• by Steve McClellan  @mp_mcclellan, March 31, 2014

Less than a year after departing Omnicom’s BBDO for WPP’s JWT, Peter Sherman is headed back to Omnicom, the holding company said Monday.

Sherman is taking on the role of executive vice president at Omnicom Group, where he will lead a series of “major initiatives” that include “driving innovation and collaboration across the holding company’s portfolio,” the company said.

In his new role, Sherman will report directly to Omnicom CEO John Wren.

In August of last year, Sherman left BBDO, where he was managing director of the agency’s European region, for JWT, where he was appointed CEO of JWT’s New York office. His impact was felt quickly, as the agency won a series new business accounts including Energizer personal care, a new Google assignment and PUMA.

Just four months later, Sherman was promoted to CEO for JWT’s North America region. At the time, JWT Global CEO Bob Jeffrey cited the new business momentum Sherman was able to spark as part of the reason for the latter’s quick ascension.

Shortly before Sherman’s promotion, JWT put a succession plan in place with the appointment of Gustavo Martinez as global president, a post Martinez assumed last month. JWT also said that Martinez would succeed Jeffrey in 2015 as Worldwide CEO. At that time, Jeffrey will become non-executive chairman. 

Commenting on Sherman’s return to the Omnicom fold, company CEO Wren said, "Peter has a proven track record of effectively managing some of BBDO's largest clients, and he certainly exemplifies our culture of creativity, collaboration and integrity. His global experience in multiple categories is perfect for the role of strengthening our relationships with our biggest clients by providing them with better and more integrated services.

Stated Sherman: "The direction [Wren] is driving the company and culture was a draw too great to resist. It feels great to be back home."

The direction Wren is driving the company is into a merger with holding company rival Publicis Groupe. That tie-up was announced last July, before Sherman made his jump to JWT. The two companies still have a number of regulatory hurdles to get past, including approval of the deal by China, as well as shareholder approval before the deal goes through. After a series of delays, the companies now expect to close the merger sometime in the third quarter.