Troy Ruhanen named TBWA global president and CEO

TBWA Worldwide has named Troy Ruhanen as global president and CEO, succeeding Tom Carroll, who will continue as chairman of TBWA Group.Meanwhile, Jean-Marie Dru will continue to serve as chairman of TBWA Agency Network.“At Omnicom, we place considerable emphasis on succession planning, and Tom and I have long agreed that Troy Ruhanen would be the right person to take the helm of TBWA,” said John Wren, president and CEO of Omnicom Group.“His experience in leading Omnicom agencies across geographies and categories makes this a seamless leadership transition that will build upon TBWA’s capabilities and reputation as one of the best in the business.”Ruhanen joins TBWA from parent company, Omnicom Group, where he was responsible for driving cross-agency collaboration for Omnicom’s largest clients.Before this, he held multiple senior management positions at Omnicom Group agencies. These included chairman and CEO of the Americas at BBDO Worldwide, where he managed BBDO’s operations in North and South America, including the Proximity direct, digital and CRM agency network.Commenting on the appointment, Ruhanen said: “The opportunity to lead TBWA is a great honour because of the deep-rooted creative culture and its unique strategic method in disruption. The willingness to break from convention and the expectation for fresh thinking creates an environment for bolder and more innovative platforms.“This attracts talent, unlike others, and produces work that creates a competitive advantage.”Carroll added: “I love this network and I’m very proud of what we’ve become and more importantly where we are going. Troy and I have worked closely across a number of initiatives this past year and he’s the perfect person to take us to the next level.”