Leadership

John Wren is the Chairman and CEO of Omnicom Group, a Fortune 500 company and premier global provider of marketing and communications services. He was named CEO in 1997 and Chairman in 2018. Under his leadership, Omnicom has achieved status as a world-class company with one of the best corporate and divisional management in the advertising industry.

Omnicom manages a portfolio of practice areas, networks and numerous specialty agencies consistently recognized as being among the world’s best creative, including BBDO, DDB, FleishmanHillard, Interbrand, Ketchum, OMD, PHD, RAPP, and TBWA. Omnicom companies work with more than 5,000 global, national, and local clients, offering services in advertising, strategic media planning and buying, precision marketing, commerce and brand consulting, CRM, public relations, healthcare marketing and other specialty communications services.

Omnicom was recognized as the “World’s Most Effective Holding Company” in the 2021 Global Effie Effectiveness Index. It was also named “The Most Creatively Awarded Holding Company” by WARC Creative 100. The company routinely is ranked by Forbes as the “Best Employer in the U.S,” as well as for Diversity in 2021. Mr. Wren has been recognized as one of the Best-Performing CEOs in the World by Harvard Business Review, Best CEO by Institutional Investor and as Executive of the Year by Advertising Age.

Mr. Wren was part of the team that created Omnicom Group in 1986, two years after entering the advertising business as an Executive Vice President with Needham Harper Worldwide. He was appointed CEO of the Diversified Agency Services (DAS) division of Omnicom in 1990 and was responsible for developing the division into the holding company’s fastest growing and largest operating group, comprised of innovative companies in a wide array of communication disciplines ranging from public relations to branding.

From CEO of DAS to leading Omnicom seven years later, Mr. Wren has always championed the company’s investment in the recruitment and development of top talent through several key programs, including Omnicom University, one of the pre-eminent professional development programs within the industry. In addition, he has long made diversity, equity, and inclusion (DE&I) a priority within the company, hiring one of the industry’s first Chief Diversity Officers in 2009 and supporting the company’s continual progress through its OPEN 2.0 action plan established in 2020. Due to these efforts and more, the American Advertising Federation (AAF) honored him as a pioneer and supporter of diversity.

Mr. Wren is a member of the International Business Council of the World Economic Forum and is active in a few philanthropic endeavors. A member of the Board of Directors of Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, Mr. Wren also supports healthcare education for disadvantaged communities. He has been recognized for his contributions to the community with numerous accolades, among them the Gold Medal Award from the Catholic Youth Organization and the Ellis Island Medal of Honor.

Daryl Simm is President and COO of Omnicom Group, a Fortune 500 company and premier global provider of marketing communications services. Prior to his current post, Daryl was CEO of Omnicom Media Group, taking it from a start-up to an operating division with more than 20,000 colleagues globally and over $30 billion in client billings. Before joining Omnicom, Daryl started his career at Procter & Gamble, where he was General Manager of P&G Productions and VP of Worldwide Media. 

In his 20 years at Omnicom, Daryl established OMD Worldwide as the largest global media agency and went on to develop PHD Worldwide and Hearts & Science. He launched Annalect, Omnicom’s data and analytics practice that now counts 2,000 professionals globally, and he drove the development of Omni, Omnicom’s open operating system that helps marketers orchestrate better outcomes. Omni now has over 40,000 employees provisioned on the platform in over 60 countries as well as hundreds of clients, including Omnicom’s top 20.

A believer in the power of diverse talent, Daryl developed the Company’s first Black Leadership Network to bring like-minded employees together to drive professional development. Its success led to similar networks serving Asian, Latin/Hispanic and Working Parents communities, with members and allies in the thousands. He recently, during COVID, launched a virtual leadership development program known as Accelerate, designed to empower the most promising talent globally. A curriculum involving industry influencers, iconic global leaders and clients has made Accelerate a resounding success. 

His experiences inform his strategy to harness Omnicom’s scale to create the strongest Group capabilities, all designed to be orchestrated through the most innovative agency talent to provide clients the very best outcomes.

In September of 2014, Phil was named Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Omnicom Group. Previously, Phil served as Senior Vice President of Finance and Controller. In that role, he oversaw financial and accounting matters throughout the organization and played a key role in the company’s ongoing efforts to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of its financial operations. His responsibilities also included financial systems, income tax planning and cash flow management.

Mr. Angelastro began his career at Coopers & Lybrand (now PricewaterhouseCoopers) where he became a partner in the firm in 1996. In 1997, he joined the DAS network of Omnicom as Vice President of Finance and then later CFO for the Americas. In 1999, Phil was appointed the Controller of Omnicom, where he began our process of continuous improvement. Subsequently promoted to Senior Vice President of Finance in January 2002, Phil took on additional responsibilities for income tax planning and compliance and corporate human resources, including initiatives for establishing a common domestic HR platform in the areas of payroll, defined contribution plans, HR information systems, and health and welfare benefit plans. Throughout his tenure at Omnicom, he has been deeply immersed in the company’s strategy and operations.

Andrew joined the Omnicom Group as Assistant Controller in January 2000. He is a key member of the Omnicom Finance Team and was instrumental in bringing financial management best practices to the Company.

