NEW YORK: Deloitte Digital alum Andy Main is set to succeed John Seifert as Ogilvy’s global CEO.
Main is planning to join Ogilvy at the end of July to begin the transition. Seifert is exiting the firm after 41 years, including five as CEO. In a statement, Seifert said he will partner with Main through the rest of the year to “ensure a seamless transition for our people and clients.”
Main is joining Ogilvy from Deloitte Digital, where he has been global leader since 2014. During his tenure, Deloitte Digital “made the first significant move by consultancy firms into creative services with the acquisition of multiple creative agencies, beginning a trend that has reshaped the industry,” according to a statement from Ogilvy. Deloitte Digital offers creative, technology and consulting services.
Main began his career at Andersen Consulting and moved to Deloitte Consulting in 1999 as a principal in the Hi-Tech Practice. He has also served on Deloitte Consulting’s board of directors.
In an email to staffers in April, Seifert said that he and WPP CEO Mark Read agreed to begin the search for his successor this year, "knowing that this process takes time and thoughtful engagement with potential candidates internally and externally."
Ogilvy began transitioning to one P&L in 2017 from a network of agencies such as Ogilvy PR, Ogilvy & Mather and Ogilvy One.
Ogilvy said in April that Seifert will step down from his role sometime next year after the leadership transition is complete. In February, Ogilvy’s U.S. leader for PR and influence, Michele Anderson, exited the firm to join Edelman in Chicago. Former Ogilvy PR global CEO Stuart Smith left the agency in early 2019 to join Vegolutionary Foods, the maker of gluten-free pizza brand Caulipower, as chief marketing and growth officer, and was not replaced as Ogilvy PR CEO.
Last month, Ogilvy promoted Philip Heimann to worldwide chief marketing and growth officer and David Ford to worldwide chief communications officer. Heimann replaced Lauren Crampsie, who was named president of Ogilvy New York and New Jersey last May.
Ogilvy’s PR revenue dropped 23% to $300 million last year, according to PRWeek’s Agency Business Report, as it recategorized PR and influence and the agency was moved into WPP’s Global Integrated Agencies division.
WPP’s Q1 like-for-like revenue in its PR division fell 1.4 % in Q1 2020 and dropped 4.4 % in March as the COVID-19 pandemic worsened. WPP’s like-for-like revenue dropped 3.3% in Q1.
