Ketchum CEO Mike Doyle to exit agency this month

Agency president and CEO Mike Doyle is leaving Ketchum at the end of July after a 30-year run at the Omnicom agency.

Doyle joined Ketchum in 1995 and held various account roles over the next decade before taking a one-year hiatus as a comms VP at NBCUniversal. He rejoined Ketchum in 2005 to help launch its consumer subsidiary Emanate.

He rose up the ranks at Ketchum before becoming partner and North America president of the agency in 2017. Doyle became president and CEO of Ketchum in 2020, taking over from Barri Rafferty when she moved client-side to lead comms at Wells Fargo.

“After a lot of careful thought and consideration, I made the decision to take Ketchum’s leadership in a different direction, and as a result, Mike and I decided he’s going to be leaving the agency at the end of July,” said Chris Foster, who, as CEO of Omnicom PR Group, oversees agencies including Ketchum, FleishmanHillard, Porter Novelli, MMC, Vox Global, DDC and Mercury.

“These leadership changes are never easy and this is not a reflection on Mike’s dedication to Ketchum, OPRG and Omnicom. We’re grateful for all he has done and for his leadership and service. I’m bullish on Ketchum and excited about what the future looks like. New leadership will give us opportunities to do things differently. It’s part of a much bigger strategic shift.”

Foster explained that there will be a national and global search for Doyle’s replacement, at “the appropriate time,” both internally and externally. In the interim, Foster will play a much more active role in managing the firm.

The recruitment process will not be delayed until after Omnicom’s proposed acquisition of Interpublic Group, which is on track to close in the second half of 2025.

“We’re not sitting around waiting for a decision around Ketchum’s leadership,” said Foster. “When we identify the right leader, we’ll move for them.”

He said there were “not a lot of conversations” about merging brands within a potentially newly combined OPRG structure that includes Omnicom/Interpublic firms, as had been previously stated by Omnicom CEO John Wren.

“It’s too early to tell what deck chairs might be moved,” added Foster. “But I do want a stronger Ketchum regardless of any IPG integration.”

Ketchum U.S. CEO Tamara Norman and CEO of global markets Jo-ann Robertson will continue to lead the agency’s U.S. and global markets, respectively, reporting to Foster.

According to PRWeek’s latest Agency Business Report, Ketchum’s global and U.S. revenues were down 5% year on year in 2024.

Ketchum is the winning-most agency in the history of the PRWeek Awards. It has also been a regular winner at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, especially for its work on behalf of Wendy’s. However, its success in these programs has waned in recent years.

Foster conceded that the firm had had a “tough couple of years,” but that it was an “incredibly durable” brand.

“The clients have a love for Ketchum and the work we do for them is really spectacular,” he said. “We just need to lean into that a little differently and reimagine some of the ways we deliver our services and the way we’re organized as a company, and place some big bets in the areas that are growing.”

He noted that Ketchum is particularly strong in brand and consumer work but needs to integrate tech and analytics and how the firm delivers that for clients a little differently, faster and at scale. Foster particularly mentioned work for clients including Adobe, Samsung and Mastercard as exciting and impressive.

He also wants Ketchum to lean more into the OPRG portfolio, especially in the public affairs and government sides. He noted that it has very strong corporate chops, which is the world Norman — another 30-year Ketchum veteran — comes from.

“We’re building from a strong base and there’s a lot to be excited and optimistic about at Ketchum,” added Foster. “Leadership transitions are tough and people are going to be sad, but I’m very excited about the future.”

On the downturn in awards success, Foster said the work Ketchum does is very solid and creative, but it hasn’t been recognized by the industry over the past few years, which is “disappointing, because the work is great.”

“I’m going to take a hard look at the work with the leadership team, how we’re honoring and promoting the work, how we’re partnering with clients on awards submissions,” said Foster. “I was disappointed with all of our [OPRG] showing at Cannes, but I believe Ketchum is well-positioned to reclaim some of that recognition and awards, because it’s how we go to market.”

But he underlined that “job No. 1 is addressing real pragmatic business needs with clients.” “Comms is a tool that allows us to drive business results through great client work,” added Foster. “That’s the goal.”

In a statement, Doyle said: “I’ve been fortunate to be a part of the extraordinary Ketchum community for nearly 30 of its 102 years and leading the firm as global CEO was my profound honor. I am immeasurably proud of the impact our work has had on the industry and society, and deeply grateful to my colleagues and clients for the chance to stand with them throughout.”

The leaders of all three main OPRG brands have changed in the past two years. J.J. Carter took over from the retiring John Saunders at FleishmanHillard in October last year, and Jillian Janaczek replaced David Bentley as CEO of Porter Novelli in August 2023.

Omnicom is due to report its Q2 numbers on July 15.