This actual job listing seeks a partner for an executive search firm specializing in DEIBA+ candidates.
The base salary is $175k; plus, incentives could escalate income to greater than $750k annually.
Given the current anti-DEIBA+ vibe—especially in the US—it seems like a dead-end role. Yet the posting quickly lured over 100 Human Heat Shield applicants.
Probably lots of former Chief Diversity Officers from White advertising agencies.
Advertising Age published a perspective on pitch decision-makers that opined CMOs are no longer running the review.
The person with the final vote includes Chief Financial Officer, Chief Technology Officer, and/or AI Chief. That’s too many chiefs with not enough Indigenous people, to twist an outdated phrase. Or too many kooks in the kitchen, to twist another phrase.
The author’s closing thought: “The agencies that win the next generation of AOR relationships won’t necessarily have the flashiest creative reel. They’ll be the ones who understood how the buying committee changed and showed up ready to meet every person in that room on their own terms.”
That’s a lot of asses to kiss—an exclusive club of clients to wine, dine, and pine over.
Not a stakeholder with hiring authority: Chief Diversity Officer.
The AOR review has left the CMO’s office
By Robyn Freye
In our last four pitches, the person truly running the room wasn’t a chief marketing officer. That’s new.
Throughout my career, I’ve had a front row seat to hundreds of agency pitches—from the vantage point of an agency leader, holding company chief growth officer and as a search consultant. For years, the participant list looked the same: a brand’s CMO, VPs of marketing, and a procurement lead who showed up at the end to negotiate terms.
As AI accelerates, that list has gotten a lot longer. The C-suite decision tree is rapidly expanding, to the point where marketing leaders are often not even the stakeholders leading the review.
In our pitches, we’ve engaged with chief financial officers asking about ROI and unit economics; chief technology officers asking about data architecture and model access; chief experience officers asking about loyalty and CRM; and increasingly, AI chiefs or center of excellence leaders asking questions no one on the agency side has a slide for. The marketing brief hasn’t disappeared, but it’s no longer the only scorecard agencies are being vetted against.
Tech and finance leaders are increasingly guiding the conversation
We are seeing three things converge at once.
Budgets tightened, and every function attached to spend now answers to finance earlier in the process, not after a recommendation is made. CFOs are piling into budget conversations sooner, rapidly followed by procurement and ops leads.
Agencies used to negotiate with marketing and settle commercial terms with procurement afterward. Now those conversations run in parallel, often before there’s even a brief to respond to.
AI turned the agency relationship into a technical one. Clients aren’t just asking: Can you build the campaign? They’re asking what happens to their data inside an agency’s stack, which models are being used, and who owns the output?
In one recent review, a CTO stopped the pitch mid-presentation to ask exactly where client data goes once it enters our AI workflows. Not as a gotcha, but because it was a genuine gap in what had been disclosed. That’s not a CMO’s question, and it’s not going away as AI gets more embedded into agency work.
Growth and marketing are board-level language now. Accountability for ROI is climbing every rung of the corporate ladder, which means more of the C-suite is getting in the room for the pitch, not reviewing it after the fact.
Agencies must put more skin in the game
Most agencies still build their pitch teams for a CMO audience. But a brilliant strategic idea, delivered by a strategist, a creative and a media lead, doesn’t answer a CFO’s question about cost-to-serve, and it definitely doesn’t answer a CTO’s question about where client data lives once it enters your systems. If those questions get asked and nobody credible in the room can respond, the review stalls right there, no matter how strong the campaign idea is.
This isn’t about padding the pitch team for theater. It’s about building literacy in margin, resourcing models, and ROI methodology, and bringing in technical experts who can speak plainly about security, data governance and how AI is actually being used inside your workflows.
Clients aren’t asking for a bigger show or another slide. They’re asking for someone in the room who can answer their actual business challenges.
The next generation of agency leaders won’t just be strategists and creatives who learned to talk numbers. Pitch teams will become commercially and technically fluent by design, as comfortable defending a margin structure or a data architecture as they are defending a creative concept. Agencies that are still hiring and promoting for one skill set are going to find themselves outnumbered in their own pitch room.
The modern AOR relationship is evolving
The buying committee has changed, and the agency model has to change with it. That’s why independent agencies are punching above their weight to win bigger assignments and credibly competing with holding companies and management consultancies.
They were built to adapt to this moment. When media, data, commerce, and creative sit inside one collective, there’s someone at the table who can actually own the answer when the CFO asks how spend maps to outcomes, or when the CTO asks how the data model works across disciplines. The answer can’t be “let me get back to you.”
