Kristiaan Kroon named Omnicom Media Australia CEO as integration accelerates

As the dust settled on a turbulent Tuesday in agency land, Omnicom Media Australia made its first major leadership call of the post-merger era, naming Kristiaan Kroon as CEO.

Kroon, previously COO of Omnicom Media Group Australia, will now lead the combined Omnicom Media organisation locally, reporting to Omnicom Media APAC CEO Tony Harradine. The move anchors the first wave of structural decisions following the Omnicom–IPG merger and comes amid a series of senior Mediabrands departures already known across the industry.

Alongside Kroon’s elevation, PHD Group Australia CEO Mark Jarrett will step into a broader role as COO of Omnicom Media Australia, while highly respected finance leader Donna Bartlett formally becomes CFO.

The leadership confirmations follow the exit of several long-serving Mediabrands executives, including IPG Mediabrands Australia CEO Mark Coad, APAC CEO Leigh Terry, CFO John Clements and Lucy Formosa Morgan, who has held the managing director role for IPG-owned agency MAGNA Global for the past three and a half years.

In a note to staff last night - his first communication since taking on the expanded role - Kroon acknowledged the leadership changes and thanked outgoing executives “for the contributions they have made to the IPG business and to all the people across it over many years.”

He said the integration has created “an extraordinary footprint of media talent and technology” across Australia, supported by major clients including the federal government, IAG, Telstra, ANZ and New Balance.

Kroon outlined a clear mandate for the months ahead: unifying teams into “one business, built through a single positive culture,” and ensuring agencies, solutions and specialty units “turn integration into execution” through faster performance, stronger intelligence and connected systems.

Further clarity on brand structures and local leadership is expected after Omnicom’s global town hall later this week.

A landmark restructure

Omnicom yesterday announced wide-ranging changes across Australia and New Zealand as part of the global reorganisation triggered by its acquisition of Interpublic, including the retirement of the DDB and FCB brands.

In Australia, DDB will merge with Clemenger BBDO to form a single national agency under the Clemenger name, led by co-CEOs Sheryl Marjoram (Sydney) and Mike Napolitano (Melbourne). Former Clemenger BBDO CEO Lee Leggett moves into a new regional role as chief customer officer of Omnicom Oceania.

In New Zealand, DDB Group Aotearoa and FCB Group Aotearoa will merge to create McCann Group NZ, led by co-CEOs Priya Patel and Paul Wilson. Clemenger Wellington and FCB Wellington will rebrand as McCann Wellington.

The restructure aligns Oceania with Omnicom’s new global creative model centred on BBDO, McCann and TBWA, supported by specialist agencies. Media operations across Australia and New Zealand - including Hearts & Science, Initiative, Mediahub, OMD, PHD and UM - remain unchanged under Omnicom Media Group.

Further APAC leadership updates are expected in January, with Omnicom set to debut the combined organisation and its revamped Omni platform at CES 2026.