Wunderman Elevates Head of Operations to Chief Operations Officer, North America

WPP-owned global digital agency Wunderman today announced the promotion of Robyn Tombacher to the newly-created role of COO of North America, effective immediately. She previously served for the past two years as head of operations of North America.

Under the new role, Tombacher will be responsible for creating then implementing an operational strategy across digital, integrated production, data and media to foster long-term sales and margin growth for the North American network, according to Wunderman. The agency said she will focus on improving integration of services, communication and collaborations across brands, plus spearhead the adoption of policies and programs to empower the network’s women.

She will report to Wunderman North America CEO Seth Solomons.

“Robyn brings a unique blend of deep operational skills and experience along with a keen understanding of how to motivate and get the most out of diverse talents and teams,” Solomons said in a statement. “She is someone that I have worked with and have trusted for many years. This new role will allow Robyn to have an even greater impact on our organization.”

Prior to joining Wunderman two years ago, Tombacher led operations for R/GA’s global capabilities division. In that role she leveraged the agency’s offerings to promote collaboration across its offices and departments. Before that, Tombacher spent 12 years at Digitas where she established new operating practices and polices.

“Wunderman is at the forefront of bringing together all of its resources and services to become the new company model for prospective and current clients,” Tombacher added in a statement. “I am beyond thrilled for this new role and can’t wait to see what the future holds.”

In March, the agency created a new onsite practice, called Wunderman Inside, aimed at delivering faster, cheaper and more in-depth strategy and creative insights to clients.

Wunderman then poached Helder Santo from R/GA in May to lead its flagship New York office as president. That hire followed the naming of a new global chief creative officer, Daniel Bonner, and Wunderman chief executive Mark Read being appointed WPP co-COO after the ouster of Martin Sorrell.

Lindsay Rittenhouse

@kitten_mouse

Lindsay Rittenhouse is a staff writer at Adweek, where she specializes in covering the world of agencies and their clients.