Daryl Simm has moved into the role of president and chief operating officer of Omnicom Group. He had served as CEO of Omnicom Media Group (OMG) for more than two decades, having joined Omnicom in 1998. In his new role at the holding company, Simm will work directly with chairman and CEO John Wren to oversee business operations across Omnicom.
“Daryl has been instrumental in developing our Media Network since its inception,” said Wren. “He has been a driving force behind the growth of award-winning, full-service media agencies OMD, PHD and Hearts & Science, as well as many other businesses that are major contributors to Omnicom’s success.”
Wren continued, “In addition to developing our Media Network, he has played an integral role in many of our successful investments and initiatives by bringing the power of Omnicom to our most important clients, including the development of Omni, our open operating system that orchestrates better outcomes for clients. Omni is now being utilized by over 40,000 employees across Omnicom, hundreds of clients, as well as being customized by practice areas like commerce, health and PR with unique solutions. Daryl is well-respected across the company and, in partnership with our executive leadership team, has helped us develop our strategy for future growth.”
Meanwhile Florian Adamski, a digital and data native, will succeed Simm and become CEO of Omnicom Media Group. Previously, Adamski was CEO of OMD Worldwide. During his tenure, OMD has grown into the world’s largest media-buying agency by revenue.
Succeeding Adamski as CEO of OMD Worldwide is George Manas who previously served as chief media officer of OMD U.S. In that role, he stewarded the U.S. rollout of OMD Design, OMD’s proprietary approach that harnesses the power of Omni, Omnicom’s open operating system that helps marketers orchestrate better outcomes. Prior to OMD U.S., Manas served as president of Omnicom Media Group’s performance unit, Resolution Media.
Mandy Walis will fill Manas’ previous role but with a different title–chief operating officer of OMD U.S. As COO, Walis’ responsibilities will include leading the transformational vision and operational management of the agency, working alongside and reporting into OMD U.S. CEO John Osborn. In addition, Walis will oversee the agency’s Business Transformation Office, which houses specialized capabilities focused on delivering speed, agility and efficiency across OMD’s end-to-end workflow.
Walis comes to OMD with over 15 years of experience across client management, business operations and product strategy. Prior to OMD, she served as VP of product strategy management at WPP’s Essence, where she led strategic initiatives related to the agency’s global growth and improvement.
Passionate about promoting gender equity in the workplace, Walis founded and led the employee resource group Women@Essence and offers her time as a mentor through organizations such as She Runs It, Step Up Women’s Network and Build by Girls. She is also a founding member of Chief, a network dedicated to connecting and supporting women in leadership. While at Essence, she created the Essence Immersion Day program, which provided college students from underrepresented groups access to media agency professionals.
