Thomas Moore
Mar 3, 2020

Porter Novelli names McKinsey's David Bentley CEO

The role had been vacant since Brad MacAfee left in December.

Porter Novelli names McKinsey's David Bentley CEO

Porter Novelli has named David Bentley CEO, effective immediately.

The agency said in a statement that he will continue its focus on helping clients “find, live and tell their purpose.”

The CEO position at Porter had been empty since mid-December, when Brad MacAfee stepped down. MacAfee had led the firm since 2016 when he took over as CEO from Karen van Bergen, who was named chief executive of the then-newly created Omnicom Public Relations Group.

Van Bergen left Omnicom PR Group shortly before MacAfee’s departure from Porter to become dean of Omnicom University, a management-development program established by the holding company in 1995. John Doolittle, president of Omnicom’s DAS Group of Companies, has been leading OPRG while the holding company searches for van Bergen’s replacement.

Porter global president Jennifer Swint also left the agency in October when her position was eliminated.

Before joining Porter, Bentley was VP of digital at McKinsey & Company, held leadership roles at AKQA in North America and Europe and ran his own consultancy. Porter did not immediately respond to questions on whether McKinsey’s work for clients such as the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia conflicts with the agency’s positioning as a purpose consultancy and other questions. Porter won Agency of the Year and other statuettes at the 2019 Purpose Awards.

McKinsey declined to comment on Bentley’s exit.

Porter’s revenue was up 1% in 2018 to $150.5 million, according to PRWeek’s Agency Business Report. OPRG, which also includes firms such as Ketchum and FleishmanHillard, posted a Q4 revenue drop of 2.5% to $358.3 million and a decline of 2% for the whole year to $1.3 billion. The unit hasn’t reported a revenue increase since 2018.

Omnicom CEO John Wren said on the holding company’s most recent earnings call that "the profitability of the PR division has been and remains very strong."

"So the opportunity is a marketplace opportunity; it’s not anything structurally to do with the business at the point," he added.

Source:
PRWeek

Related Articles

Just Published

12 hours ago

40 Under 40 2024: Lana Zhang, Merkle

Zhang's visionary leadership, dedication to innovation, and contributions to marketing automation have established her as a cornerstone of the industry in China and beyond.

13 hours ago

What Chrome’s potential spin-off means for browsers ...

As the Department of Justice pushes for Google to divest Chrome, the ripple effects could redefine browser competition, shake up web standards, and disrupt the advertising ecosystem as we know it.

14 hours ago

It's time we stopped treating Gen AI like our dirty ...

All this heated discourse about AI in creativity misses a simple truth: This revolution isn't waiting for universal approval. It's already here—time to trade the resistance for renaissance.

14 hours ago

Publicis' Unilever win solidifies its strength in ...

Dentsu's Carat jumps the most in positioning, WPP's Mindshare sees the biggest fall, while Omnicom's PHD retains the overall lead.