Tom Carroll Appointed President & CEO TBWA Worldwide

    NEW YORK, Dec. 17 /PRNewswire/ -- TBWA Worldwide today announced Tom
 Carroll will succeed Jean-Marie Dru as CEO of TBWA Worldwide. Carroll, 52,
 will retain the position of President for TBWA Worldwide.
 
     Jean-Marie Dru will take the position of Chairman. Lee Clow, currently
 Chairman and Chief Creative Officer, will continue to lead the agency and
 the evolution of its product as Global Director of Media Arts.
 
     Dru said, "I believe it is time for me to move up and let Tom take
 charge of running the company. TBWA is acknowledged today as one of the
 best advertising networks. It is now time to accelerate and to move clearly
 ahead of the pack. I know Tom can achieve this. He has all the energy and
 all the skills to lead our talented group of executives. With him in
 charge, there is no limit to how far we can go."
 
     Clow added, "Tom has a real passion for the work we do and I am proud
 he will be guiding our future. The next few years, which I have described
 as the next 'creative revolution' are going to be the most exciting the
 advertising business has ever seen and Tom will be at the forefront of
 transforming the agency and the industry. I think Jay Chiat would be
 happy."
 
     In the last seven years, under the leadership of Lee Clow and
 Jean-Marie Dru, TBWA has become one of the most-recognized worldwide
 creative networks. It has contributed to the steady growth of its worldwide
 clients and gained an enviable creative reputation, having been recognized
 several times as Network of the Year, Agency of the Year, and finishing
 regularly at the top of the most prestigious award shows.
 
     John Wren, President and CEO of Omnicom Group Inc., said, "Our
 companies' chairmen have active day-to-day roles. It is a part of our DNA
 and I am pleased to have Jean-Marie continue with us in this position. With
 Lee shaping the creative product and Tom becoming CEO, this will be a
 formidable triumvirate leading the TBWA people and advising its clients.
 Tom has the intelligence, the energy and the humor for this role, and
 Jean-Marie has done a terrific job as his mentor."
 
     Carroll began his career in 1978 at Mathieu, Gerfen and Bresner. In
 1983, Tom met Jay Chiat and discovered his passion for creating big ideas.
 He worked at Chiat/Day advertising in both New York and Los Angeles leading
 the General Electric, Pizza Hut and Miller Brewing accounts. In 1989 Tom
 founded Weiss, Whitten, Carroll, Stagliano, whose clients included Guinness
 Import Company, Citibank and Rossignol skis. In 1995, Tom moved to MVBMS
 where he was a partner, responsible for Dunkin Donuts, Evian, Oppenheimer
 Funds and Universal Studios.
 
     In 1999 he returned to TBWA, as President of the Los Angeles office. In
 April 2001, Tom added the post of President of the Americas, overseeing the
 network's operations in North and South America. He moved back to New York
 at the beginning of 2002 to concentrate on his new role.
 
     Tom was promoted to Vice-Chairman in 2004 and President in 2006. A year
 later, TBWA was named Adweek's Global Agency Network of the Year in January
 2007.
 
     TBWA Worldwide (www.tbwa.com) creates Disruptive ideas for global
 clients, including Absolut, adidas, Apple, Beiersdorf, Henkel, Infiniti,
 Mars, McDonald's, Michelin, Nissan, Pernod Ricard, Pioneer, Samsonite,
 Standard Chartered Bank, and Singapore Airlines. TBWA is one of the fastest
 growing in the Top-Ten networks, and was named by ADWEEK as Global Agency
 Network of the Year and by Creativity magazine as the most-awarded Agency
 Network in 2007. TBWA has 258 offices in 75 countries, and approximately
 11,000 employees worldwide.
 
     TBWA Worldwide is part of Omnicom Group Inc. (NYSE:   OMC)
 (www.omnicomgroup.com). Omnicom is a leading global marketing and corporate
 communications company. Omnicom's branded networks and numerous specialty
 firms provide advertising, strategic media planning and buying, digital and
 interactive marketing, direct and promotional marketing, public relations
 and other specialty communications services to over 5,000 clients in more
 than 100 countries.
 
 
 

SOURCE TBWA Worldwide