• by Richard Whitman , Columnist, July 23, 2021

Omnicom Group Chairman and CEO John Wren has entered into a new three-year employment contract with the holding company that extends through the end of 2024. 

Wren, 69, has been CEO of the ad giant since 1997. 

Under his new contract, Wren will continue to receive an annual salary of $1 million, although most of his compensation comes from incentive bonus and stock-award programs. 

The company’s 2021 proxy statement reported Wren’s total compensation for 2020 of around $11.1 million, down from $19.9 million in 2019. However most of that hit was due to a change in reporting rules, in which certain stock awards are now reported for the year they are issued, not approved. 

Wren was part of the team that created Omnicom Group in 1986, two years after entering the advertising business as an executive vice president with Needham Harper Worldwide.

He was appointed CEO of the Diversified Agency Services (DAS) division of Omnicom in 1990 and was responsible for developing the division into the holding company’s fastest-growing and largest operating group, comprised of companies ranging from public relations to branding.

Wren is a member of the International Business Council of the World Economic Forum, the Board of Directors of Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, and a Trustee of the Arthur Ashe Foundation.

Wren also supports healthcare education for disadvantaged communities and has been recognized for his contributions to the community with numerous accolades, among them the Gold Medal Award from the Catholic Youth Organization and the Ellis Island Medal of Honor.