Omnicom Advertising President and CEO Troy Ruhanen to Retire; Andrew Robertson appointed CEO of Omnicom Advertising

Omnicom today announced that Troy Ruhanen, President and Chief Executive Officer of Omnicom Advertising, has decided to retire following a distinguished career spanning more than twenty years in leadership roles across Omnicom.

Ruhanen’s decision follows the successful integration of Omnicom Advertising after the combination of Omnicom and Interpublic, which established a strong foundation for the future.

“Troy has been an exceptional leader whose impact on Omnicom and our industry cannot be overstated. His leadership was instrumental in bringing together our combined organization while strengthening our ability to serve clients and create opportunities for our people. We are grateful for his many contributions and wish him every success in retirement,” said John Wren, Chairman and CEO of Omnicom.

Andrew Robertson, currently Chairman of BBDO Worldwide, has been appointed Chief Executive Officer of Omnicom Advertising, effective immediately. Having spent more than two decades as a leader within Omnicom, Robertson brings valuable expertise, long‑standing client relationships with marquee global brands, and a demonstrated track record of building high‑performing teams. He will work closely with Ruhanen during the transition to ensure a seamless hand‑off.

“Andrew is a proven leader with a deep understanding of Omnicom, our clients, and our industry. I look forward to working with him on the continued development of our advertising group, particularly his commitment to ensuring creativity remains at the core of what we do as we advance our AI and technology capabilities,” added Wren.

Omnicom Advertising continues to set industry benchmarks, recently welcoming Subway, American Express, and BBVA as new clients while all three of its creative networks ranked in the top 10 at Cannes Lions this year. Its visionary client work has allowed Omnicom to be recognized as the World’s Most Effective Holding Group in the Effie Index for three years in a row, and its agencies have consistently been recognized by Fast Company as among the Most Innovative Companies for the past eight years.

“It has been the privilege of a lifetime to work alongside some of the most talented people in our industry. I am incredibly proud of what we have accomplished together. With the integration complete, this is the right moment for me to retire. I have profound confidence in Andrew and our leadership team,” said Ruhanen.

Ruhanen began his career as an account executive at BBDO in Brisbane, before moving to Leo Burnett in 1994. He spent ten years with Leo Burnett in Chicago, Asia-Pacific and Sydney. Subsequently, he was named Regional Account Director on Procter & Gamble business in Asia Pacific.

In 2000, he became the Managing Director of Burnett’s agency in Sydney. During his time in Sydney, Burnett was named Campaign Brief 2000 Agency of the Year and in his final year, Burnett Australia was the most awarded agency at the Cannes Lions festival.

In 2004, Ruhanen returned to BBDO in New York to lead the agency’s billion-dollar AT&T business. Under Ruhanen , the work on AT&T became some of the most sought-out advertising in the category, winning Cannes Lions, Effies, Clios, One Show pencils and Webby Awards.

In 2008, Ruhanen was inducted into the American Advertising Federation (AAF) Hall of Achievement, honoring those people 40 years of age or under who have had a significant impact on the industry through their leadership, career achievements and inspiring personal qualities.

Ruhanen went on to hold the role of Deputy Chairman, BBDO North America, where he focused on building BBDO’s digital and strategic planning capabilities and establishing new client service offerings. He moved up to assume the role of Chairman and CEO, BBDO, The Americas. Here he had oversight of BBDO’s operations in North, South and Central America, including the Proximity direct and digital agency network.

He joined TBWA from Omnicom Group in July 2014. At Omnicom he was Executive Vice President, responsible for driving cross-agency collaboration and innovation for Omnicom’s largest clients.