In his present role as Chief Accounting Officer Andrew is responsible for Omnicom’s global financial reporting function, providing transactional accounting and financial analysis support to Omnicom’s business units, establishing world-wide accounting policy and managing the Company’s regulatory accounting compliance requirements.  Prior to joining Omnicom, Andrew spent 10 years in various senior financial management roles  at the corporate headquarters of The Walt Disney Company and IBM and prior to that he was a senior manager at the public accounting firm of Coopers & Lybrand (now PricewaterhouseCoopers). He holds an MBA from the University of Connecticut and is a CPA in New York State. 

As Chief Equity & Impact Officer, Emily advances Omnicom’s vision to achieve systemic equity across the holding company’s global network, which spans more than 1,500 creative agencies and 5,000 clients. A seasoned corporate communications strategist, Emily also serves as Senior VP of Diversity & Inclusion Communications at Omnicom, leading the strategy to engage stakeholders in Omnicom’s DE&I story and vision. She also counsels an array of Omnicom’s largest clients on DEI matters.

Emily leads Omnicom’s OPEN team, 30+ dedicated DE&I professionals responsible for driving DE&I strategy company-wide. Previously, Graham was Chief Diversity & Inclusion Officer at FleishmanHillard, the first in the agency’s history. While at Fleishman, she was a Senior Partner, Global Client Leader (GCL) and member of The Cabinet – the firm’s executive leadership team. She also founded and led True MOSAIC, a global communication consultancy dedicated to driving DE&I to the center of corporate strategy. Prior to that, she led the firm’s professional and financial services sector in the Americas. She held previous roles at MWWPR and Burson-Marsteller.

Her career journey has been profiled by the likes of LinkedIn, Forbes and Essence magazine. Among other industry accolades, Graham has been recognized as a 40 Under 40 Honoree by PRWeek and Crain’s New York Business, and Top Diversity Officer in the United States by National Diversity Council.

She is a frequent guest lecturer and thought leader. Currently she serves as board trustee for the Institute of Public Relations, Southern Methodist University’s Meadows School of the Arts and Syracuse University’s Newhouse School of Communications.

Joanne Trout oversees the development and implementation of external, internal, and executive communications programs for Omnicom including digital leadership, corporate social responsibility, media relations, reputation management, financial communications, and thought leadership. She works closely and collaborates on programing with the communications teams at BBDO, DDB, TBWA, OMG, and DAS.

Prior to joining Omnicom, Joanne spent almost a decade doing external and customer communications at MasterCard. She was instrumental, in partnership with a key group of senior executives, in helping the company go through major transformative years starting with becoming a publically-traded company, to changing CEO’s, and moving from a financial service company to a technology leader. She was also in charge of developing communications programs for Global Product and Solutions (GP&S) including Emerging Payments, Core Products, MasterCard Technologies, Advisors and Global Marketing.

Joanne has more than 30 years of experience on the client and corporate communications agency side building top brands, including Sony, Sharp, Pioneer, and XM Satellite Radio. She provides high-level strategic counsel to clients seeking to build corporate images and brands, launch products and services, deal with reputational issues, as well as tackle other communications challenges.

Joanne is a member of the PRSA and New York Women in Communications. She also volunteers teaching English as a second language to immigrants as part of We Speak NYC, a program under the NYC Mayor’s Office of Immigrants Affairs.

Kathleen Saxton is Omnicom’s first Chief Marketing Officer, responsible for marketing Omnicom’s award-winning capabilities and its omni-channel solutions for global enterprise clients.

Prior to joining Omnicom in 2023, Saxton served as executive vice president and managing director at MediaLink, leading the firm’s operations in EMEA.

An industry veteran with 25 years of experience in sales, marketing, media and talent management, her roles have been wide-ranging and span business growth, agency selection, talent advisory and strategic consulting.

Saxton founded The Lighthouse, a talent advisory firm, in 2009 to provide executive talent and counsel to companies across the marketing landscape and named as one of the top 10 headhunters in the world.

She has also held positions spanning organizations including Sky Television, Global Radio, Bauer and DCM and later held board positions at PHD, Saatchi & Saatchi and Virgin Radio. She was also co-founder of Advertising Week Europe.

In addition to her career in the marketing and media industries, Kathleen is a qualified psychotherapist. In 2016, she founded Psyched Global with Ben McKie and has since specialized in applying psychology to all elements of her work within the boardroom. Saxton continues to retain the practice and incorporates psychology into her corporate role.

Saxton sits on the board of NSPCC Childline and is also an active member of Women in Advertising and Communications, London (WACL); the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP); and the UK Council for Psychotherapy (UKCP). She is also a regular industry speaker and a mentor for the Speakers for Schools programme.

Paolo Yuvienco is Chief Technology Officer of Omnicom. He joined the holding company in 2017 to guide the company’s overall technology strategy. In this role, he works closely with Omnicom’s largest global clients to help define and operationalize their transformation agendas through the lens of data and technology. Additionally, Paolo works across several strategic initiatives for the group, including Omnicom’s platform roadmap and global delivery capability.

