Tim O’Leary, CEO of DRTV production company and agency The Tyee Group Inc., Portland, OR, plans to leave the company. He said he is negotiating the terms of his departure, which would include a buyout of his interest in the company by his partners and determine his remaining term as CEO.
“The company had a great year and I thought now would be a good time to pursue other projects,” O’Leary said. He said that as Tyee grew into a larger company with 110 employees, his role as a creative and strategic director was overshadowed by more administrative tasks.
“I would like to simplify my life a little bit and pursue some other interests,” he said. He said he planned a fishing trip to Argentina early next year and other creative pursuits, including work on a novel. In addition, he plans to continue consulting companies on DRTV projects.
During his eight-year tenure at Tyee, the company earned numerous awards for its infomercials and infomercials. It dominated this year’s awards ceremony at the Electronic Retailing Association annual conference in Las Vegas with eight awards, including Infomercial of the Year and Short Form Commercial of the Year. The winning infomercial was produced on behalf of long-time client Philips/Magnavox, which introduced its digital video disk (DVD) player last year. The short form commercial was produced on behalf of King World Direct and Sears Roebuck Corp. for the Sears/Crafstmen “Speed Lok” tool.
O’Leary’s partners at Tyee include Chairman John Ripper and principals Roger Thompson and Steve Scott. O’Leary said after he leaves it is likely that Ripper would take over the CEO position.