There’s a harder version of this problem that nobody in the room is talking about yet: procurement processes move at the speed of contracts, and AI capability moves at the speed of deployment. The agency a brand selects today based on their current AI stack may look materially different in 12 months— tools change, models change, governance practices are still being written. Brands that are serious about this should be building flexibility into AOR agreements, like capability review triggers, structured check-ins tied to AI roadmap updates, and commercial terms that can flex as the relationship evolves.
The agencies that offer that language proactively will stand out. The ones that don’t will find it asked of them anyway.
The real shift isn’t that reviews got more crowded. It’s that the questions being asked have outgrown what a typical pitch team can credibly answer, and clients know it. They’re adding seats at the table because the risk of getting marketing, technology, and cost wrong is now something every member of the C-suite is personally accountable for. When a brand picks the wrong agency, it’s no longer just a marketing problem. It’s a balance sheet problem. It’s a Board conversation.
The agencies that win the next generation of AOR relationships won’t necessarily have the flashiest creative reel. They’ll be the ones who understood how the buying committee changed and showed up ready to meet every person in that room on their own terms.
The Omnicom Inclusion Breakfast is scheduled to be served on June 24, 2026, at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity.
A social media post hyping the event stars the White holding company’s Global Chief Inclusion and Impact Officer delivering stereotypical perspectives on inclusion including, “I believe that difference is a superpower.” Okay, but DEIBA+ in Adland has been rendered powerless by Kryptonite in the form of systemic racism.
Wonder if the breakfast menu will feature Pearl Milling Company pancakes, Cream of Wheat, and Post Honey Bunches of Oats.
In Adland 2026, Juneteenth has been impacted by restructurings, redundancies, and RIFs—like White holding companies and White advertising agencies throughout the global industry.
The anti-DEIBA+ vibe in Adland means Juneteenth further loses its performative priority, plummeting far below organizational rejiggering, shareholder appeasing, and AI capabilities overhyping.
Juneteenth is seemingly deemed redundant to celebratory events such as Black History Month and MLK Day—both of which are also ignored and/or viewed with indifference.
In recent years, White holding companies and White advertising agencies have quietly diminished ERGs, downsized DEIBA+ teams, and dismissed Chief Diversity Officers. So, delegating diversity duties for Juneteenth is disregarded.
Will Adland ever experience freedom from systemic racism?
Adweek, Advertising Age, and other trade publications reported on reshuffled leadership at the new Omnicom after its acquisition of IPG, featuring executives selected from both present and pruned White holding companies.
The headshots (depicted above) display moderate DEIBA+ and divertsity.
Not surprisingly, the performative PR has no inclusion of a leading Chief Diversity Officer or Human Heat Shield—although the updated Omnicom website features a Global Chief Inclusion and Impact Officer who has been with the White holding company for roughly five years.
So, it looks like DEIBA+ decisions were quietly executed.
Did redundancy rejiggering reduce non-White representation overall, as well as diminish the number of Dawn Chambers within Omnicom, accelerating the unemployment challenges impacting US Black women?
This would constitute a DEIBA+ fail, no?
Welcome to Omnicom: The world’s leading marketing and sales company. Which looks like all White holding companies comprised of White advertising agencies.
Much has been discussed on redundancies in the Omnicom acquisition of IPG, especially given the two White holding companies share many similarities regarding talent, services, practices, and property.
Yet it seems no one has examined addressing the DEIBA+ duplications.
The scheme combined one White holding company led by a Pioneer of Diversity with another White holding company regularly spewing gobbledygook about being “recognized for leadership in diversity and inclusion.”
Why, it’s a cornucopia of commitment to cultural competence via performative PR, heat shields, divertsity, and faux philanthropy.
So, how many Chief Diversity Officers and Human Heat Shields does one White holding company need? Will ERGs be downsized, eliminated, or blended? What about proprietary programs like ADCOLOR®? Or delegating drafting the global DEIBA+ dedication declaration?
DEIBA+ has historically been relegated well below pressing professional priorities. Right now, AI (Artificial Intelligence) trumps AI (Artificial Inclusivity).
Will the Omnicom-IPG scenario present an opportunity to make progress or maintain the status quo/systemic racism?
The current anti-DEIBA+ vibe in the industry hints at the answer. Don’t expect transparency, tactics, or truth in the execution. Accountability and integrity will be in short supply too.
Mediapsssst published content spotlighting a podcast episode where ID Comms executives discussed WPP CEO Cindy Rose and ultimately declared, “If there is a harder job in Adland I can’t think of one.”
First, who gives a rat’s ass about the opinions of anyone from ID Comms?
Second, does Rose really hold the hardest job in Adland?
