NEW YORK — Ogilvy has shifted its US PR leaders into new roles as it dissolves the Ogilvy PR brand in the US, part of its wide-ranging effort to restructure the business around a single P&L. 

Michele Anderson, who was previously MD of Ogilvy PR Chicago, will now lead Ogilvy's influence and PR 'domain', while also serving as one of the agency's nine client group leads in the US.

Anderson's new roles reflect Ogilvy's attempt to shift from a a focus on disciplines and sub-brands to a structure that now features nine client groups, each of which includes a mix of accounts. In addition to Anderson, the other eight client group leaders are: Nelly Andersen, Alvaro Cabrera, Cathy Francque, Mark Himmelsbach, Todd Krugman, Sean Muzzy, Stephanie Ricke and Sandeep Vasudevan.

In addition, Ogilvy's talent will now span specific disciplinary domains — enterprise branding, digital and innovation, customer engagement and commerce, influence and PR, and media and distribution. Each of these also has a specific domain lead.

Ogilvy PR New York MD Jennifer Scott will also move into a new role, said Ogilvy USA CEO Lou Aversano, putting together a trends and culture practice for the agency.

As previously revealed, Stuart Smith retains the Ogilvy PR global CEO role, serving as global enterprise leader of the influence and PR domain, while also leading the agency's Washington, DC and West Coast operations.

"Stuart will make sure that as we continue to invest and grow our skills and expertise in PR and influence, he will look at that collectively," Aversano told the Holmes Report. "First and foremost that will be Stuart’s job. Ogilvy West and DC are very PR-focused — Stuart has graciously agreed to help strengthen those offices and make sure they have the strongest footprint of skills."

"PR skills remain essential," Aversano continued, adding that no Ogilvy PR US leaders are leaving as a result of the changes. "I envision PR becoming more in demand —  influence and earned media are even more critical as brands are built in a modern way."

All of Ogilvy PR's staffers, said Aversano, would be deployed across the nine client groups. "Each group has its own diversity," he noted, adding that 'single-discipline' clients, like Ogilvy PR's CFA client, will remain "serviced by the people they know."

Aversano believes the changes, part of Ogilvy CEO John Seifert's vision of transforming the business, will make the agency more client-centric while also giving talent the opportunity develop broader marketing skills. The changes become operational in April 2017.

The agency has also identified executives that will lead its functions — Simone Oppenheimer (business development); Suresh Raj (growth, global/US); Jennifer Risi (communications, global/US); Jim Woods (finance); and Jean-Rene Zetrenne (talent).

Additional appointments include Kate Cronin to lead the USA health and wellness practice in partnership with the WPP health & Wellness offering; Adam Tucker to oversee the US enterprise branding domain; Ben Levine to serve as senior advisor on transformation; and Jack Rooney to lead integration for Ogilvy USA.