Andreas Vretscha Named CEO GroupM Austria; Omid Novidi Named MediaCom Austria CEO

Vienna, 3 July 2019 – GroupM, WPP’s world-leading media investment group, today named Andreas Vretscha Chief Executive Officer (CEO) in Austria. Previously MediaCom Austria’s CEO, Vretscha is succeeded at MediaCom, the number one agency in the Austrian market for more than a decade, by Omid Novidi formerly Chief Operating Officer (COO). Long-time GroupM Austria CEO Peter Lammerhuber will become Chairman of the GroupM Austria Board.

In his new role, Vretscha is tasked with building on the success of GroupM Austria and evolving the company proposition further to ensure it continues to deliver success for clients. In recent years GroupM has launched new products and services for clients and driven key areas such as digital quality and brand safety standards in the Austrian market. To shape the development of the digital ecosystem of the market and to lead the ongoing transformation of the communication industry will be a key focus for Vretscha.

“The appointment of Andreas Vretscha as GroupM CEO is a further proof of how well the GroupM agencies in Austria are staffed and how much management potential exists within the company,” said Peter Lammerhuber, Chairman, GroupM Austria. “Andreas has my full confidence and trust earnt through his hard work and the excellent results delivered for our group over the last 19 years.”

“I would like to thank Peter for the outstanding contribution he has made over the years in building and growing both MediaCom and GroupM. We are fortunate to have his continued leadership and inspiration as Chairman of the Board,” said Dominic Grainger, CEO, GroupM EMEA. “Andreas is the ideal candidate to continue our success in Austria. He has contributed a huge amount to the growth of MediaCom and I am confident he will continue to deliver outstanding results and first-class leadership for our group in Austria.”

“I’m delighted to take on the role as GroupM CEO and pleased to hand over the responsibility for MediaCom in Austria to Omid Novidi,” said Vretscha. “After many years of working together I couldn’t imagine anyone better to continue the successful path of MediaCom and I look forward to collaborating closely in our new roles.”

“I’m looking forward to evolving our offering at MediaCom to optimise the communication ecosystem and use of the right content, as well as finessing our all-important data-driven strategies,” said Novidi.

“Having spent more than 17 years with us, I am in no doubt Omid will hit the ground running as our new CEO of MediaCom Austria,” said Nick Lawson, CEO, MediaCom EMEA. “His deep understanding of our business and our clients will ensure we continue to develop the services our partners need to deliver growth.”

The changes will take place from 1 July 2019 and Lammerhuber and Vretscha will work closely alongside Novidi over the coming months to ensure a smooth transition period.

About Andreas Vretscha

Vretscha began his career in 2001 at MediaCom. Most recently as MediaCom CEO since 2016, he was responsible not only for defending the undisputed No. 1 position of the agency in the Austrian market for more than a decade, but also for further expanding this lead.

About Omid Novidi

Omid Novidi has been working for MediaCom Austria since 2002, where he has helped to shape the success and strategic direction across the business. Novidi has held several different roles at the company from managing the creative media unit as client service director, to chief client officer and most recently as COO since April 2017.