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.