AD Agencies
Omnicom to divest $2.5 billion businesses in 12 months: CEO John Wren
Group doubles synergy target to $1.5bn as jobs, brands and markets go
NEW YORK: Omnicom Group is preparing to divest or exit businesses generating about $2.5 billion in annual revenue, stepping up a sweeping portfolio overhaul after its $13.25 billion acquisition of Interpublic Group.
Speaking on the group’s fourth-quarter earnings call, chairman and chief executive officer John Wren said Omnicom had already sold or exited units worth more than $800 million in annual revenue and expects to complete the remaining disposals within 12 months.
The company is also scaling back in smaller markets, shifting from majority to minority ownership in businesses accounting for roughly $700 million in revenue. These markets, Wren said, are no longer central to Omnicom’s long-term strategy.
Following the IPG merger, Omnicom has doubled its targeted annual run-rate synergies to $1.5 billion over the next 30 months, from an earlier estimate of $750 million. Management expects to capture $900 million of those savings in 2026 alone, with around $1 billion coming from labour cost reductions as overlapping corporate, network and operational roles are eliminated.
Further efficiencies will flow from simplified regional and brand structures, consolidated resources, and faster outsourcing and offshoring under a unified operating model. In December 2025, the group said it would cut more than 4,000 jobs and fold several agency brands into larger networks.
Wren also underlined stepped-up investment in automation and artificial intelligence to lift margins and sharpen client servicing amid intensifying competition.
The board has authorised a $5 billion share buyback, including a $2.5 billion accelerated repurchase programme, while committing continued investment in media, commerce, consulting and data capabilities.
Omnicom reported a 27.9 per cent rise in fourth-quarter fiscal 2026 revenue to $5.53 billion, reflecting organic growth and one month’s contribution from IPG, compared with $4.32 billion a year earlier. Wren said the IPG combination strengthened the client roster, citing new or expanded mandates from American Express, Bayer, BBVA, BNY, Mercedes-Benz and NatWest Group.
AD Agencies
Publicis Brazil’s creative chief Mauro Ramalho lands the jury chair at Abby Awards 2026
Mauro Ramalho brings 25 years of global advertising firepower to the new creative commerce, use of data and B2B category at Goafest
GOA: The Abby Awards 2026, powered by The One Club and The One Show, has appointed Mauro Ramalho, chief creative officer of Publicis Brazil, as jury chair for its newly launched creative commerce, use of data and B2B category. The announcement, made on 18 March, signals the awards’ intent to bring serious international muscle to a category that sits squarely at the intersection of creativity and commercial performance.
Ramalho is not a name that needs much introduction in global advertising circles. Over 25 years spanning three countries, he has worked at some of the industry’s most creatively restless addresses. At AKQA in San Francisco, he worked across McDonald’s, Nike, Fox, Target, Kraft Foods and GAP, and helped lead “The Lost Ring” for McDonald’s, one of the first alternate reality campaigns and among the most awarded projects of its era. He later moved to Organic in Toronto, bridging the Detroit and Toronto offices on Dodge, Jeep and Chrysler, before spending over a decade building CUBOCC into one of Brazil’s most iconic and innovative independent agencies, which subsequently joined the IPG network.
A stint at FCB followed, where Ramalho led integrated work bridging online and offline, before he joined R/GA São Paulo as vice-president and executive creative director, stitching together the São Paulo office with New York, London, Portland and California on global clients including Verizon, Google, Meta, Samsung, American Express and Heineken. He now heads Publicis Brazil as its chief creative officer.
His trophy cabinet includes Clios, Effies, TikTok awards and MMA Smarties, and he has served on juries at the Andys, TikTok and the Lisbon Awards.
The Abby Awards 2026 is scheduled to take place at Goafest 2026 on 20, 21 and 22 May in Goa.
For Indian advertising, landing a jury chair of Ramalho’s calibre for a category built around data-driven creativity and commerce is a statement of ambition. Goafest just raised its own bar.
