BBDO Worldwide has a new CEO effective October 1, and she has been in the building for less than a year. Nancy Reyes, who joined BBDO in October 2024 as CEO of The Americas, will succeed Andrew Robertson as President and CEO of the network. Robertson, who has held the top job since May 2004, becomes Chairman.

For an agency that has traded heavily on continuity under a single leader for over two decades, the speed of the handover is the story. Reyes arrived with a mandate for client growth and talent development, and Robertson all but confirmed the succession plan was baked in from day one.

Robertson said: "When Nancy joined last year as CEO of The Americas, I'm sure it was clear to all what the plan was. In the time since, she has proven to be exactly what I expected – a decisive and fast-acting leader with a clear point of view on where we need to go as a network, resilience, a sense of humor, and a relentless drive to bring great work to our clients that drives their businesses."

What does Robertson leave behind?

The ledger is long. Under his tenure, BBDO was named Network of the Year at Cannes Lions a record-setting seven times and, in 2020, the first-ever Network of the Decade. Since 2005, the agency has collected Global Agency of the Year honors from Ad Age, Adweek and Campaign, was named Best of the Best by the World Advertising Research Center, and has been ranked the Most Effective Network in the world five times by the Global Effie Index.

Robertson was inducted into the AAF Hall of Fame in 2022 and has appeared on lists of the 100 most influential leaders in marketing, media and tech alongside Mark Zuckerberg, Tim Cook and Jeff Bezos. He also worked closely with clients and played an instrumental role in recent new business wins including The Home Depot, Enterprise Holdings and Heineken.

Omnicom Chairman and CEO John Wren framed the change in familiar terms: "We have been extremely lucky to have an industry titan at the helm of BBDO for over two decades. Andrew's passion for the business was felt by his people and clients alike, always hands on to ensure the network maintained its industry leading standards of creativity."

Wren added that Omnicom is "excited for Nancy to take the reins as CEO as she propels BBDO into the future."

Is Robertson actually leaving?

Not exactly. Robertson was blunt on the point: "I want to be clear. I have no plan to retire. As Chairman I will be here to help Nancy in whatever ways I can, to coach our people, and to work with our clients, something I have always loved doing."

So Reyes gets the top job, but not the room to herself. The Chairman stays on the floor, coaching staff and working client relationships.

Reyes, for her part, acknowledged the scale of what she inherits. She said: "I recognize I have some big shoes to fill. Andrew's career and legacy is unparalleled – I am lucky he will be around to provide guidance and support to our clients, our teams and me. I am excited to have the opportunity to bring the beautiful community of BBDO together to design where we go from here. This is a fantastic agency with a very long runway ahead."

For practitioners inside the network and on the pitch lists against it, the signal is continuity with a change of pace. Reyes has a reputation as decisive and fast-acting; the question now is whether that translates into structural change at a network that has spent 20 years winning on stability.