Ogilvy Has Named a New Global CEO

The speculation about a successor to Miles Young is over: John Seifert is the new Ogilvy & Mather worldwide CEO, effective immediately. Young will continue as worldwide chairman until Sept. 1, when Seifert also assumes that role.

The 57-year-old Seifert will retain his duties as chairman and CEO of Ogilvy North America, but the agency expects to name a replacement for him in that job.

Last June, when word leaked about the Young's decision to leave advertising for a top administrative post at his alma mater, Oxford University, the news came as a surprise. Since then, Ogilvy parent company WPP has worked with Young, to consider both external and internal replacement candidates.

Ensuring a continuity in Ogilvy leadership was a deciding factor in the CEO, according to Young. "The reason we chose John was he epitomizes the classic Ogilvy values.The critical thing about this brand is the culture behind it. (I've told Seifert:) 'Don't skimp on that.'"

Seifert, who has been part of Ogilvy's worldwide executive committee since 2009, says he'll be sticking with that group's "very robust agenda". More specifically: "Nothing is more important than the work. In this new digital age we need to build client business plans as they relate to the modern business environment. ... I wouldn't trade O&M's assets for those at any other company. The trick is to manage with agility so we can stay focused on the future and be prepared for what's coming."

While Seifert doesn't have the same hands-on managerial international experience as his predecessor, he was responsible for a portfolio of 25 global clients totaling nearly $1 billion in revenue before taking on the leadership of O&M North America in 2009. He has been responsible for clients and held general management positions in Los Angeles, Chicago, Bangkok, and Singapore.

Seifert went back to New York in October 1992 and spent the next four years traveling for American Express about 70 percent of the time. He led the reengineering of American Express internationally when it became centralized in New York and London and launched BP globally in 2000.