Interpublic Group will be aligning its Deutsch agency with Lowe Worldwide. Deutsch will become the North American hub of the Lowe & Partners global network, assuming management oversight of Lowe operations in North America, including Lowe New York, Lowe Roche Toronto and Lowe Healthcare, under the leadership of Linda Sawyer. Going forward, Deutsch will operate under the name “Deutsch Inc., a Lowe & Partners Company.” Sawyer is being named North American CEO of the new entity.
Deutsch NY will absorb the Lowe New York ops. Lowe Roche and Lowe Healthcare will continue to operate without any change. Deutsch LA will also be unaffected, continuing to run as an integrated agency, reporting to Deutsch Inc.
Val DiFebo, previously President of Deutsch NY, has been named CEO of the combined Deutsch and Lowe operations in New York.
Eric Hirshberg and Mike Sheldon are being named co-CEOs of Deutsch LA. Donny Deutsch will remain as Chairman of Deutsch Inc., a Lowe & Partners Company.
Lowe NY Chairman and Chief Creative Officer Mark Wnek will not join Deutsch Inc., but instead move to a Lowe Worldwide role, focused on certain key multinational clients, while Lowe NY President Sal Taibi will become Partner/GM of the new Deutsch NY.
“The Lowe turnaround has been an important part of the overall progress made at IPG in recent years. The agency had made great strides in reclaiming its place as a global creative powerhouse, it’s won major assignments from existing and new multinational clients and, as a result, has reversed revenue declines and significantly improved profitability. We’ve also brought on great talent and added to the agency’s leadership with the recent arrival of CEO Michael Wall,” said Michael Roth, IPG Chairman and CEO. “Deutsch is an agency with a great brand and strong management team, as well as a powerful integrated model. The respective strengths and needs of both companies are clearly complementary, which is what led us to consider this alignment. By giving Deutsch the lead role in North America and access to a strong global network, while at the same time bolstering Lowe’s standing in the vital U.S. market, we believe we will create a more powerful offering and accelerate our growth.”
