NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -- After a career at Grey Worldwide that has spanned four decades, innumerable clients and multiple titles, Neil Kreisberg, exec VP-managing director of the WPP Group agency and global leader on its Procter & Gamble account for two decades, is retiring.
Grey's Longtime Leader of P&G Account Retires

Helped groom P&G stars
Mr. Kreisberg, 62, worked on P&G business under recently retired Ed Meyer,and in the process helped train rising stars such as P&G Chairman-CEO A.G. Lafley and Global Marketing Officer Jim Stengel. The latter called on Mr. Kreisberg for counsel as he was preparing to take on the top marketing role at the world's biggest marketer in 2001.
Grey fared well in winning new P&G business under Mr. Kreisberg. On his watch, the agency brought in new brands such as Febreze and Clairol when they were launched or acquired. He also helped get Grey in on the ground floor of what's been a rapidly expanding prestige-fragrance business.
'Relentless dedication'
"Neil embodies the best Grey stands for: unparalleled knowledge of our clients' business challenges, an ability to look beyond the horizon to deliver the most compelling cross-channel marketing solutions, a relentless dedication to both client growth and the professional growth of his team," wrote Grey Chairman-CEO Jim Heekin in a memo to the staff.
Tamara Ingram, who in 2005 became point person for WPP's overall relationship with P&G, will add the global P&G leader duties to her current role as CEO of Grey U.K.