Omnicom’s Duncan Painter to lead data reorganisation ahead of IPG takeover

Omnicom has expanded Duncan Painter’s role as lead on its commerce business to include leading a new, end-to-end data and technology platform within the holding company. 

As announced in Omnicom’s earnings call last week, the agency group, which is set to take over IPG, has reorganised its data and technology assets Omni, OmniAI, Artbot and the Flywheel Commerce Cloud into a single platform.

Painter is now leading the reorganisation of the platform, having taken on the responsibility on 1 July. His title has not been confirmed but he will continue to report to John Wren, Omnicom's chairman and chief executive.

Before running Omnicom's commerce business, Painter was previously chief executive of Flywheel, which Omnicom bought from Ascential for $900m (£667m) in 2023. He was chief executive of Ascential for more than 12 years, culminating in the sale of Flywheel to Omnicom. He has also held roles at Sky, as managing director between 2009 and 2011, and prior to that at Experian as global product leader.

Wren said in the earnings call that Painter is “experienced in building well-established tech platforms across Flywheel, EDS, Experian, and Sky” and is “uniquely suited” for this role.

He added that the data and tech reorganisation “is designed to directly support our clients' marketing and commercial ambitions while accelerating our own growth trajectory” ahead of the proposed acquisition of IPG. He also said that the platform will be “significantly enhanced” by the addition of IPG’s platforms Kinesso and Acxiom. 

The expansion of Painter’s role follows the exit of Slavi Samardzija, chief executive of Annalect within Omnicom. Samardzija, who left the business earlier this month, is understood to have played a leading role in data and operating platform Omni. 

Wren said: “Our long-standing strategy has always been rooted in the belief that data and technology supercharge creativity. In today's world, especially with the rise of generative Al, breakthrough creativity is more valuable than ever.”

Omnicom did not respond to Campaign's request for comment.