U.S president Greg Andersen has left Omnicom’s RAPP after nearly three years with the agency.
Former CEO/current chairman emeritus Bob Horvath hired Andersen to manage RAPP’s Los Angeles office in summer 2013 after predecessor Tony Hobley was promoted to become global lead on the HP account. Andersen became president of the agency’s U.S. operations last June.
He had previously served as CEO of BBH New York after being promoted from the managing director role in 2010. He left BBH “to pursue other opportunities” in September 2012 as the agency let approximately 25-30 percent of its total New York staff go; at the time, AdAge attributed the move to “a lackluster year” for the office, which lost Sprite to Leo Burnett.
Andersen’s agency history includes time spent in planning and account roles at Merkley + Partners, DeVito Verdi and others.
We hear that RAPP CEO Alexei Orlov personally fired Andersen, though the reasons for his termination are unclear. One source tells us that the outgoing president grew overall revenue by 14 percent year-over-year throughout his tenure and that employee satisfaction ratings for his L.A. office were among the highest in the agency’s international network.
Representatives for RAPP declined to comment on the news beyond confirming that Andersen is no longer with the agency.
His headshot has already been removed from its About page.