Publicis Names Geoff Calabrese as Chief Commercial Officer

Geoff Calabrese has left Omnicom and will join Publicis Groupe as commercial director of the holding company.

Calabrese, who was most recently head of North American investment at Omnicom Media Group, will oversee client business engagements in new and existing partnerships, and be responsible for deal development and delivery commercial

Starting in the spring of 2025, Calabrese will report to Dave Penski, CEO of connected media and member of the Groupe’s executive committee, and to Lou Rossi, financial director, connected media.

In his new role, Calabrese also focused on driving commercial models, spanning agency remuneration, performance incentives, media value guarantees, technology integration and tools including the benefits of AI, and agreements of commercial working capital.

In his previous role at OMG, where he spent more than 15 years, Calabrese oversaw the investment and activation of more than $20 billion across all media channels and led several of OMG’s strategic strategic units, including Optimum Sports and Outdoor Media Group. Prior to that, he was chief investment officer, NA; president of OMent, the main purchasing unit of Omnicom; and director of accountability, where he helped manage OMG’s customer savings programs.

“In this increasingly fragmented media landscape, Geoff’s influence and leadership will be instrumental as we build the future of results-based marketing, having led major investment deals and negotiations spanning major brands and partnerships,” Penski said in a statement.

Calabrese’s appointment comes just weeks after Omnicom reached an agreement take over the Interpublic groupalthough this was not cited as Calabrese’s reason for leaving OMG.

OMG North America recently did PHD exec Katie Klein as Chief Investment Officer to succeed Calabrese, who had already announced that he was leaving the company.