AGATE/wade/1stjc/mark2nd

Michael G. Agate

President

Select Resources International Inc.

Age: 63

When Michael G. Agate returned to his native Los Angeles in 1992 after a four-year stint with Grey/Daiko in Tokyo, he found that his nearly four decades in the advertising business had left him “too overqualified, too old and too overpaid” for practically any available executive work in town.

“So I went into consulting because I wanted to stay close to the business,” said Agate, whose Select Resources International Inc. acts as a sort of matchmaker for advertisers looking for agencies.

“Agencies have a tendency to over-promise, and we get them to be realistic,” Agate said. “Advertisers often don’t know who is out there that would suit their needs, and we help them find the right one.”

Agate has earned a reputation as a consultant who is hands-on, but doesn’t stick his nose where it shouldn’t be.

“In working with consultants, I found that Mike does a terrific job of smoothing things between the two sides without being overbearing,” said Tom Hollerbach, executive vice president and general manager of BBDO West.

“He stays outside of the process when he should, which isn’t the case with others who have to be there for every part of the negotiations, and that sort of thing can get in the way.”

Agate began his career as an account management trainee with Grey Advertising after serving in Europe in Army counter-intelligence. He worked his way up to senior vice president Grey International Worldwide.

Agate moved on to become a corporate marketing consultant, founded a corporate identity and graphic design firm that was eventually bought by Chiat/Day, and then spent four years in Asia before returning to Los Angeles to form Select Resources.

Wade Daniels