• by Richard Whitman , Columnist, March 28, 2022

Like the other major ad groups, Omnicom rebounded nicely last year in terms of financial performance versus COVID-stricken 2020. 

And so have pay levels for the company’s senior executives which Omnicom has just disclosed in its 2022 proxy statement. 

CEO John Wren’s total compensation package last year was just under $20 million, well above the $11.1 million package he received for 2020 when senior executives at the firm took voluntary pay cuts. Wren’s package for last year was slightly above his 2019 earnings which totaled $19.8 million. 

Not surprisingly Wren was the highest-paid executive at the company in 2021 and if I had to guess will likely be the highest paid CEO in Adland. We’ll see as other holding companies release their proxy statements in the coming weeks. 

Number two in the pay department at the company is Chief Financial Officer Phil Angelastro whose total comp last year was $9.7 million, up from $4+ million in 2020 when he took a voluntary cut. In 2019 he earned $7.5 million. 

Rounding out the top 5 highest paid executives at the company last year were Chief Operating Officer Daryl Simm ($8.7 million), Jonathan Nelson, CEO Omnicom Digital ($5.9 million) and General Counsel Michael O’Brien ($4.7 million). 

Omnicom’s annual meeting will be held May 3 in Charlotte, NC.