Brian Offutt Appointed Chief Workforce Innovation & Operations Officer 

This is a new role aimed at shaping the future of the company’s workforce and workplace, ensuring agility, inclusivity and equity are at the core of how the agency operates. Offutt brings more than 20 years of experience at the intersection of strategy, operations and talent from roles at major companies including Combs Enterprises and Viacom.

“Given these shifts, the needs of our business today and in the future demand that we put workforce innovation squarely at the center of our strategy and leadership team going forward. This is essential as we prepare for the hybridization of work to deliver for our people and clients in a post-pandemic world. And as we take action to address structural inequities in our company and our communities. Brian, with his impressive experience and expertise, will bring an operational lens to ensuring we deliver for our people and our clients now, in the next decade and beyond.”

 

Over his celebrated career, Offutt has been a driving force behind the success of many well-known media and entertainment conglomerates. He was Chief Operating Officer for Combs Enterprises from 2013-2016, with operational oversight across Sean “Diddy” Combs’ brands, including Bad Boy Worldwide Entertainment Group, Sean Jean, Revolt Media & TV and Combs Wine & Spirits (Ciroc Vodka, DeLeon Tequila), among others. Offutt also spent eight years as a senior operations executive for Viacom’s Nickelodeon Group where he designed and implemented process improvements and staff reorganizations across several divisions, including Consumer Products, Production, Creative, Digital, Marketing and Communications (from 2005-2012). He was previously Chief Operating Officer of Broadway Video, an independent entertainment company founded by “Saturday Night Live” creator and producer Lorne Michaels. Offutt also led the formation of the Talent practice at Medialink, the strategic advisory division of Ascential. Earlier in his career, he was an executive search consultant at Spencer Stuart and president and COO of digital agency Interdimensions.

In his role at Weber Shandwick, Offutt will collaborate closely with leaders across the firm’s human resources, talent acquisition, client services and diversity, equity & inclusion groups – including Abby Gold, Weber Shandwick’s Chief Employee Experience Officer, and Judith Harrison, senior vice president, Diversity & Inclusion – to align and accelerate the structures and processes that best position the agency for future success.

 

 

“Nothing could have prepared companies for the moment we’re in currently. And looking to the future, I believe change will only happen faster and faster, which means companies will need to build workforces that embrace that challenge, are energized by it and adapt to it well,” Offutt said. “That’s what I’m looking forward to doing in partnership with the incredible team at Weber Shandwick. I admire how the agency has redefined itself to meet and anticipate the needs of its stakeholders over the years. And I look forward to playing a role in ensuring the firm maintains its leadership role in innovating for the future.”