Alex Lubar on Flexing DDB’s Creative Muscle - and Building Its Global Sinew

It’s nearly a year exactly since Alex Lubar joined DDB, the global advertising agency, as its first chief operating officer. Twelve months on and he’s been elevated to the role of global CEO. Incumbent CEO Marty O’Halloran is chairman, and EMEA CEO Glen Lomas has stepped into Alex’s old role of global president and chief operating officer.

It’s been a busy and successful year too - this summer, DDB was crowned Network of the Year at Cannes - which means that Alex and Glen are stepping into their new roles with the winds of momentum behind them.

When Alex first joined as DDB's COO from McCann Worldgroup, where her was North America president, he told LBB that his key priority would be to immerse himself in the network. It’s an exercise that he describes as ‘drinking from the fire hydrant’ - with a business with the breadth, footprint, and history of DDB, there’s a lot to take in. That time has been well spent as it means that Alex is moving forward with a comprehensive understanding of and connection to everything DDB.

So what did Alex discover about this network that he’d eventually come to lead? Well, first of all, that DDB’s power really does lie in its people. “That, in large part, is because DDB has focused on the creative product since its inception. It has always been paramount to produce, and develop the best possible creative product, so DDB has been a magnet for great talent for many years,” explains Alex. “In an industry that is so fickle and is often transitory, where there is a huge amount of movement, what I found was that you had a lot of phenomenal practitioners that had kind of grown up within the system. They had been building on years and years of dedication to create a product. So that, off the bat, was immediately impressive.”

Not only is it impressive, it’s valuable too. Alex says that the high level of talent across markets makes it easier to bring teams together and integrate the global network, as people are confident that they’re working with peers of the same creative calibre.

“I think that opportunity to continue to show added value by creating connections between markets by continuing to share clients by sharing tools and attitudes and behaviours really brings us together. And honestly, that was one of the big things that enabled us to win,, a credit network of the year at Cannes, was that was everybody working together,” says Alex, reflecting on the Bull’s Eye initiative, devised by DDB Latina’s Juan Carlos Ortiz, where creative leaders come together to help each other develop the best ideas to make sure they reach their full potential.

Buoyed up by a tightly-knit international community, Alex isn’t stepping up alone. But he’s also got another valuable connection that will be key - DDB’s erstwhile global CEO Marty O’Halloran will also be around as an important sounding board. As chairman, he’ll be able to provide strategic insight and a sense of continuity.

“It’s always valuable to have somebody who has been in the business for 38 years. Given his tenure at DDB, he has seen a lot, and he also knows how the DDB ecosystem operates. So having him as a resource, to bounce ideas off of and to talk through items and opportunities in a strategic way is super helpful,” says Alex. “I have never been successful on my own. I have always had success when it’s been in partnership with people around me, whether it’s having good mentors, good colleagues, or good teams. I see him as a continued strategic resource. That’s super valuable for me, but also for DDB.”

Also by his side is Glen Lomas. The chief operating officer and global president role was newly created when Alex joined the network, and he’s seen the importance of this leadership wingman particularly as the network takes a consolidated approach to regional management.

“What we want to do is invest in the markets, we want to invest in the agencies, and so we have a somewhat simpler structure. But it does mean that you need a robust global team, that is there to support the broader network. Glen has been a fantastic partner over the last year here, he’s a best in class operator. The combination of his knowledge of the DDB network but also of our clients is unparalleled. I see that role as really being a partner for me, having somebody who I can work with to make strategic decisions about the business, who really, fully appreciates the business. Given the size and importance of the EMEA market and network, it makes sense to have Glen take on that role,” says Alex, explaining that means that the global team will end up being split between London and New York, a smart move given DDB’s international footprint. 

And you can tell Alex is enjoying having this partner in crime. “I love the guy!” he says.

Aside from the award-winning work, one of DDB’s greatest achievements has been a reinvigoration of the storied brand, with its Unexpected Works platform which launched in 2021. Alex is looking to build on those foundations, keeping the brand relevant while staying true to its core values.

“It’s about evolution, not revolution, because the building blocks of what DDB and the brand has always stood for are still as pertinent today, as it always was. I think we stand for creating an emotional connection with people in a myriad of different ways. The fact that we’ve got more methods and more platforms for engaging with people, doesn’t mean that the importance of the core emotional connection goes away. In fact, it’s more important,” he says. “DDB needs to be at the centre of the culture. It needs to be modern and relevant and embrace all of the changes that we see around us, but not get blinded by the sparkly new things so much that you forget what your DNA is all about. What is at the core of our brand? Again it’s creating that emotional connection.”

Of course, taking the business forward and leading this enormous international team forward is a unique challenge in 2023. With so much changing technologically and unclear long term economic conditions, Alex is taking a methodical, calm tack. And that’s particularly true when it comes to artificial intelligence.

“AI, in different forms, has been part of our business for a number of years. So there’s been some step change and evolution of the technology, but we’ve been using AI in different elements, throughout the business, for many years. It’s not new, even though there’s a spotlight on AI culturally at the moment,” says Alex.

The key, he says, is to be open rather than fearful, and testing and learning in ‘a smart, creative and contained way. “What that means is that at any given time, we have got multiple AI projects that are moving forward, that are dealing with many different areas of our business. All from the automation of production all the way up to the delivery of different types of work for clients,” Alex explains. “The big thing that’s important for us is to do it in as thoughtful and methodical way as possible so that it doesn’t take anyone by surprise with unanticipated consequences. Actually, if you look at a lot of narrative around AI, it’s unanticipated consequences.”

And when it comes to economic climate, Alex says that when technology and the global political situation is so changeable, there’s a crucial role for DDB at their clients’ side. 

“The role where we are best is where we are as upstream as we can be with our clients, and we’re having real, strategic conversations about their business,” he says. 

“The attitude of our clients is that it’s difficult to see very hard down the road. I think that’s the case in a lot of sectors right now, where you’ve have to anticipate change at a relatively fast pace. So, historically, you were able to say as a business, ‘Alright, I know exactly what the next one or two years looks like’, it’s nowhere near the case now. So the balance is, if I can only see short-medium terms, how do I make sure that what I’m doing for the business isn’t just short termist. It’s planning for the future, building for the future but it’s being flexible enough that if certain aspects of the business or the economy change, I am able to amend the approach and I am able to be flexible within that. I think that’s the big piece, given the lack of clarity long term. You have to plan much more in a short-medium term way, but with your eye on still ensuring that long term growth is at the centre of plans.”

But what doesn’t change is the centrality of creative thinking, which is flexibility incarnate. Is it still a priority for clients? Alex says it’s different with different clients, but he’s seeing that the collective imagination of the talent at DDB does help clients anticipate and respond to surprising challenges more effectively.

“We are consistently told by our clients that they want us to be partners that bring creative ideas to them that they wouldn’t ordinarily think of. I’ve got a great quote from a client that is ‘the biggest difference is working with people who dream of solutions to problems that we would never think of. That’s where we add real value, you know. So yes, a good number of clients still firmly believe in creativity, even if they’re under short term pressure.”

Now with the announcement of his new position out, Alex is already forging ahead with his goals to flex DDB’s creative muscle across the world and build even closer relationships between markets.

“I think my priority is pretty straightforward,” he says, “It’s one: absolutely continuing to attract the best creative talent in every market all over the world. We want to be able to go into any market where we are and say: who are the best creative advertising leaders in this market and are they part of DDB? And I would like the answer to be yes. So that is definitely a focus. It’ll continue to be an investment. And then really continuing to build that connective tissue that I could call a global sinew that just holds us all together. 

“I’m a firm believer that we’re better together.”