DDB’s global chairman Marty O’Halloran retires after 38 years at the agency

Australia’s Marty O’Halloran has resigned from DDB after 36 years with the network, most recently as global chairman. O’Halloran has been Chairman/CEO DDB Group Australia & New Zealand since 2005.

O’Halloran announced the news on December 31st on LinkedIn:

Today I retire from DDB after 38 fabulous years.

I achieved more than I ever imagined because of the super talented people around me, what an absolute privilege it has been to call DDB home.

Leading DDB Australia and New Zealand we became a dominant force because we focused on people, culture and creativity as the foundation to produce famous and effective campaigns for our clients.

Four and a half years ago when we were still navigating COVID John Wren and Chuck Brymer asked me to lead DDB globally, what a honor. Over 10,000 people in 90 countries and in 2023, a real career highlight was to be on stage accepting the Agency Of The Year title for the first time at the prestigious Cannes advertising festival.

A sincere thank you to the all the amazingly talented DDB creatives past and present that have made our agency so famous around the world. While on the subject of legendary creatives, Keith Reinhard thank-you for your sage advise and support while I was living in New York.

In this business we are nothing without our clients, world class marketers that believe creativity is the most powerful force in business, to all the great clients I have worked with a huge thank you for your trust, support and friendship.

DDB’s future is in good hands, as part of an orchestrated succession plan I hired Alex Lubar who will take DDB into our next exciting chapter….. always here for you Alex.

To to current and future DDB Team… We live in a world of constant disruption and change, embrace it and let it fuel the creativity that will create fame for you and the clients that rely on us to drive their growth.

As Bill Bernbach said “to be successful at DDB you need to be both nice and talented,” so from the nice guy who showed some talent, I say goodbye to all of the amazing people I have worked with around the world.

To Deborah and my children, a very special thank you for your unwavering support and understanding, especially when I was working late nights, weekends and traveling around the world. Love you all. Emily, Matthew and Maggie, I’m so proud watching you make your mark in the business world.

My future will be investing and supporting disruptive entrepreneurs, and some Board advisory work. I might even write a book “Nice guys actually can win!”

The future belongs to the brave.

Thanks,
Marty

With over 30 years of experience at DDB, O’Halloran brought a deep understanding of the network’s rich history, culture, and people to the role of worldwide CEO. O’Halloran spent nearly 20 years with the network before being named Chairman and CEO of DDB Group Australia and New Zealand in 2005.

Throughout his career, O’Halloran has been a driver of creativity, talent, and culture for DDB and its clients. O’Halloran has a deep understanding of client needs, which resulted in the Australia and New Zealand agencies being some of the most recognized and awarded agencies in the world. During his time as Chairman and CEO of DDB Group Australia and New Zealand, the region dominated in a variety of Agency of the Year and regional Network of the Year awards including AWARD, Axis, Campaign Brief (twice for DDB Sydney, seven times for DDB New Zealand) in addition to international awards including Cannes, The One Show and D&AD.

Under O’Halloran’s leadership, DDB in Australia and New Zealand has been recognized as the fastest-growing international network in the region.