Back in October 2005, Omnicom Group’s TBWA Worldwide promoted West Coast chief Robert LePlae to president of its North America operations. While he is still on the payroll, as of next week or so, LePlae will be heading for greener pastures. Did you notice that in all of the year end commentary, articles and releases, LePlae was noticeably absent? Adweek named TBWA Agency of the Year for 2008. All the big dogs (Lee Clow, Colleen DeCourcy, Carisa Bianchi, et al.) were pictured throughout the three page piece, but not LePlae. It looks as though Robert’s departure has been brewing for some time. When contacted for comment, the agency had none. Still, you can bet your ass that Mr. LePlae is saying saynora. Believe.
Robert was with the agency for a long, long time – 11 years. He cut his teeth saving the Nissan business, which included a stint in Japan. He came back to run Chiat/Day in Los Angeles and has also had San Francisco report to him since 2002. He’s now based in New York, which is a very different office, as we all know. People get worn out in the Big Apple office of TBWA. Is that why Robert is leaving the agency behind? No idea. It could be that 11 years anywhere is just too damn long. Where is he going? No idea. Who will pick up the slack? Our guess is that weight will shift to the current Presidents of the various markets for some time. Stay tuned…
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