AD Agencies
Maxus strengthens global board with three additions
MUMBAI: Maxus has announced the strengthening of its global senior management team with three new appointments to its executive board.
Benedict, Rudi Symons and Pam Sullivan are joining the ExCo. Benedict and Symons have both been promoted to new roles. Benedict becomes worldwide chief client officer, while Symons has been named worldwide chief talent officer. Sullivan, will continue in her role as managing director of Maxus Los Angeles.
Benedict joined Maxus as a managing partner in 2014 from MEC where he was the global client lead. In his new role, Benedict will continue to help develop both the ever-expanding Maxus global Huawei relationship and GroupM’s global L’Oréal account across 19 markets, as well as spearheading the Maxus Client Leadership practice.
Rudi Symons, newly appointed worldwide chief talent officer, joined Maxus in September 2015 as EMEA head of talent and culture. In her new role, she will be responsible for developing the global talent and culture strategy across 55 markets. Since joining, Symons has launched a number of HR initiatives at Maxus.
Pam Sullivan joined Maxus in 2011 as the managing director for Maxus Los Angeles, leading the launch of the new office. She also heads Maxus’s largest client in North American, leading the NBCU film and television business, for which she oversees and leads strategic planning, implementation and stewardship for all products. In her five years at Maxus, Sullivan has increased the Los Angeles office’s billings fourfold.
Lindsay Pattison, worldwide CEO, said, “Our talent delivers highly creative, award winning campaigns that grow our clients’ businesses.”
Dan said: “With Maxus’ unique client-centric culture my new role is firmly about supporting clients through this time of peak complexity. The key is ensuring local knowledge delivers global impact.”
Sullivan will continue to be based in Los Angeles and report into both Steve Williams, Maxus Americas CEO, and Lindsay Pattison, Maxus Worldwide CEO. Benedict and Symons will continue to be based in London and report to Pattison.
AD Agencies
Omnicom doubles synergy target to $1.5 billion, flags more job cuts after IPG deal
Advertising giant targets deeper job cuts and restructuring by mid-2028
NEW YORK: Global advertising group Omnicom Group has sharply escalated its cost-cutting ambitions following its acquisition of Interpublic Group, doubling its annual synergy target to $1.5 billion by mid-2028, according to media reports.
The bulk of the savings, $1 billion a year, will come from labour costs, according to Omnicom’s fourth-quarter earnings presentation. This signals further job cuts, restructuring and the relocation of roles to lower-cost markets.
The tougher stance comes just months after Omnicom announced 4,000 redundancies in December, immediately after closing the IPG transaction.
Presentation slides show labour-related synergies accelerating over the next three years, rising to $645 million in 2026, $920 million in 2027 and $1 billion by 2028. The company said the savings will be delivered through a mix of headcount reductions, offshoring and near-shoring, alongside outsourcing selected back-office functions.
Beyond payroll, Omnicom expects to extract $240 million from real estate consolidation and a further $260 million from IT, procurement and operational efficiencies.
The revised $1.5 billion target is double the $750 million estimate flagged when the IPG deal was announced in late 2024, underscoring a more aggressive integration push than previously signalled.
Chief executive John Wren said Omnicom aims to deliver $900 million of the synergies by the end of 2026, with the full run-rate achieved within 30 months. On the earnings call, Wren and chief financial officer Phil Angelastro said early integration efforts had focused on eliminating duplicated corporate and operational functions.
“Unfortunately, you couldn’t keep two of everything,” Angelastro said, pointing to executive and structural overlaps created by the merger.
The restructuring has also led to a simplification of agency brands and reporting lines. Legacy networks such as DDB Worldwide, FCB and MullenLowe Group have been dismantled as standalone entities, with the group reorganised around nine “connected capabilities”, including Omnicom advertising and Omnicom media.
Omnicom is also expanding a unified resourcing model built around offshore hubs in Colombia, Costa Rica and India, which are expected to take on a larger share of delivery and support functions.
Angelastro said artificial intelligence was not the primary driver of staffing reductions, though automation and AI are being explored to lift productivity.
Omnicom expects total headcount to settle at about 105,000 employees, down from a combined 128,000 at the end of 2024. Around 10,000 roles will fall off payroll through divestments and exits from non-core agency assets.
Investors cheered the expanded savings plan. Omnicom shares jumped more than 15 per cent to close above $80, buoyed by the higher synergy target and a separate $5 billion share buyback programme. Analysts at Bank of America called the moves “key positives”, though flagged the absence of organic growth guidance for 2026.
The New York–headquartered group reported an annual net loss of $54.5 million on revenue of $17.3 billion, reflecting one month of IPG contribution and heavy one-off costs linked to the merger and restructuring.
Omnicom will host an investor day on 12 March, where it is expected to outline further integration milestones and capital allocation priorities.
