Relay Chair & CEO Wally Hayward To Leave Company In Six Months

Hayward Leaving Relay Worldwide In Six Months

Relay Worldwide Chair & CEO WALLY HAYWARD "will leave the Publicis Groupe agency in six months," according to Tripp Mickle of SPORTSBUSINESS JOURNAL. Hayward "told Relay employees about his impending departure last Thursday," and the announcement "came less than a week after" Relay Chief Strategic Officer RICH LUKER left the agency. Sources said that Hayward, who founded Relay in '01, had been negotiating with Publicis Groupe Chair & CEO MAURICE LEVY about "buying all or some of Relay earlier this year." The parties "failed to come to terms for an all-out purchase or a minority share, and Hayward gave his notice six months early because those were the terms of his contract." Sources said that he has "no new job lined up." Hayward "confirmed his departure but declined further comment" (SPORTSBUSINESS JOURNAL, 9/22 issue).