Omnicom investor John Chevedden scored a major victory in his effort to require an independent chairman at the ad/PR combine.
More than 54 percent of shareholders adopted his proposal presented at the May 18 annual meeting, according to a June 5 congratulatory note that he received from Eric Cleary, OMC's associate general counsel.
Bruce Crawford, 86, has chaired the company since 1995. He's the former CEO of OMC and its BBDO advertising flagship.
Chevedden's proposal stated, "Shareholders are best served by any independent Board Chair who can provide a balance of power between the CEO and the Board empowering strong Board leadership."
OMC's board unanimously opposed the resolution, noting it has had a separate chairman and CEO since 1997 and that is treats each position as separate and distinct.
"We firmly believe that this structure is appropriate and in the best interests of the Company and its shareholders, who benefit from the combined leadership, judgment, knowledge and experience of our Chairman, Bruce Crawford, and our CEO, John Wren," the company said it opposing Chevedden
The company also argued the proposed policy would restrict the board's ability to determine the best leadership structure.
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Omnicom CEO John Wren reports Q1 revenues jumped 5.4 percent to $3.6M, powered by a solid 7.0 percent rise in its advertising & media segment.
Public Policy Holding Company registered 24.1 percent growth to a record $135M during the past year, which included the results of the March 1 acquisition of Multistate Assocs.
Stagwell CEO Mark Penn reported Q4 net revenues dipped 5.6 percent to $551.1M during a “challenging year for marketing services and digital transformation.”
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