forward."

Steve became the CEO of Zenith Media Europe, Middle East and Africa in August 1997. Following the creation of ZenithOptimedia in October 2001, he was appointed chief executive of ZenithOptimedia EMEA.

Following a degree in business and marketing, King started his career in media sales, moving to the agency world in 1982 to join Bates Dorland. After two years, he joined McCormicks (later acquired by Publicis) to head up the buying group on Renault. After a year, he returned to Bates Dorland as media group manager for clients such as H.J. Heinz, BT and Rover.

The ZenithOptimedia Group has 4,000 employees across 162 offices in 59 countries. Its key clients include Alcatel, British Airways, Electrolux, Hewlett-Packard, HSBC, Nestle, L'Oreal and Procter & Gamble.