After all, she spent years on the WPP board—albeit in a non-executive role. While Rose might not have had a direct line of sight into the White holding company’s true troubles, it’s safe to say she took the job with eyes wide open. Surely, she didn’t land the top position totally blind to the flaming dumpster’s dysfunctions, dilemmas, and dire straits.
Besides, there are harder jobs in Adland.
Chief Diversity Officer at White advertising agencies in these anti-DEIBA+ times can’t be easy. Now, more than ever, it’s hard out here for a pimp.
Black women probably still have it harder in Adland.
Hell, the thousands of drones toiling at WPP and other White holding companies—whose livelihoods could be eliminated at any moment without warning—arguably hold harder jobs.
Sorry, Rose can’t even compete with the hardest-working man in Black advertising.
The Hardest Job In Adland Right Now
By Richard Whitman
“If there is a harder job in Adland I can’t think of one.” That’s how ID Comms co-founder Tom Denford (in the latest edition of the company’s podcast MediaSnack) described the post of WPP CEO, newly filled by Cindy Rose who succeeded Mark Read on Sept. 1.
In the podcast Denford and his fellow ID Comms co-founder David Indo give their take on the challenges facing Rose as she tries to revitalize the company in the months ahead.
It’s been a very bumpy year for the holding company. In that time it has shed half of its share price and about 7,000 jobs, Denford noted.
And as he pointed out, Rose has yet to lay out her strategic vision for the company (at least to the outside world). Which prompts the question: What does the firm’s board of directors want her to do, transform the company into a thriving competitor of main cohorts like Publicis and Omnicom or package the firm up for sale?
“She understands the challenges and has a formidable reputation as a transformation expert,” said Indo.
WPP is a “silo-cultured company,” with “big fiefdoms,” Denford asserts. There is, he added, “a lot of tension between creative and media” divisions within the firm. To compete more effectively, Rose needs to “build a community internally to carry out the vision as a team.” Case in point, he said, is Publicis Groupe, which has done that effectively with its “Power Of One” approach.
If there’s one thing Rose wants to do in the near term, said Indo, it’s keep existing clients “very happy.” Which is why clients at the holding company may want to “recalibrate terms and talent” with their current agencies.
Advertising Age reported Ogilvy plans to terminate 5% of its global workforce, including disbanding its global DEIBA+ team. According to the performative PR, the White advertising agency will shift the DEIBA+ responsibilities to regional and local markets—and probably dump duties on ERGs too.
The Global Chief DEIBA+Whatever+Pimp Officer for Ogilvy has been a revolving door position since at least 2017, so the latest move is hardly surprising.
Regarding diversity, back in 2009, Former Ogilvy Honcho John Seifert admitted the industry was “not exactly leading the way.” The White advertising agency has steadfastly maintained the sad tradition—to the point of arguably having lost its way.
Ogilvy didn’t just cut staff; rather, it cut commitment—which has always actually been bullshit.
Ogilvy cuts 5% of global staff and disbands global DEI team
By Lindsay Rittenhouse and Ewan Larkin
WPP’s Ogilvy is laying off roughly 5% of its workforce as part of a restructuring effort. Ogilvy employed about 14,000 people in 2024, according to WPP’s annual report, implying the cuts will affect approximately 700 employees.
“Ogilvy is sharpening its edge by streamlining our global operations and further integrating WPP Open, our powerful AI platform, across every facet of our business,” an agency spokesperson said in a statement. “This strategic evolution, while requiring some tough but vital changes, is designed to empower our teams, boost our creative effectiveness and ensure we continue to deliver unparalleled excellence for our clients in today’s rapidly evolving market.”
The cuts, which are being carried out periodically, do not affect Ogilvy-affiliated David, according to a person familiar with the matter. The restructuring comes as agencies across the industry reduce staff and reorganize operations, in part due to the growing influence of AI. Agency jobs are already being displaced by the rapidly advancing technology.
How DEI is being impacted
As part of the restructuring, Ogilvy has disbanded its global diversity, equity and inclusion team, shifting those responsibilities to regional and local markets. The move resulted in the elimination of Ogilvy’s global head of DEI role. Tope Ajala, who has held the position since 2021, will remain with the agency in an advisory capacity, according to a person familiar with the matter. Ajala declined to comment.
Some global DEI employees are transitioning into new roles, with at least one executive now focusing exclusively on such efforts in North America, the person said.
The agency’s “commitment to inclusion, culture and bringing diverse thinking to clients hasn’t changed,” the Ogilvy spokesperson said in a statement. The move away from a centralized global structure is designed to empower “our regional and local Inclusion leads, who will continue getting support from WPP’s Global Inclusion team.”
“This way we can ensure our Inclusion & Impact programs are tailored to each market’s culture and needs,” the spokesperson said. “This local focus also means everyone in our network takes more ownership and responsibility.”
