-By Andrew McMains

NEW YORK Marian Salzman, worldwide chief marketing officer at WPP Group's JWT, confirmed she is leaving to become a partner and global CMO at Omnicom Group public relations agency Porter Novelli. The post at the PR shop is new.

As CMO, Salzman will forge the agency's brand positioning, oversee brand communication and business development and execute "thought leadership" and reputation management programs, Porter Novelli said.

"We recognize that there is a fundamental shift taking place in marketing communications, one in which influence is increasingly achieved through conversations with stakeholders rather than by brute force," said Porter Novelli CEO Gary Stockman. "Promoting this concept of 'intelligent influence' will be a major focus of Marian's efforts at the agency."

Salzman worked as a consultant at JWT before joining in May 2005 as director of strategic content. In February 2006 she rose to CMO, adding responsibility for managing multi-national and global pitches. Salzman was based in New York but traveled frequently, particularly when contributing to major pitches.

JWT worldwide CEO Bob Jeffrey could not be reached. But in an e-mail to his staff Friday, he acknowledged Salzman's resignation and wrote that she was heading to a PR company as a partner. Sources identified the PR company as Porter Novelli.

In his e-mail, Jeffrey wrote that Salzman had "flown tens of thousands of miles on our behalf to galvanize the global PR team around thought leadership and to launch the trendspotting effort that Ann Mack continues to run successfully. Marian has made a contribution to our thinking reputation in the marketplace, helped us to become a more multicultural organization and got us ready for global pitches like our successful run at Nokia last year."

In August, JWT won global distribution and adaptation chores for Nokia's mobile phones division, a month after independent Wieden + Kennedy landed lead strategic and creative duties for the unit.

Before JWT, Salzman was chief strategic officer at Havas' Euro RSCG in New York.

This story updates an earlier post with Salzman's confirmation.