Global holding group Omnicom has significantly restructured its internal operations with the creation of the Omnicom Advertising Group (OAG), which brings together all its creative agencies under the same global leadership team.
First revealed by Campaign, the structure will be led by former TBWA Worldwide CEO, Troy Ruhanen, who will take on the same role at OAG after close to 20 years within the wider Omnicom network.
He will be joined by TBWA Worldwide colleagues Deepthi Prakash and Denis Streiff, who leave their roles as international president/chief product officer and CFO respectively, to become OAG’s new COO and CFO.
Taking effect on 1 January, the newly-formed OAG will now be responsible for overseeing the operations of Omnicom-owned creative networks such as BBDO, TBWA, DDB and The Collective – which also includes Goodby Silverstein & Partners, GSD&M, Merkley & Partners and Zimmerman.
“OAG will make the best even better. One of the most exciting parts of this new division is that we can collectively invest in innovative offerings – such as Omnicom’s recent first-mover partnerships in GenAI,” said Ruhanen.
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“This will take our world-class creativity to the next level and keep our clients at the top of their industries. While we are excited to grow together, we will continue to celebrate and protect the uniqueness of each agency’s culture and entrepreneurship.”
OAG has been designed to help creative agencies deal with the rapidly developing AI and digital transformation taking hold of the creative sector, by giving them concerted access to investments in data and AI to retain a competitive edge.
Omnicom has at this time no intention of merging or ‘sunsetting’ any of its creative agencies as part of the restructure, with pitching to be conducted as either OAG or individual agencies depending on the client’s needs.
Omnicom CEO, John Wren added: “Clients want best-in-class talent, innovation and seamless delivery of creative services around the globe. OAG will deliver on that promise while allowing our agency cultures to remain strong and evolve through shared investments and best practices.
“With Troy at the helm of this new division, I’m confident our creative agencies and all our incredibly talented minds will continue to set the bar for the industry.”