Before Ajala took up her role at Ogilvy, she was a global DEI lead for the larger WPP holding company. While in the WPP role, Ajala helped create many programs that were then implemented at Ogilvy, including the holding company’s first belonging training, safe room conversations and leadership program for underrepresented groups, according to an announcement from Ogilvy at the time of her appointment. Ajala also served in various project management and operations marketing roles while at WPP for clients such as T-Mobile and Google, while helping on new business, too.
Following the murder of George Floyd in 2020, DEI efforts and roles were widely embraced as critical to transforming the advertising industry. Recently, however, agency holding companies have been eliminating or consolidating the chief DEI officer position amid overall cutbacks in budgets and resources devoted to the area.
Publicis Groupe made cuts to its DEI teams at the end of last year—both at a holding company and individual agency level. Interpublic Group’s IPG Mediabrands consolidated individual agency DEI efforts within its network in April 2024. Ad giants including WPP and Omnicom Group have cut references to DEI in their annual reports.
One DEI executive cut from a holding company agency previously told Ad Age that there are no related jobs in advertising anymore and expressed a desire to switch industries. “DEI is being deprioritized. It’s like what the hell happened?” this person had said.
Contributing: Bradley Johnson
Marketing Beat reported Accenture Song/Droga5 was derailed from the Transport for London (TfL) pitch after failing to meet DEIBA+ requirements imposed by the transportation network.
Earlier this year, Accenture Song/Droga5 officially dumped its DEIBA+ goals allegedly set in 2017.
Here’s a sketchy timeline of the White advertising agency’s DEIDICATION:
2016: Proceeds to generate contrived performative PR and heat shields under the guidance of its first-ever Director of Engagement and Inclusion.
2020: Names its first-ever Global Head of Diversity and Inclusion by promoting the aforementioned first-ever Director of Engagement and Inclusion.
2021: Named White AOR for ADCOLOR®.
2025: Aforementioned first-ever Global Head of Diversity and Inclusion bails to assume role of Publicis Groupe US Chief Impact and Equity Officer.
2025: Announces “sunsetting” its DEIBA+ goals (which were likely never publicly defined).
Explaining the decision to eliminate Accenture Song/Droga5 from competing for its business, a TfL spokesperson stated, “We are proud to hold our suppliers to account, making sure they are aligned with our commitments on diversity and inclusivity to help expand opportunities across our supply chain and create equal opportunities for all.”
Looks like TfL saw through the performative PR and heat shields fabricated by Accenture Song/Droga5.
The remaining firms vying for the account should be closely examined to determine if their DEIBA+ initiatives are legitimate—or box-checking bullshit delegated to Chief Diversity Officers, ERGs, and resident representatives of the underrepresented.
TfL removes Accenture Song from creative review after it scraps DEI initiatives
By Tom West
Transport for London (TfL) has taken Accenture Song out of its creative review process following on from the global agency network’s decision to scrap its diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) goals.
Although headquartered in Dublin, Accenture Song has strong ties to the US market and announced earlier this year in a memo sent by CEO Julie Sweet that it would be “sunsetting” its DEI goals set out in 2017.
The move follows the election of Donald Trump as US president, and is in-line with his government’s phasing out of DEI initiatives across the American state machine.
A TfL spokesperson said: “Following our evaluation of Accenture Song/Droga5’s submission, we recently informed them we were unable to continue with their bid for our creative tender contract, as aspects of it no longer met the required criteria.”
“We are proud to hold our suppliers to account, making sure they are aligned with our commitments on diversity and inclusivity to help expand opportunities across our supply chain and create equal opportunities for all,” they added.
“Unfortunately, due to changes in Accenture Song/Droga 5’s priorities in recent months, we were unable to continue with their bid for our creative tender contract as they no longer met the criteria for diversity that we expect from all suppliers.”
According to Campaign, the transport network – which is chaired by London mayor Sir Sadiq Khan – is currently in the process of finalising the results of its creative review.
Accenture Song has so far declined to comment on the news.
However, Shaheen Sayed, head of Accenture UK, Ireland and Africa, said: “I want to be clear that Accenture is fully committed to being a workplace of choice for anyone, across all the countries we operate in, including the UK, Ireland and Africa, free from bias and discrimination. I will ensure we continue to hold ourselves to the highest standards that we have come to expect.”
Advertising Age published a report titled, “US ad employment dropped in March for the fourth straight month”—replete with graphic charts depicting the downslide.
Can’t help but wonder how many of the lost jobs came from eliminating Human Heat Shields in these anti-DEIBA+ times.
Don’t expect Ad Age to design diagrams detailing those figures.
