This evening brings news that Troy Ruhanen will succeed Tom Carroll to become the new President/CEO of TBWA Worldwide. (Jean-Marie Dru will retain his position as Chairman of the Agency Network.)
Ruhanen, a member of the AAF Hall of Fame who first earned your Spy’s attention back in 2009 when BBDO created the Deputy Chairman North America position to give him a promotion, spent the last ten months as EVP of the larger Omnicom Group.
In the past, he held several executive positions at BBDO, running the AT&T business prior to being promoted to Deputy Chairman and then CEO of the Americas to oversee its operations in both the Northern and Southern hemispheres. Before joining Team Omnicom, he also spent three years as Managing Director of Leo Burnett’s office in his native Sydney.
In what’s sure to be a controversial quote, Ruhanen writes that his appointment is “a great honor” due primarily to TBWA’s “unique strategic method in Disruption®”, which “attracts talent, unlike others, and produces work that creates a competitive advantage.”