Michael Birkin Departs Omnicom for New Venture; Tim Love to Become APIMA CEO
30 June 2009 - 8:00AM
PR Newswire (US)
NEW YORK, June 29 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Omnicom Group Inc.
(NYSE:OMC) today announced the appointment of Tim Love as Chief
Executive Officer of Omnicom's Asia Pacific India Middle East
Africa (APIMA) operations, effective July 1. In his new role Love,
who remains a Vice Chairman of Omnicom Group, succeeds Michael
Birkin, Omnicom Group Vice Chairman and Asia Pacific Chairman and
CEO, who is leaving to take a majority interest in RPMC, a US based
events company with offices in London and Los Angeles. At the same
time, Serge Dumont, is promoted to President, Omnicom APIMA and
Chairman Asia Pacific. In making the announcement Omnicom Group
President and CEO John Wren said, "I want to thank Michael for his
tremendous contributions to Omnicom while at Interbrand,
Diversified Agency Services and most recently as head of Asia
Pacific, where his leadership helped build a strong organization.
We wish him much success with his new opportunity." Birkin noted,
"I have worked in a variety of roles for Omnicom over 15 years, and
it has been a terrific experience. In particular I'm delighted with
the progress we have made in Asia, where we have seen excellent
growth in the past few years and Omnicom agencies are currently
both Creative and Media Agencies of the Year. I will miss the
countless colleagues I have worked closely with for so long and
wish them and the company every continued success." Wren noted,
"Our clients' needs have always guided our business strategy.
Increasingly, our clients' needs will be best served by
partnerships which address consumer requirements and customer
development. The growth potential of the markets in this expanded
region is significant. However the complexity of managing effective
marketing programs when there are such diverse economic, retail and
media realities within any one of them, let alone across them, can
be challenging. By aligning this broader region, we can better
leverage lead market knowledge and experience, organize for
collaboration, increase the impact of, and simplify, marketing
communications for our clients." Wren added, "We are delighted to
have Tim on point to identify opportunities in this region and to
help clients maximize opportunities in global marketing. Tim's
track record of global brand building and collaboration are key
assets in an evolving global marketplace. He has partnered with
clients to successfully launch brands in most geographies and
cultures. He will work very closely with Serge Dumont who has been
instrumental in developing Omnicom's footprint in Asia Pacific."
During his 35-year career, Love has held senior client relationship
positions in the US and abroad. Prior to becoming Vice-Chairman of
Omnicom in 2006 he was President of Global Clients at Omnicom
network TBWA Worldwide. Before joining TBWA in 2004 he was
Vice-Chairman, International at Saatchi & Saatchi. A lecturer
at Oxford's SAID School of Business and well known for his writings
that include "Think like the Sun," Love said, "I am delighted that
I will be working across what are effectively the first 12 time
zones in the day. Harnessing our energy and collaboration in these
countries will be key to building a truly global economy and I look
forward to working with Serge Dumont and the rest of the team."
About Omnicom Group Inc. Omnicom Group Inc. (NYSE:OMC) is a leading
global marketing and communications company. Omnicom's branded
networks and numerous specialty firms provide advertising,
strategic media planning and buying, digital and interactive
marketing, direct and promotional marketing, public relations and
other specialty communications services to over 5,000 clients in
more than 100 countries. DATASOURCE: Omnicom Group Inc. CONTACT:
Pat Sloan, +1-212-415-2109, or Velvet Yoshinami, +81-90-8561-0978,
both of Omnicom Group Inc. Web Site: http://www.omnicomgroup.com/
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