Michael Goldberg Returns to Zimmerman, Now as CEO

Zimmerman has tapped Deutsch's Michael Goldberg as its new CEO. "I know how to grow retail business, and Michael is a master at using our proprietary tools and the tools of advertising to help accelerate that growth," Chairman Jordan Zimmerman said in a statement. "The magic formula between us has always been our mutual respect -- and our having the courage to occasionally collide." Mr. Goldberg, who fills a role left vacant a few months ago by former CEO Pat Patregnani, will focus on helping the Fort Lauderdale-based Omnicom Group shop take its retail specialty to the next level. "The world has changed with tech and data and the most dramatic impact is on the retail landscape," Mr. Goldberg said. "The first thing to do is to meet that vision of being the best retail agency and giving people the vision and tools to evolve what they do." For Mr. Goldberg, it's a homecoming that will prompt a move back not only to Florida from New York but to an agency where he spent eight years. Zimmerman absorbed Fort Lauderdale-based Harris Drury Cohen, where Mr. Goldberg was CEO, in 2003. Mr. Goldberg stayed at Zimmerman as CMO until he left to join Omnicom's Porter Novell as global CMO in 2011. It was a troubled period for the Omnicom PR shop, however, and less than a year later he returned to the creative agency world as a partner and CMO for Interpublic's Deutsch New York. Now he's coming back to Zimmerman, a CEO again. "My involvement and our success together allows Jordan to work where he's best," said Mr. Goldberg. "He knows how to build a retail business better than anyone I've ever seen." When Mr. Goldberg first joined Zimmerman in 2003, he was tasked with helping Mr. Zimmerman lead and evolve new business efforts. That will continue. Although new business won't be his only focus in the lead role, he said he'll "support it peripherally," describing his "love for the pitch." The shop recently won the Lucky Brand Jeans business and recaptured its HHGregg account after a year-long hiatus. It's currently defending its White Castle and Office Depot accounts.

Michael Goldberg Returns to Zimmerman, Now as CEO

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