Ogilvy & Mather announced a global restructuring on Friday, including an extensive list of promotions and the launch of production and technology operation Ogilvy Delivery.
Ogilvy & Mather Global CEO John Seifert revealed the changes in an internal memo obtained by Adweek. The move in many ways resembles the Publicis restructuring announced by Maurice Levy in December of 2015.
Perhaps the largest change is the creation of Ogilvy Delivery which, according to Seifert, “revitalizes our commitment to the ‘art of making,’ focusing on the critical craft skills required to bring big ideas to life in film, digital experiences, social media, print” via production, project management and tech services.
Among the other key changes, chief talent officer Scott Murphy will lead the talent division, responsible for human resources, diversity & inclusion, learning & development and talent acquisition. Senior partner, executive director of L&D Diane Fakhouri and senior partner, chief diversity officer Lauren Pedro were promoted by Seifert as part of the move and will lead the global learning and diversity divisions.
Worldwide executive director and chief growth officer Paul Heath will partner with worldwide chief business development officer Suresh Raj to manage Growth, tasked with ensuring “that [Ogilvy’s] markets, specialist units, and global client leaders are equipped with the talent, tools, and modern marketing expertise necessary to fuel enterprise growth.”
Ogilvy & Mather worldwide CMO Lauren Crampsie will lead the Marketing, Communications and Change division, with Ogilvy PR global chief communications officer Jennifer Risi serving under her and managing all media relations and partnering with managing director of marketing and content Nikolaj Birjukow on self-promotional initiatives.
There were also a series of changes and promotions regarding regional leadership, including naming Lou Aversano as CEO of Ogilvy USA. For more, head to Adweek for the full memo.
In terms of what this means to Ogilvy offices, that’s not yet clear. Our sources in Chicago tell us there’s been talk of potential mergers, which would make sense given that Seifert tasked Aversano with bringing all North American units under one P&L last September.
It’s all the same Ogilvy now. The question moving forward is whether WPP will follow the Publicis consolidation model and whether we should expect downsizing moves in the months to come.