Prior to Omnicom, Paolo served as Global Chief Technology Officer at DigitasLBi. He joined the company in 2004 when it was still independently owned as LBi, prior to being acquired by Publicis Groupe in 2012 and subsequently merged with Digitas. During his time at the company, Paolo worked alongside its global heads of strategy, creative, user experience and media to bring together its creative innovation, technical expertise and IP for global clients, including HPE, Nissan and Whirlpool.

Earlier in his career, Paolo focused on software research and development at AT&T Labs and held senior positions at several start-ups in the telecommunications space. He continues to promote technology in NYC as an advisory board member to several NYC-based startups.

Jonathan Nelson co-founded Organic, the very first digital agency, in 1993, and served as Organic’s CEO for seven years. Currently, Jonathan is CEO of Omnicom Digital where he oversees strategy for Omnicom’s digital assets globally.

Described as a “serial entrepreneur,” Jonathan has played a critical role in founding and building a number of companies. In 1999, Jonathan took two companies public: Accrue Software, Inc., a web measurement and analysis company that he founded in 1995, and Organic. Later, he guided Organic through its subsequent re-privatization.

Jonathan is widely recognized as an industry thought leader, appearing in print in The New York Times, USA Today, Forbes, Newsweek, and Adweek and on television on CNN, CNBC, and MSNBC. His numerous accolades include being named one of the top 100 young innovators of the century by MIT’s Technology Review in 1999, and one of the top entrepreneurs of 1997 by Red Herring Magazine. He was inducted to Advertising Age’s Hall of Fame in 2001 for his “indelible imprint” on the Internet industry.

Jonathan sits on numerous boards in the media and finance industries. A passionate musician, he is the co-owner of two San Francisco venues and co-produces San Francisco’s Hardly Strictly Bluegrass annually in Golden Gate Park.

Karen van Bergen is the Chief Environmental Sustainability Officer for Omnicom and Dean of Omnicom University (OU). Appointed Chief Environmental Sustainability Officer in 2021, Karen is tasked with developing environmental sustainability strategies, coordinating agency network initiatives and overseeing environmental sustainability reporting.

In January 2020, Karen became the third Dean of OU, succeeding Janet Riccio and founder Tom Watson.

Before being appointed Dean of OU, Karen was CEO of Omnicom Public Relations Group, bringing more than thirty years of agency- and client-side experience to that role. She held responsibility for all public relations and public affairs firms within Omnicom, encompassing more than 6,300 employees. Karen also served as CEO of Porter Novelli, leading the agency on a path of significant transformation—marked by growth and award-winning work over a three-year period.

As Controller, Swiecicki plays a key leadership role in financial management and business process optimization for Omnicom. He oversees the company’s financial processes and systems, as well as the planning and forecasting function. Prior to joining Omnicom in 2013, Swiecicki spent over 30 years at Omnicom’s BBDO in various roles. He started his career at BBDO as Controller, BBDO Detroit, rising to CFO and COO of the agency. In 2010, he assumed the role of CFO of BBDO Germany and then moved to BBDO Worldwide in New York to shepherd several worldwide process efficiency initiatives.

Rita Rodriguez is currently Executive Vice President at Omnicom Group where she leads the multi-agency integration and innovation for PepsiCo.

With more than twenty-five years of marketing experience, Rita has a proven track record of transforming major brands and building businesses. Having worked on both sides of the business, agency and client, Rita has a unique mix of strategic expertise; brand building and collaboration skills that can help define and lead a course of action for clients and their brands

Rita was previously CEO of Imagination, an experiential integrated communications company. Prior to Imagination, she was CEO of the US arm of WPP’s The Brand Union, a strategic branding and design firm, where she led the repositioning and rebranding of multiple businesses and served as a strategic advisor and partner for clients on brand and business issues. Before joining The Brand Union in 2004, Rita was Managing Director of Corporate Branding at Omnicom’s Interbrand.

Rita began her career in Houston at AT&T, where over the course of her career she served as Director of Business and Consumer Marketing, International Marketing Director, Director of Product Marketing and Communications Services and General Manager of HomeTown Network (HTN), working in both the US and London.

Rochelle Tarlowe joined Omnicom Group as their SVP & Treasurer in May of 2019. She is responsible for Omnicom’s global treasury and risk management function. Her responsibilities include capital markets, global cash operations, financial risk management, bank relationships and investments. In her role, Rochelle also manages company-wide credit and counterparty risks. 

Rochelle joins Omnicom from Avis Budget Group (Avis) where she held the title of SVP & Treasurer since 2007. During her tenure at Avis, Rochelle managed a $13 Billion capital structure and helped finance and integrate several transformative acquisitions. Her treasury team was consistently recognized for implementing innovative and efficient structures and processes.

Prior to Avis, Rochelle served as Vice President of Corporate Finance at Cendant Corporation and where she was key member of the team that split Cendant into four distinct companies (one of which was Avis). She began her career practicing law at Sidley Austin in New York.

Rochelle holds a B.A. from Barnard College and a J.D. from Fordham Law School.