RESPECTED Manchester ad man Brian Child is bowing out of the McCann Erickson network after 25 years.

Mr Child, 54, will take early retirement from the advertising giant at the end of this month and hopes to find work as a consultant or non-executive director.

The move means that Mr Child has brought forward his retirement plans by two years, a situation which he admits is due in part to the global slowdown in advertising and changes within the McCann network.

Although he served as chief executive of the McCann Erickson Manchester advertising agency until he handed the role to Sue Little in January this year, his main job in recent years has been construction of a new global marketing arm named Momentum.

Mr Child said that market forces and McCann's acquisition of the True North business in north America meant that the Momentum business would not grow as quickly as previously anticipated.

Brian Child joined McCann when the Manchester-based Royds agency was bought and he subsequently became chief executive of Prestbury-based McCann-Erickson Manchester in 1989.

Major growth

During his tenure in Manchester, he oversaw major growth, making the agency the number one advertising agency outside London.

He remains a dominant figure in the advertising community in Manchester and has received the MPA Cream Award for Outstanding Achievement in Advertising - the first time such an award had been given.

In 1995 Mr Child was appointed McCann UK Group Chairman, with responsibility for McCann-Erickson's offices in Windsor, Belfast, Bristol, Manchester, Birmingham and Edinburgh.

In 1997, he was the global winner of the McCann-Erickson WorldGroup Five Year Leadership Award in recognition of his achievements within Marketing Communications.

Then, in 1998, he was appointed regional director of Momentum Europe, a job he undertook for two years. During this time, he worked hard to establish, develop and grow the European network for this experiential brand marketing company. Momentum Europe now has 36 offices across Europe.

At the beginning of this year, Brian took on another role as WorldGroup business development director. In this role, he focused on the expansion and development of all McCann work for the WorldGroup companies.

Speaking from McCann's base in Bonis Hall, Prestbury, he said: ''I felt from the first day that I headed up the driveway that this was something special.

Opportunities

''In the time that I have worked here the financial side of the business has gone from strength to strength - with profits now 25 times what they were back then.

''But one of the best things are the opportunities that I have been able to give to the hundreds of people who I have worked there over the years. I have seen a lot of changes.''

In addition to his marketing communications career, Mr Child has been involved in various other projects. He was a director of the Commonwealth Games. In addition, he is a member of the fund-raising board at Christie Hospital, one of the world's leading cancer research hospitals.

Mr Child, who lives in Wilmslow with his wife and three children, added: ''I am looking forward to spending more time with the family - and on the golf course - but be assured that the mind will not atrophy!'' he says.

''I look forward to working on a number of different projects, and most particularly to have the opportunity to dedicate more time to the Christie's cancer campaign.''

Don Dillon, regional director, McCann-Erickson Europe, Middle East and Africa, commented: ''Brian has made a profound contribution to the McCann network in Europe. He has taken on each new challenge with typical zest and professionalism. I would like to personally and publicly thank him for the enormous amount of hard work and dedication that he has brought to our business, and wish him the very best of luck in the future.''