Publicis Groupe to retain management board, keeping Arthur Sadoun and Steve King

Sadoun, who is chairman of the management board, is joined by Publicis Media chief, Steve King, secretary general Anne-Gabrielle Heilbronner and executive vice president and chief financial officer, Jean-Michael Etienne, who will retire on 31 December 2020.

Speaking on behalf of the boad, Maurice Levy, former chief executive of Publicis Groupe and chairman of the Supervisory Board, said it was "very pleased" with the transition to a new CEO.

"Great emphasis has been placed on Arthur Sadoun’s personality, and on the hard work and energy that has been put into accelerating Publicis Groupe’s transformation," said Levy. "The management team he has put together and the enhanced role of Steve King by his side inspire the Board members with great confidence regarding the successful implementation of the ‘Sprint to the Future’ plan. Therefore, with the full support of the Board, the members of the Management Board are congratulated and their mandates renewed to successfully carry out this mission.”

Sadoun added: “I would like to thank the Supervisory Board for its confidence and support, and in particular Elisabeth Badinter and Maurice Lévy. Succeeding the latter at the helm of the Groupe founded by Marcel Bleustein-Blanchet is both an honor and a challenge, even more so given the changes our industry is facing that are without precedent.

"We have accomplished a lot in these last 18 months to be able to bring our clients a model that will make them win in the future. There is still much to be done to improve our performance. I’d like to thank the Management Board, the Management Committee and all of the talents of Publicis Groupe for their hard work and their commitment during this time of great transformation. I know I’ll be able to count on them to ensure our success in this next step.”

Last week, The Drum revealed that Publicis Groupe's Digitas in London has hired Ogilvy UK's chief creative officer, Emma Dela Fosse.