Alex Lubar has been elevated from president and COO to global CEO of DDB Worldwide, succeeding current global CEO Marty O’Halloran who will continue as chairman. In addition, Glen Lomas currently CEO, DDB EMEA, based in London, becomes global president and chief operating officer in partnership with Lubar.
“Marty’s dedication to DDB has made him an integral part of the network’s culture and operations, and we thank him for his strong leadership during the past four years as CEO. With extensive global leadership credentials within the industry, we are confident that Alex, supported by Glen, will continue to elevate the network and build upon its legacy of creative excellence,” said John Wren, chairman and CEO, Omnicom in a statement.
Lubar was appointed president and chief operating officer of DDB Worldwide in October 2022, following 10 years at McCann. He held several regional leadership roles during the course of his time at the agency, including president, McCann North America, head of McCann’s Asia Pacific region and CEO of McCann London.
“We believe that creativity, in all its modern forms, has the power to profoundly transform our clients’ businesses. I am honored to have the opportunity to lead Bill Bernbach’s legacy into the future with such a talented global staff and leadership team who all share the same vision,” said Lubar in a statement.
Lomas has been CEO of Europe, Middle East and Africa, DDB’s largest region and with the network since 1995. Based in London, he is responsible for the EMEA region and has built successful client teams across geographies while creating an environment where creativity and effectiveness flourish across the network.
“It has always been a privilege to work at DDB and it is a great honor to take on this role. DDB has always been where brilliant, unpretentious people turn up each day to apply their creativity to solving problems. I love what this network is capable of when it comes together, as demonstrated this year at Cannes, and Alex and I are here to ensure that spirit continues and the network keeps evolving to attract the most ambitious talent and clients,” said Lomas in a statement.
O’Halloran has been a leader within the DDB network for close to four decades and took over the role of global CEO in 2020. Under his leadership, DDB won 2023 Network of the Year at Cannes, Network of the Year for the past three years at D&AD, and Network of the Year at Effie U.S. and Latina.
“It has been my honor to lead DDB over the past four years,” said O’Halloran in a statement. “The talent across our regions is incredible and together we’ve been able to produce work that has achieved transformative results for our clients and has been awarded as some of the best creativity in the world. As part of this orchestrated succession plan, there is no doubt in my mind Alex will continue to lead the DDB network to new heights. I look forward to working in a chairman’s capacity with Alex and Glen as they partner in leading the way forward with their global leadership team.”