Razorfish CEO Tom Adamski Dies at 43

By Patrick Coffee 

This morning, Publicis Groupe announced that Razorfish Global network CEO Tom Adamski had passed away after a brief battle with cancer. He was 43 years old.

Maurice Levy, who had been Adamski’s boss for the last few months of his too-short career, writes:

“We are deeply saddened by the loss of Tom Adamski. Tom was an important part of the Publicis family for many years, serving as a member of the P12, and left a significant mark on the Groupe. While we mourn the loss of Tom, we honor his joie de vivre and the inspiration he was day after day.”

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CEO Allan Herrick of Publicis.Sapient–the unit created when the Groupe acquired SapientNitro in February–adds:

“Our thoughts and prayers are with Tom’s family during this difficult time. He was an extraordinary man who led with integrity and made everyone around him better. Tom inspired all of us to strive for greatness in our communities, in our lives and at our jobs, and left an enduring legacy on Razorfish Global. He will be greatly missed.”

Beyond Levy himself, Adamski may have been the most visible face of the new Publicis since last September, when the org retained its top executives and folded Rosetta into the Razorfish Global network along with a couple of other units. As Levy mentioned in his quote, Adamski served on the P-12 executive committee tasked with managing the holding company’s operations around the world. He started his agency career at Web Associates, which became the Apple-focused shop LEVEL Studios, after working in the marketing department of digital audio company Xing Technologies (which was acquired by RealNetworks in 1999). He held the CEO position at Razorfish for less than a year.

Shannon Denton, the former Razorfish president who was promoted to the CEO of North America role in 2013, has served as interim chief executive since Adamski began receiving treatment for his cancer several months ago. He will stay in that position for the time being.

Adamski leaves behind a wife and three children.

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