Maurice Lévy
Publicis Groupe has replaced its existing management board with immediate effect.
The French advertising and public relations group met in Paris this week to discuss strategic directions for 2018, four months after the breakdown of a proposed merger with fellow marketing giant Omnicom.
The shake-up includes replacing the four-man management board, known as the Directoire, and complementing this group with a more diverse group known as Directoire+.
Just three members of the previous Directoire – Maurice Lévy, Kevin Roberts and Jean-Michel Etienne – will remain in the group, with Jean-Yves Naouri making way for Anne-Gabrielle Heilbronner.
They will be supported by Directoire+, comprising Laura Desmond, CEO of Starcom MediaVest Group, Steve King, CEO of ZenithOptimedia, Arthur Sadoun, CEO of Publicis Worldwide and Rishad Tobaccowala, chief strategist of Publicis Groupe.
In addition, Publicis confirmed that Maurice Lévy and Kevin Roberts – who is promoted to executive chairman of Saatchi & Saatchi/Fallon and head coach of Publicis Groupe – will leave their roles in 2017.
The board also acknowledged the struggles of the advertising industry in regards to the accelerating pace of technological innovation and the transformation to a digital world.
Publicis have pledged to extend its leadership in the digital sphere and enrich its offerings by creating new services within the technology industry. This will tie in with the Groupe’s 2018 growth and margin targets, which will be presented to investors before the end of October.
The supervisory board approved a number of proposals brought to their attention, notably investment decisions designed to strengthen the Groupe’s position in various sectors.