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| Chris Foster |
Omnicom Group CEO John Wren has hired Chris Foster, North America president of WPP’s BCW unit, to run its PR operation.
Foster will assume the Omnicom Public Relations Group CEO job on June 28.
He will oversee FleishmanHillard, Ketchum, Porter Novelli, Cone, Portland, Marina Maher Communications and Mercury.
Omnicom’s press release announcing Foster’s hire fails to mention his roles as BCW North America Group president, Burson-Marsteller executive VP & chief business development officer, and B-M US healthcare president.
He left B-M in 2010 for Booz Allen Hamilton management consulting firm but returned to the WPP unit in 2015.
Omnicom’s release does credit Foster for serving on the boards of The LAGRANT Foundation, Institute of PR, 4A’s, Public Relations Counsel and University of Virginia’s School of Continuing and Professional Studies.
He also is a founding member of the Black Executive CMO Alliance.
Wren had left the OPRG CEO slot open since Karen van Bergen left in January 2020 for the dean job of Omnicom University. She was CEO of Porter Novelli and executive VP at FleishmanHillard before taking over the OPRG.
John Doolittle, who was interim chairman of OPRG, will become chairman with the arrival of Foster.
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