Why Weber Shandwick Refuses to Hire External CEOs

Weber Shandwick has named Karen Pugliese as its next chief executive, effective September 1, 2026. She takes over from Susan Howe, who is retiring after two years in the role. The announcement marks the fifth consecutive time the agency has promoted from within to fill its top job.

That pattern stretches back to 2001. Harris Diamond led the firm for over a decade, followed by Andy Polansky, then Gail Heimann, then Howe. Not once in 25 years has Weber Shandwick gone outside its own walls to find a CEO.

A Leader Built From the Inside Out

Pugliese has spent more than 15 years at the firm. She has run the consumer practice, served as chief of staff to the CEO, led global growth, and most recently held the title of Global President. The progression is deliberate. Weber Shandwick has long operated on the premise that the best person to lead the agency is someone who already knows its clients, its culture, and its way of working.

Polansky himself retired in 2022 after 38 years at the firm, including a decade as CEO. His exit followed the same playbook: a long handover, no disruption, no external search. The agency grew revenue every year through that transition.

The Numbers Behind the Stability

The results support the model. The Weber Shandwick Collective, which is the broader group of firms operating under the Weber Shandwick brand, reported global revenue of US$950 million in 2024, a 3% increase from the prior year. US revenue reached US$570 million. The firm converted 70% of pitches it entered that year.

These figures came during the transition from Heimann to Howe, a period that might otherwise have rattled clients or caused staff departures. Instead, the agency won PRWeek's Global Agency of the Year for 2024, topped PRovoke Media's Global Creative Index in 2025 ahead of Edelman and Golin, and appeared on Fast Company's Most Innovative Companies list for two consecutive years.

What the Omnicom Deal Changes

The succession arrives at a significant moment for the industry. In November 2025, Omnicom completed its US$13.5 billion acquisition of Interpublic Group (IPG), the firm that owns Weber Shandwick. The deal created what is now effectively a two-player market at the holding company level, with Omnicom and Publicis Groupe each controlling roughly US$25 to 26 billion in combined revenue.

Under the new structure, Weber Shandwick sits inside Omnicom Public Relations alongside FleishmanHillard, Golin, Ketchum, and Porter Novelli. Richard Edelman described the merger as marketing's fourth "big bang." The integration plan includes over 4,000 additional job cuts on top of the 8,200 positions already eliminated before the deal closed.

Forrester found that seven in 10 CMOs expressed concern that the industry restructuring would hurt their business. That nervousness is already translating into account reviews, as marketers at newly merged agencies question whether they remain a priority.

The APAC Angle

For communications leaders across Asia Pacific, the story is not just about a CEO change at a US firm. Weber Shandwick has been quietly building its regional bench throughout the disruption. Between December 2024 and October 2025, the firm made a series of appointments: Polka Yu as APAC Chief Integration Officer and Managing Director of Hong Kong and South China, Carolyn Devanayagam (a 25-year company veteran) as Managing Director Singapore and Head of Corporate Affairs APAC, Robert Magyar as APAC Head of Healthcare, and Corbin Hsieh as Head of Weber Create and Consumer Practice APAC.

Those moves signal that the firm is not waiting for the Omnicom integration to settle before committing to the region. In a market where rival agencies are managing headcount cuts and internal restructuring, that kind of visible regional investment speaks directly to clients evaluating their options.

Pugliese inherits a firm that has never needed to look outside itself to find its next leader. Whether that model holds in the Omnicom era is the question the industry will be watching.