Jason Nebenzahl has been appointed as the new CEO of Omnicom Media Group after it was announced that Dave Harland was stepping down from the role after 14 years at the helm.
Harland will remain on with Omnicom in an advisory capacity until mid-2020. Prior to joining Omnicom, he was chief executive of Initiative Dublin for 11 years.
The most recent set of accounts for Omnicom Media Group for the year to the end of December 2017 show that it reported billings of €81.3m while pre-tax profits amounted to €1.42m. The company is jointly owned by BBDO Dublin and TBWA\Dublin, both of which are owned by the US-headquartered Omnicom Group.
Nebenzahl’s move into the top role paves the way for Gemma Teeling to take over his previous role as managing director of PHD Ireland, where he has been MD for the last 11 years. Teeling will assume the role upon returning from maternity leave in December. Like Harland, Nebenzahl also worked at Initiative Dublin for six years where he was business director up until joining Omnicom in 2005.
According to Mike Cooper, Omnicom Media Group, CEO, APAC and EMEA: “We are delighted and excited to promote Jason Nebenzahl to CEO of Omnicom Media Group Ireland. Jason has an enviable track record in client satisfaction, new business, creativity and innovation and possesses the progressive attitude towards media that is essential in these exciting, rapidly changing times. He will build on Dave Harland’s outstanding legacy and will take our business in Ireland forward to greater heights.”
“I am both grateful for this opportunity and excited by the challenge of nourishing our business’s expansion and growth in a rapidly evolving industry. There are two clear areas in which we can excel – the first is developing a dynamic working environment where those who work for Omnicom Media Group are fulfilled by the work they do and the opportunities they are given, and the second is delivering enhanced marketing performance for our clients which has a direct and positive impact on their business. Even as the media industry continues to progress at pace, if we focus on delivering on these two elements, I am confident that we will continue to have a business of which we are all truly proud,” says Jason Nebenzahl.
Speaking about the appointment of Teeling Nebenzahl adds that “Gemma was instrumental in our winning Agency of the Year for the second time at the 2018 Media Awards and in our six awards at the 2018 Advertising Effectiveness Awards, further cementing PHD’s leading league table position. I am confident that Gemma, a former IAPI Doyenne and winner of the 2018 Image Magazine Management Professional of the Year, will bring her intellect and energy to the position and that PHD will continue to deliver on our ‘Finding a Better Way’ positioning here in Ireland.
In addition to the promotion of Nebenzahl and Teeling, the group has appointed Claire Butterly to the newly created role of chief operating officer of Omnicom Media Group. According to the Nebenzahl, the new role will see her “working across both OMD and PHD and focusing on four key elements which are vital to our evolution- commercial management, talent utilisation, group cohesion and new business generation.”
