Inside The New Omnicom

As Omnicom begins life post-IPG acquisition, CEO and chairman John Wren is laying out its future strategy. A new leadership structure is emerging, and the world’s largest agency network is starting to unite its capabilities under one roof — all powered by its AI platform, Omni.

Over the coming days and weeks, the marketing services business will begin to outline how it plans to operate within its new era - including delivering an expected $750m in annual efficiencies.

“The expertise and dedication of our leadership team and the promise of our Connected Capabilities make us uniquely positioned to turn this moment into a catalyst for intelligent growth - for our people, our clients and our shareholders,” said John Wren. “I am proud to welcome the people, agencies and clients of Interpublic to Omnicom and create a global community of the best and brightest professionals in the industry, all of whom will have access to the most advanced AI tools and Omni, our advanced intelligence platform. Together, we will be the go-to company that shapes how brands grow, people connect and culture evolves.”

Here are five things we learned from its first announcement: 

1. Remaining in place, Phil Angelastro continues as EVP and CFO, while Philippe Krakowsky and Daryl Simm serve as co-presidents and COOs.
   

2. A focus of five strategic advantages will give it a competitive edge over rivals such as Publicis, WPP, Dentsu, Stagwell and Havas have been outlined.

Those are:

• To build the strongest media ecosystem through the unification of IPG’s Acxiom RealID and ID-less solutions

• To produce the most influential content produced by creative talent with access to Gen AI tools

• To offer connected commerce excellence by integrating the two company’s commerce intelligence and capabilities across marketplaces

• Develop a global AI and marketing technology consultancy to help brands re-engineer their marketing operations for speed, intelligence, and growth

• Identity Leadership: Using both Omni and Acxiom RealID, Omnicom will unify 2.6 billion verified global IDs with trillions of culture, media and commerce signals - reaching global audiences without third party cookies

3. To deliver on those objectives a global leadership team has been announced, largely made of established Omnicom executives: 

Florian Adamski, CEO, Omnicom Media, including OMD, Initiative, UM, PHD, Hearts & Science, and Mediahub  

• Chris Foster, CEO, Omnicom Public Relations, including FleishmanHillard, Golin, Ketchum, Porter Novelli, and Weber Shandwick  

• Sergio Lopez, CEO, Omnicom Production, including Content Solutions, Production Management, and Studios 

• Duncan Painter, CEO, Omni and Flywheel Commerce Network, featuring Omni, the advanced intelligence platform that will power all capabilities, and Flywheel, the market-leading commerce group 

• Troy Ruhanen, CEO, Omnicom Advertising, including BBDO, McCann, TBWA, and the Omnicom Advertising Collective 

• Michael Larson, CEO, Diversified Agency Services, with reports including: Dana Maiman, CEO, Omnicom Health, including Healthcare Professional & Consumer, Medical Communications, Patient Engagement, and Managed Markets 

• Mark O’Brien, CEO, Omnicom Branding, including Interbrand, Siegel+Gale, Sterling Brands, and Wolff Olins 

• Luke Taylor, CEO, Omnicom Precision Marketing, including Credera, Critical Mass, and RAPP 

4. Client Success Leaders will be introduced to act as a single point of contact and ensure that talent, tools and expertise and correctly offered to clients. They will all partner with Jacki Kelley, chief client and business officer, and Andrea Lennon, client experience officer. 

5. A Growth and Solutions Practice will be established to offer new business growth,  led by George Manas, chief growth and solutions officer, who will transition from his current role leading OMD Worldwide from February 1. 

This is only the opening act, with many questions still remaining about the structure of the agency networks and leadership - with several expected to be answered before the end of the year.