Peter Sherman (B.A. ’86, journalism) is like the James Bond of the advertising world. Starting out with solid credentials doing excellent work in plain sight, he has worked in positions of increasing responsibility for some of the field’s biggest firms. In the capacity of CEO, he has run New York, European and North American agency operations from such exotic locations as San Francisco, New York, London and Milan.
Now Sherman is executive vice president, worldwide, of Omnicom Group Inc., working for the second largest holding company in the world. He says he “drives innovation, collaboration and growth across multiple agency brands and large-scale global clients.”
Sherman reflects on his career, which included growing up in Cheyenne, Wyo., and having a short stint as a runner at the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, which he quickly realized was not for him. “It’s been a nice progression. I’ve been fortunate to continue up the ladder to senior positions. I have an office on Madison Avenue, where I am plugged into the ad community. I live at the intersection of Madison and Ivinson; part of my heart will always be in Laramie.”
One reason Sherman is so proud of his Wyoming roots is that they served him well. He believes that it was not simply what he studied at the University of Wyoming and what he was able to learn on the job that has helped him reach his professional goals. It was the environment that surrounded him.
“One of the most magnificent things about UW and the state is that there are very few barriers. Those who are born and raised, or educated there, come with the attitude that possibilities are unlimited.”
He sees the Wyoming geography itself as a force that shapes its residents, noting that the university does a good job of supporting and maintaining a certain open-mindedness. “Why not you?” Sherman paraphrases the pitch. “Why would you be confined to any convention? When you live or go to school here, you are by definition unconventional, so why bind yourself with conventions?”
To Sherman, the clear message is that a UW student is part of a community, not just a number, and is a part of a very well-connected support system. “That system gives you confidence that allows you to move forward into uncharted waters, knowing you are not alone,” he says. “The whole state has your back.”
UW might not be New York or Europe in terms of sheer size or range of experiences, but Sherman says his time as a student in Laramie, Wyo., was full of diverse experiences. He describes it as the ability to “travel,” by which he doesn’t mean from place to place, but from group to group. He was able to develop friendships with athletes, with Greek members and to spend time with many other “micro-communities” on campus.
“There were very few barriers to mixing and benefitting and learning from them all,” he says. “That’s a really a big plus at UW, and it starts the minute you walk on campus. It arms you with the ability to travel well beyond the Wyoming campus because those are the type of skills that serve you in the broader world.”
Sherman does return to Wyoming on occasion to visit family or to attend functions at UW. Other times, UW students come to New York, where he escorts them around the financial district of lower Manhattan and shows them the ropes. Yet he does not want to send the message that New York is the only answer for students questioning where they need to go to be successful.
“This is a great time to live in a place like Laramie. With social media you are connected to the world, to the global community. You can benefit from both.” After all, he says, the most powerful currency in today’s business world is ideas. “Ideas do not require infrastructure,” he says. “Ideas can come from or grow from anywhere”—and the business world is figuring that out.