Lee Leggett gets a new role in sweeping leadership appointments and agency mergers at Omnicom in Australia and New Zealand following the takeover of IPG.

DDB Australia will be folded into Clemenger BBDO Australia, with Sheryl Marjoram (Sydney) and Mike Napolitano (Melbourne) co-CEOs.

Leggett, the outgoing CEO of Clemenger BBDO, takes a new senior Oceania role, chief customer officer, Omnicom Oceania.

As part of Omnicom’s global creative reorganisation, the DDB and FCB brands are being retired globally.

The reorganisation means the loss of another 4,000 jobs globally, or about 4% of the work force. The local impact is not known but insiders told AdNews this is “limited”. 

Hearts & Science, Initiative, MediaHub, OMD, PHD and UM all stay as distinct agencies.

“This is a defining moment for our region,” said Nick Garrett, CEO Omnicom Oceania.

“By bringing together the depth, ambition and talent of our people, while simplifying the architecture, we are creating modern, future-fit agencies and capabilities that will deliver world-class creativity & media, smarter data and technology integration, and new levels of effectiveness for brands in Australia and New Zealand. 

“I want to congratulate Priya Patel, Paul Wilson, Sheryl Marjoram, Mike Napolitano and Lee Leggett on their new roles. Their leadership will play a critical part in shaping the next era of Omnicom Oceania. 

“These changes honour the legacies of our heritage brands while positioning us to unlock even greater opportunity, effectiveness and growth for our clients and our people.”

In New Zealand, DDB Group Aotearoa and FCB Group Aotearoa will merge to form McCann Group NZ.

Priya Patel (CEO, DDB Group Aotearoa) and Paul Wilson (CEO, FCB Group Aotearoa) have been appointed Co-CEOs of McCann Group NZ.

In Wellington, Clemenger Wellington and FCB Wellington will rebrand as McCann Wellington, operating as part of McCann Group NZ. Local leadership for McCann Wellington will be announced shortly.

  

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