Omnicom hand Troy Ruhanen has been named president and CEO, TBWA Worldwide. Ruhanen succeeds Tom Carroll, who will continue as chairman of the TBWA Group. Jean-Marie Dru continues as chairman, TBWA Worldwide, the agency network.
Prior to this, Ruhanen was responsible for driving cross-agency collaboration for Omnicom clients.
John Wren, president and CEO, Omnicom Group, said, “Under the leadership of Tom Carroll, TBWA is recognised worldwide for its strong culture and award-winning creativity. At Omnicom, we place considerable emphasis on succession planning, and Tom and I have long agreed that Troy Ruhanen would be the right person to take the helm of TBWA. His experience in leading Omnicom agencies across geographies and categories makes this a seamless leadership transition that will build upon TBWA’s capabilities and reputation as one of the best in the business.”
Ruhanen has held multiple senior management positions at Omnicom Group agency BBDO in the past. These include: chairman and CEO, Americas; deputy chairman for North America; and managing director for New York.
Ruhanen said, "The opportunity to lead TBWA is a great honor because of the deep rooted creative culture and its unique strategic method in 'disruption'. The willingness to break from convention and the expectation for fresh thinking creates an environment for bolder and more innovative platforms. This attracts talent, unlike others, and produces work that creates a competitive advantage."
Carroll added, "I love this network and I'm very proud of what we've become and more importantly where we are going. Troy and I have worked closely across a number of initiatives this past year and he's the perfect person to take us to the next level."
