Mark D. Gerstein Since 1996, Mr. Gerstein has been a partner at Latham & Watkins LLP, holding leadership positions including global chair of the Mergers & Acquisitions group, where he helped build the Latham & Watkins M&A Practice into a U.S. and global leader for public company transactions. He has counselled the directors and officers of Fortune 500 companies and other public companies on corporate governance (including ESG matters), investor relations, crises management, domestic and cross-border mergers and acquisitions, and other strategic and capital markets matters. From 1984 to 1996, Mr. Gerstein was a corporate attorney at Katten Muchin Rosenman, an AmLaw 100 law firm, advising directors and owners of private and public companies on a variety of corporate matters. Mr. Gerstein was Chair and is currently a Board member of Youth Guidance, which works with children in urban public schools in Chicago and nationally. Mr. Gerstein also serves on the University of Michigan’s Dean’s Advisory Council at the School of Literature, Science and the Arts.
Patricia Salas Pineda Ms. Pineda served as Group Vice President of Hispanic Business Strategy for Toyota Motor North America, Inc. from 2013 to October 2016. Prior to that, she was Group Vice President of National Philanthropy for nine years. During her time at Toyota Motor North America, Pineda also served as General Counsel and Group Vice President of Administration, Corporate Advertising, Corporate Communications and Diversity. Ms. Pineda is currently a member of the Board of Directors of the Latino Corporate Directors Association and a member of the Board of Trustees for Earthjustice. In addition, Ms. Pineda is a director and member of the Finance and Nominating, Governance, and Corporate Citizenship Committees of Levi Strauss & Company, an apparel maker, and a director and member of the Compensation and Nominating and Governance Committees of Frontier Group Holdings, Inc., the parent company of Frontier Airlines.
Emily K. Graham 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 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.
Daryl Simm 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.
Valerie M. Williams Ms. Williams is a former Southwest Assurance Managing Partner for EY, a position she had held from 2006 to 2016. She joined EY in 1981 and has over 35 years of audit and public accounting experience, serving numerous global and multi-location companies in various industries. Ms. Williams held several senior leadership positions at EY and served on multiple strategic committees, including the firm’s Partner Advisory Council, Inclusiveness Council, Audit Innovation Taskforce and the Diversity Taskforce. In addition, Ms. Williams is a director, Chair of the Audit Committee and member of the Reserves Committee of Devon Energy Corporation, a leading oil and gas producer in the U.S., and a director, Chair of the Audit Committee and member of the Corporate Governance Committee of DTE Energy Co., a diversified energy company involved in the development and management of energy-related businesses and services. Ms. Williams also serves as Trustee of a number of funds in the Franklin Templeton Funds family. In addition, Ms. Williams served as a director of WPX Energy Inc. from 2018 until its merger with Devon Energy Corporation in January 2021.
Linda Johnson Rice Ms. Johnson Rice is the Chief Executive Officer of Johnson Publishing Company, formerly the parent company for EBONY and Jet magazines, and Fashion Fair Cosmetics. Ms. Johnson Rice is the former Chairman Emeritus of Ebony Media Holdings, the parent company for Ebony and Jet brands and is the former Chairman Emeritus of Ebony Media Operations, after having served as Chief Executive Officer from 2017 until 2019. Ms. Johnson Rice joined Johnson Publishing Company in 1980, was elected President and Chief Operating Officer in 1987 and served as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer from 2008 to 2019. Ms. Johnson Rice is a director and Chair of the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee of Enova International, Inc., a provider of online financial services to non-prime consumers and small businesses. Ms. Johnson Rice also served as a director of Grubhub Inc. and Tesla, Inc. during the last five years.
Gracia C. Martore Ms. Martore is the former President and Chief Executive Officer of TEGNA Inc., one of the nation’s largest local media companies formerly known as Gannett Co., Inc., a position she held from October 2011 to June 2017. Ms. Martore held various leadership roles over her 32-year career at TEGNA, including as President and Chief Operating Officer from 2010 to 2011, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer from 2005 to 2010 and Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer from 2003 to 2005. Prior to TEGNA, Ms. Martore worked for 12 years in the banking industry. Ms. Martore also serves as a director and member of the Audit and Compensation Committees of WestRock Company, a multinational provider of paper and packaging solutions for the consumer and corrugated packaging markets, and a director, Chair of the Compensation Committee and member of the Audit Committee of United Rentals, Inc., the world’s largest equipment rental company. In addition, Ms. Martore served as a director of TEGNA Inc. during the last five years. Ms. Martore is also a member of the Board of Directors of FM Global and is Vice Chairman of The Associated Press.
