John Dooner – Chairman Emeritus of McCann Worldgroup

John Dooner is Chairman Emeritus of McCann Worldgroup. He was also Chairman & CEO of Interpublic Group (IPG), McCann Worldgroup’s parent company, from 1997 to 2000 and again from 2003 to 2011.

Born and raised in Gadsden County, Florida, Dooner traces his roots back to shade tobacco growers. He is the 7th generation in his family to be exposed to farming and managing land.

Early Life and Education

John Dooner was born and raised in Gadsden County, Florida. He traces his family history to a long-line of agriculturalists. His maternal grandfather and great-grandfather, both of whom he never met, were shade tobacco growers.

His father, Michael, started the family’s timber consulting firm, Southern Forestry Consultants, in the 1980s. Today, the team manages roughly 2 million acres in Northwest Florida, Southwest Georgia and Northeast Alabama.

A visionary, energetic and consistent leader who has built Worldgroup to be one of the world’s largest marketing communications organizations, Dooner is also an alumnus of St. Thomas University, where he served as Chairman of the Board of Trustees.

Professional Career

John Dooner has held a number of key leadership positions in the advertising, marketing and communications industry. He has been a key driving force in the establishment of one of the world’s largest and fastest growing integrated marketing communication companies, McCann Worldgroup.

He has led a series of highly successful business expansions for the company. He was instrumental in the creation of McCann Relationship Marketing (MRM) Worldwide, Momentum Worldwide, FutureBrand and McCann Healthcare.

His career with Interpublic Group has been marked by vision, energy and a commitment to grow the agency’s client roster while improving its creative and overall quality and reputation. Among his numerous honors, he was awarded Adweek magazine’s East Coast Executive of the Year.

Achievements and Honors

Vision, energy and a persistent dedication to growing Worldgroup’s business by building its clients’ businesses have defined John Dooner’s 35-year career with McCann and Interpublic. His leadership has led McCann-Erickson to worldwide billings of $20 billion, nearly triple what it was in 1994 when Dooner took over as Worldgroup Chairman and CEO.

Under his leadership, McCann-Erickson was named “Agency of the Year” six times by leading advertising publications around the world. It has also been a leader in new business, winning such blue-chip clients as Agilent Technologies, DuPont, Gateway, Glaxo Wellcome, Lucent Technologies, MasterCard, Motorola, and Sprint.

Personal Life

John Dooner, Chairman Emeritus of McCann Worldgroup and a partner at DDCD Partners, is known for his commitment to helping businesses grow by building their brands. The former CEO of the global agency group is credited with leading McCann through its growth from a small agency to one of the world’s largest marketing communications organizations.

In his spare time, he enjoys traveling and history. He is also very fond of his Gadsden County heritage, where his maternal grandfather and great-grandfather on his paternal side were shade tobacco growers.

He currently serves on the Board of Directors for Gadsden County Farm Bureau and is a member of the Florida Farm Bureau State Board of Directors, where he is the District 2 Leadership Chair. He has been a long-time supporter of the local community and its thriving agriculture industry.

Net Worth

John Dooner is the Chairman Emeritus of McCann Worldgroup, a marketing communications agency that he founded in 1997. He has also served as the Chairman and CEO of Interpublic Group (IPG), which is McCann’s parent company.

Dooner’s net worth is estimated to be at least $23 million dollars as of 2023-01-31. He owns 641,351 shares of IPG stock, as well as 11,100 units of Ethan Allen Interiors Inc. He has made 3 trades in ETH stock since 2007.

In addition to his career as an adman, Dooner is also an avid podcaster and content producer. He produces and hosts the popular FreightCasts podcast, as well as co-hosting Back The Truck Up, a weekly podcast for logistics and supply chain professionals. He has also written a blog about supply chains and trucking.