WPP Group CEO Martin Sorrell has decided to keep GCI Group as a stand-alone operation beside Cohn & Wolfe.

Bob Feldman

He had considered merging the two, but decided that maintaining "strong and vital independent brands" offered the best outcome for clients.

C&W is to remain part of Young & Rubicam Brands, while GCI sticks with Grey Global Group.

Donna Imperato, CEO at C&W, is to head an internal entity responsible for both C&W and GCI.

Jeff Hunt, who was in charge of GCI's Latin American operations and GCI Read Poland in Texas, has been named to succeed Bob Feldman who is assuming the top PR post at DreamWorks Animation.

Feldman will report to CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg and COO Ann Daly, and is responsible for the recently spun off company's image and branding initiatives.

He also served at Ketchum and Burson-Marsteller, and has counseled FedEx, Universal Studios, Visa and Dell Computer. Heyman Assocs. placed Feldman at DreamWorks.

Feldman and his family will relocate to the Los Angeles area. The New York Times (April 3) ran a feature story that highlighted Feldman's decision to combine two adjoining apartments in Manhattan.