Deborah J. Kissire Ms. Kissire held multiple senior leadership positions at EY during her career from 1979 to 2015, serving most recently as Vice Chair and Regional Managing Partner, member of the Americas Executive Board and member of the Global Practice Group. Other positions held include the U.S. Vice Chair of Sales and Business Development and National Director of Retail and Consumer Products Tax Services. Throughout her career at EY, Ms. Kissire’s leadership skills and vision were leveraged for strategic firm initiatives and programs such as their Partner Advisory Council, Strategy Task Force, Gender Equity Task Force, Vision 2000 Sales Task Force, and global Vision 2020. Ms. Kissire also serves as a director and Chair of the Audit Committee of Cable One, Inc., a company that provides customers with cable television, high-speed Internet and telephone services, and a director, Chair of the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee and member of the Compensation Committee of Axalta Coating Systems Ltd., a manufacturer of liquid and powder coatings. Ms. Kissire also serves as a director, Chair of the Audit Committee and member of the Environmental, Health, Safety, Quality and Public Policy Committees of Celanese Corporation, a global chemical and specialty materials company that engineers and manufactures a wide variety of products.
Ronnie S. Hawkins Mr. Hawkins is a Managing Director of Global Infrastructure Partners, a position he has held since April 2018. Global Infrastructure Partners is an infrastructure focused private equity firm with over $77 billion of assets under management. In this role, Mr. Hawkins focuses on international investments primarily in the energy sector. Until April 2018, Mr. Hawkins was a Managing Director, Head of International Investments and member of the Investment Committee of EIG Global Energy Partners, which he joined in 2014. From 2009 to 2013, Mr. Hawkins was an Executive Vice President of General Electric where he led GE Energy’s Global Business Development activities and served as Chair of the GE Energy Investment Committee. Prior to that, Mr. Hawkins spent 19 years as a senior member of the energy investment banking departments at Citigroup and Credit Suisse, completing corporate advisory assignments in over 50 countries, including mergers, acquisitions, divestitures and restructurings. Mr. Hawkins has also led numerous corporate financings for large companies including equity, debt and structured financings.
Leonard S. Coleman, Jr. Mr. Coleman was Senior Advisor, Major League Baseball, from 1999 through 2005. Previously, he was Chairman of Arena Co., a subsidiary of Yankees/Nets, until September 2002. Before that, he was President of the National League of Professional Baseball Clubs from 1994 to 1999, having previously served since 1992 as Executive Director, Market Development of Major League Baseball. Mr. Coleman also serves as a director and member of the Compensation and Nominating and Governance Committees of Electronic Arts Inc., a company that develops, markets, publishes and distributes video games. In addition, Mr. Coleman is a director, and member of the Corporate Governance and Nominating and Environmental Health and Safety Committees of Hess Corporation, an energy company engaged in the exploration and production of crude oil and natural gas. Mr. Coleman also served as a director of Santander Consumer USA Holding Inc., Avis Budget Group and Aramark Corporation during the last five years. Additionally, Mr. Coleman was previously a municipal finance banker for Kidder, Peabody & Company. Prior to joining Kidder, Mr. Coleman served as Commissioner of both the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs and Department of Energy, and Chairman of the Hackensack Meadowlands Development Commission and the New Jersey Housing and Mortgage Finance Agency. Mr. Coleman was also the Vice Chairman of the State Commission on Ethical Standards and a member of the Economic Development Authority, Urban Enterprise Zone Authority, Urban Development Authority, State Planning Commission and New Jersey Public Television Commission. He has also served as President of the Greater Newark Urban Coalition and worked in a management consulting capacity throughout Africa.
Peter Swiecicki 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.
Rochelle Tarlowe 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.
Rita E. Rodriguez 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.
Michael J. O’Brien Michael joined Omnicom Group as Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary in November 2003, and was made Executive Vice President in February 2020. As Omnicom’s global chief legal officer, Michael advises the Board of Directors and its Committees, leads the Company’s worldwide legal team, manages legal services provided to the Company, and monitors the Company’s compliance with all applicable regulations around the world. Prior to Omnicom, Michael spent 15 years in private practice, representing private equity firms and their portfolio companies regarding acquisitions, financings, securities law compliance and corporate governance matters.
Jonathan Nelson 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.
Asit Mehra Asit is responsible for growing some of Omnicom’s key client relationships. He is tasked with developing and delivering bespoke “Screen to Shelf” solutions for clients that leverage the scale and creativity of Omnicom’s individual agencies, creating new, more effective ways of engaging with large global clients and ultimately their consumers. Asit has been with Omnicom for almost thirteen years, before which he spent 18 years at the Interpublic Group, where he held a variety of roles, ranging from running large multinational businesses, regions and offices. Asit is a true citizen of the world, having grown up and worked on both sides of the Atlantic and Asia.
Andrew Castellaneta 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.
Mary C. Choksi From 1987 to 2007, Ms. Choksi was a founding partner and Senior Managing Director of Strategic Investment Group, an investment management enterprise which designs and implements global investment strategies for large institutional and individual investors. In addition, Ms. Choksi is a trustee of a number of funds in the Franklin Templeton Funds family. Ms. Choksi was also a founder and, until May 2011, a Managing Director of Emerging Markets Management LLC, which manages portfolios of emerging market equity securities, primarily for institutional investors. Prior to 1987, Ms. Choksi worked in the Pension Investment Division of the World Bank. In addition, Ms. Choksi is a director and Chair of the Finance Committee of White Mountains Insurance Group, Ltd., a company whose principal businesses are conducted through its insurance subsidiaries and other affiliates. Ms. Choksi also served as a director of Avis Budget Group during the last five years.
John D. Wren 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.