OAG appoints Sean Donovan as Asia president

Omnicom Advertising Group (OAG) has appointed Sean Donovan as president of OAG Asia. Donovan was previously at TBWA\Worldwide where he helmed the role of president, Asia for over five years. 

In his new role, he will be reporting directly to OAG's global CEO, Troy Ruhanen. Donovan will also partner closely with global agency network leaders. In a statement posted on LinkedIn, Donovan said that he is "beyond happy that my journey continues with all the pirates and clients of TBWA\Asia in this new role." 

"The past five years working alongside these creative, talented and passionate teammates, to deliver for clients through the good times (too many to mention here) and the bad (I think we've blocked out how tough it was at times during Covid-19) have been, and will continue to be, a blast. And I look forward to new connections as we make the circle bigger," he added. 

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In conversation with MARKETING-INTERACTIVE, a spokesperson from OAG said that "Omnicom Advertising Group represents a significant opportunity for our clients whether at a global, regional or local level. We have spent the last several months looking in depth at each of the networks and their agencies in almost 50 countries, and where it makes the most sense, we are bringing OAG regional leadership to partner with brand network leaders to unlock the greatest potential for growth."

"This move will not change the day-to-day management of client relationships or the day-to-day working lives of our people but instead will provide the foundations and scale that enable seamless access to more tools, more talent and in turn, better results for everyone," the spokesperson added. 

Donovan is a notable person in the industry, having led several agencies in his career. Before his five-year stint as president, Asia at TBWA\Worldwide, he was the group CEO of TBWA\South Africa. He was also managing director at TBWA\Hunt Lascaris. 

Prior to that, he was the managing director and founding partner at OpenCo. The agency was later acquired by TBWA in 2013, according to his LinkedIn. 

Donovan's appointment comes after the launch of OAG in August 2024 where Omnicom brought together some of its creative networks under one leadership. The group now includes major agencies BBDO, DDB, TBWA as well as leading agencies within the advertising collective including Goodby Silverstein & Partners, GSD&M, Merkley & Partners and Zimmerman.

Bringing these agency brands under one leadership addresses clients’ needs for powerful creative solutions like never before, it said in a statement to MARKETING-INTERACTIVE. Under OAG, each agency will retain its unique brand, culture and people, while capitalising on the group's shared and scaled investments in innovative tools, technologies, specialist capabilities, and AI platforms. 

This foundation will enhance agencies’ ability to deliver world-class creativity and accelerate growth, as well as unlock greater opportunities for personal and professional growth for their talent, added the statement. 

OAG is led by Ruhanen, Deepthi Prakesh as chief operating officer and Denis Streiff as global CFO. 

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