How FCB New York CEO Emma Armstrong leverages regional autonomy
Plus: WPP’s new CEO, another leadership shake-up at Dentsu, and 2Q data on indie agency growth
Agency Business is brought to you by Brian Wieser’s Madison and Wall, in collaboration with Olivia Morley's FusionFront Media. We publish new podcast episodes every Monday at 6 a.m. Eastern.
Hello and welcome to Agency Business for the week of July 14, 2025. Episode 29 is available now on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen. Follow Agency Business on Instagram.
Inside this week’s episode
Six years ago, FCB New York CEO Emma Armstrong set out to build a client base and leadership team in the market. As the FCB global network became more interconnected, she took on a new title—global transformation officer—and began scaling successful strategies from the New York office across the FCB network.
“We believe in brands—both our own and our clients’.” —Emma Armstrong, CEO of FCB New York
Emma explains how transformation became a formalized global function—and why regional autonomy remains central to FCB’s culture. Her role evolved to meet a growing need: connecting innovations across FCB’s independently-run offices.
News of the week: Discussed in Episode 29
MW: Appointing a new CEO sooner rather than later was a good thing for WPP, although the specific selection of Cindy Rose raises a few key questions—including the degree to which the board will effectively control the company rather than letting a new CEO lead it with some independence. There are also risks for the company, given that the incoming CEO has no experience as a CEO and her career is quite removed from the agency services industry. With that said, if she is a good leader and able to elevate the right people and right ideas, this could work out well for the company. Of course… it could also be that the board’s goal is to set the company up for a break-up, in which case supporting divisional leadership might be the most important consideration for the new CEO.
FFM: I was surprised by this news—and honestly, I enjoyed seeing it. Who saw this coming? It’s worth acknowledging that, finally, a woman is leading a major agency holding company. WPP has long had a reputation for being old school, and we’ve seen some high-profile women exit the business in recent years. Could it be that some of those internal politics are no longer in play?
That said, Brian makes a good point: Cindy Rose hasn’t held a CEO title before, let alone at a publicly traded company. Make of that what you will. I can see how this could go sideways. But I can also see how someone with a sales background at a big tech company could be a great fit for a holding company that’s been struggling to hold onto business and is theoretically eager to serve tech clients and step up its tech integration.
Brandtech appoints Dentsu UK’s CEO as global chief strategy officer and CEO of Oliver
MW: While we can presume that Angela Tangas will be a meaningful new addition to Brandtech given that company’s capacity to attract top talent, it’s yet another big loss for Dentsu’s international operations. How many country or regional leaders has Dentsu now lost in the last year or two? Clients have to be asking the same questions we are about what the company is doing to reduce the talent drain. While a divestiture of the international business seems like a natural choice for Dentsu at this time, it’s not clear that this is the path its leaders will choose.
FFM: Ditto what Brian said. Here’s a rough timeline:
June 2022: Dentsu merges its creative brands, forms Dentsu Creative.
September 2022: Dentsu International CEO Wendy Clark announces her upcoming departure.
November 2022: Dentsu International and Dentsu Japan Network consolidate.
March 2023: Dentsu Creative CCO Fred Levron leaves.
August 2023: Doug Rozen, Dentsu Media’s CEO in the Americas, steps down.
2024: Several executives—ECD Sue Higgs, CCO Caroline Pay, and CSO Theo Izzard-Brown—depart Dentsu Creative UK. In Australia, Dentsu Creative loses CD Sarah McGregor and Merkle President Kim Douglas.
March 2025: Dentsu weathers earnings turbulence
May 2025: Sean Reardon, Dentsu Media’s CEO in the Americas, departs.
July 2025: Angela Tangas, Dentsu’s UK and Ireland CEO, departs.
So, yeah… seems there’s still that disconnect between holding company leadership and strategy in Japan (where keep in mind, Dentsu remains quite successful) and the relatively beleaguered North American business. What is going on at Dentsu? Tell me what you think at olivia@fusionfrontmedia.com
Madison and Wall estimates 2% growth for independent agencies in 2Q25
MW: At the same time as WPP reported worse-than-expected results for the second quarter—and many stories about WPP conveyed that macro weakness and AI are having a negative effect on the industry—it’s clear to us that the weakness was specific to WPP. If the indies are a barometer—and we think they are—their ongoing headcount growth tells us that we aren’t seeing any noticeable negative consequences from the macro environment or AI, at least not yet.
FFM: Indie headcount growth is stable and, according to
Up next on Agency Business:
Next week’s guest is Nadja Bellan-White, CEO of M+C Saatchi Group Americas. Watch for the episode next Monday at 6 a.m. Eastern.
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