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Dara Akbarian has been named senior vice president of Omnicom Group Inc. and chief financial officer of Omnicom Group Inc.'s Asia Pacific India Middle East Africa (APIMA) operations, effective immediately.

Akbarian returns to Omnicom Group from Highline Capital Management, which he joined in 2008 to spearhead the hedge fund's investment efforts in the technology, media and telecommunications sectors.  Prior to his association with Highline, Akbarian spent five years at Omnicom as Senior Vice President, overseeing corporate M&A initiatives.

Before his initial stint at Omnicom, Akbarian spent seven years with Wasserstein Perella & Co.'s private equity investment unit, most recently as a director in charge of sourcing, negotiating, and structuring venture capital, growth equity, and leveraged buyout investments across a variety of industries. During his tenure, he played a key role in advising and serving on the board of directors of a number of Wasserstein & Co. portfolio companies. Akbarian began his career at the Federal Reserve, performing economic research and econometric modeling for the Board of Governors and senior economists in the Fed's international finance division.

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