At the top of the list is John Wren from Omnicom. In 2024, his “compensation package”- which includes salary, bonuses, stock awards, and other forms of payment – amounted to €20.2 million.
Philippe Krakowsky of IPG earned €15.3 million in the same period, placing him second on the list. Additional data from Equilar shows that the average CEO of a company listed on the S&P 500 index received €15.26 million in total compensation in 2024.
As a reminder, at the end of 2024, it was reported that Omnicom had acquired Interpublic, creating the world’s largest advertising company. The value of the transaction is $13 billion, and the newly formed company is expected to be worth around $30 billion. Once the deal is finalized, Wren will remain CEO, while Krakowsky, together with Daryl Simm from Omnicom, will become co-chair and chief operating officer.
Total CEO Compensation in Advertising Companies
When comparing CEO earnings with the salaries of employees within their companies, Wren and Krakowsky once again top the list.
Last year, Wren earned 494 times more than the average employee at Omnicom. For Krakowsky, the ratio was 218 to 1.
Both of these ratios exceed the average for S&P 500 companies in 2024, where the typical CEO earned 197 times more than the average employee.
Pay Ratio Between CEOs and Employees in Advertising
At the bottom of the list, in terms of total compensation and CEO-to-employee pay ratio, is Martin Sorrell of S4 Capital, with total earnings of €578,675 – eight times more than the average employee at the company.
These figures do not include stock or equity stakes acquired before 2024. As the founder and chairman of the board, Sorrell is a significant shareholder in S4 Capital, owning nearly 9% of the company.
Due to limited transparency or differing compensation methodologies, Yannick Bolloré (Havas), Arthur Sadoun (Publicis), and Mark Read (WPP) were not included in this analysis.
Note: The S&P 500 (Standard & Poor’s 500) is a stock market index that tracks the performance of 500 leading companies listed on U.S. stock exchanges.
Source: Adweek
