Omnicom shuts DDB, FCB, MullenLowe after historic Interpublic acquisition

MANILA, PHILIPPINES – In the wake of its historic takeover of Interpublic Group, Omnicom is closing the book on three of advertising’s most storied names — DDB, FCB, and MullenLowe.

The move is part of a bigger push to sharpen its edge in a market dominated by Publicis and WPP. DDB and MullenLowe will fold into TBWA and McCann, while FCB — a network with roots in 1873 — will be absorbed by BBDO.

The integration comes with heavy cuts. Omnicom confirmed that more than 4,000 jobs will be shed, mostly in administrative functions, though some leadership roles will go as well. Once the restructuring settles, about 85% of the company will be in client-facing positions, with only 15% in support roles.

Omnicom expects the streamlining to generate over $750 million in annual savings, topping its initial projections.

“When I sit back and look at where the leadership is, where the redundancies have occurred, it’s been incredibly balanced, as if it were a merger of equals,” Omnicom Chairman and Chief Executive Officer John Wren told Campaign. “We have been working very, very diligently to try to communicate that to those people as close to day one as we possibly can” in order to be “clear and fair and transparent” and avoid a “drip, drip, drip” of news. The enlarged company will have 105,000 staff, down from 128,000 a year ago, following previous cuts and some agency sales and exits.

When asked for the need to consolidate only into three creative networks and retain six media networks, an Omnicom spokesperson told Campaign: “Our set-up and needs are different. For advertising we have determined we only require three networks along with our multiple single rooftop [boutique] agencies as well as our client team agencies.”

“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,” John Wren, Chairman and CEO of Omnicom said in a statement.

Revamped strategy and executive leadership

As expected on every merger, executive leadership shakeups and strategy restructuring are imminent.

• Nine “Connected Capabilities” across the holding company, with executives from Omnicom, rather than IPG, holding the top position at most of the units. These include Omnicom Advertising and Omnicom Media. They were previously known as groups, such as OAG and OMG, but Omnicom has shortened the group name in a push to remove silos and encourage collaboration. “We are one company and there are no silos or groups,” a spokesperson said.
• Omnicom is also appointing Client Success Leaders, with “senior accountability across all Connected Capabilities,” to provide more bespoke clients solutions at an “Omnicom level.”
• Omnicom Advertising will have only three global creative networks, BBDO, TBWA and McCann, each led by a global CEO. About a dozen smaller creative shops, such as Lucky Generals in the U.K., Grabarz & Partners in Germany and The Martin Agency in the U.S., will continue to operate as boutique-type agencies.
• DDB, FCB and MullenLowe will be “retired” in the first half of 2026. The agencies’ people and clients will be split in different ways in Iocal markets across the three surviving global creative networks. In the U.K., Adam & Eve/DDB London will combine with TBWA\London to form Adam & Eve\TBWA with a single management team. DDB will still exist “in some capacity” under the Bernbach brand in some markets, a spokesperson added.
• Omnicom Media will operate six global media agency networks: OMD; PHD; Hearts & Science; Initiative; UM; and Mediahub. However, the agencies will be led by global brand presidents, rather than global agency CEOs. There will still be agency CEOs in local markets, under the umbrella of OM.
• The enlarged group is making 4,000 redundancies, on top of previous job cuts. Some of these started after October 1 but most will fall during December.
• Omnicom will shed a further 10,000 people from its payroll as it is withdrawing from many smaller agencies through sales and disposals, in some cases keeping a minority stake.
• Total headcount of the enlarged group will be about 105,000, a major reduction of about 18% versus the 128,000 across Omnicom and IPG at the end of 2024. About 85% of employees will be in “professional” roles and 15% in “back office” jobs. The plunge in staff numbers includes several waves of earlier redundancies at IPG, which reported a reduction of 3,200 staff in the first nine months of 2025, and at Omnicom, which did not disclose any prior numbers. “All planned merger-related layoffs will be completed by the end of December,” a spokesperson said.

New leadership

The leadership of the new nine “Connected Capabilities” is:

• Florian Adamski, CEO, Omnicom Media, including Hearts & Science, Initiative, Mediahub, OMD, PHD and UM, as well as Acxiom
• 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 US 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 

Of those nine leaders, eight are from Omnicom; Dana alone is an IPG executive.

In addition, Omnicom is appointing two ”Omnicom-level teams” to “accelerate the effectiveness of its Connected Capabilities” for clients:

• Jacki Kelley, the chief client and business officer, who was formerly at IPG, and Andrea Lennon, client experience officer, will lead the Client Success Leaders (CSLs).
• George Manas, chief growth and solutions officer, who is currently CEO of OMD, will lead an Omnicom Global Growth team to “ensure an integrated, enterprise-level view on client needs and innovative solutions across new business development”.

Other key executives who have already been announced are Phil Angelastro, who is Chief Financial Officer, and Philippe Krakowsky, formerly the CEO of IPG, and Daryl Simm , who are Co-Presidents and Chief Operating Officers.

New Omnicom

The new Omnicom unites the industry’s most comprehensive and connected portfolio of capabilities, all powered by Omni, its advanced intelligence platform. These capabilities, combined with exceptional talent, address clients’ critical growth priorities and offer five strategic advantages that provide a competitive edge across every dimension of modern marketing and sales. These unique advantages include:  

1. Strongest Media Ecosystem: Omnicom has the world’s largest media network with unparalleled market leverage and intelligence—powered by Acxiom RealID™ and advanced ID-less solutions—that will unify paid, owned, earned, and commerce channels into a seamless system that drives value, precision, and measurable growth in a privacy-first world.   
2. Most Influential Content: The undisputed leader in creativity and effectiveness, the new Omnicom creates the deepest bench of award-winning talent. Using the power of generative AI, it fuses imagination with intelligence to deliver superior personalized content at scale. Its unrivaled agency portfolio provides clients with unique solutions fit for their individual objectives. 
3. Connected Commerce Excellence: Omnicom integrates comprehensive commerce intelligence and capabilities across marketplaces to connect marketing investment to sales performance, accelerating omnichannel growth and ROI. 
4. Enterprise Generative AI Capability: The combination provides scaled investment resources to capitalize on Omnicom’s existing first-mover partnerships with all the leading frontier AI model providers. This strategy accelerates the company’s ability to reengineer clients’ marketing operations for speed, intelligence and growth.  
5. Identity Leadership: Powered by the next generation of Omni and anchored by Acxiom RealID™, Omnicom’s gold-standard identity solution unifies 2.6 billion verified global IDs, each with hundreds of cultural, media, and commerce signals, giving brands an unparalleled, privacy-first understanding of people worldwide—without relying on third-party cookies.   

Omnicom’s Connected Capabilities will bring these strategic advantages to life by reimagining how data, creativity, and technology are leveraged by the company’s exceptional talent. They unite the company’s world-class agency brands with deep expertise across media, commerce, precision marketing, advertising, production, health, public relations, branding, and experiential to deliver strategic solutions that address clients’ most critical growth priorities.