The Current: Justin Hayashi on the Omnicom-IPG Merger

Last updated: December 9, 2025

The following summarizes an op-ed written by New Engen CEO Justin Hayashi, published by The Current on December 8th, 2025.

SEATTLE, WA - In a sharp and timely op-ed for The Current, New Engen CEO Justin Hayashi critiques the widely publicized Omnicom-IPG merger, arguing that while the deal creates the world’s largest ad holding company by revenue, it prioritizes scale and shareholder value over what brands truly need: speed, integration, performance accountability, and real operational innovation.

From the downsides of principal-based trading to the potential loss of innovation through consolidation, Hayashi outlines the ways in which this type of merger could harm, not help, brand growth in the long run.

Ultimately, agencies are people-based businesses. This won’t look like the kind of marginal-effort scaling you see in software. Here, the “product” is people, partnership and expertise. Rapid scale, especially through M&A, tends to introduce complexity, slow decision-making and increase internal politics — all of which can dilute the client experience if not managed exceptionally well.

Justin Hayashi, CEO at New Engen

Head to The Current to read Justin's full perspective, Why the Omnicom-IPG merger doesn’t solve the biggest problems brands face.