Global agency group Publicis has shaken up the higher echelons of its governance structure, merging its supervisory and management boards to form a coherent whole.
Arthur Sadoun, who currently heads the management board as CEO and chairman, will take over the same role on the newly-established single group board.
Long-serving chair of the supervisory board, Maurice Lévy, will now move towards an honorary role as chairman emeritus, having first joined Publicis in 1971.
“Publicis Groupe has a long history of anticipating change and transforming itself to face the future. The primary responsibility of any board is to ensure that a company has both the governance structure and the teams it needs to lead it forward,” said Lévy.
“With this in mind, I proposed changing the governance of the Groupe in order to put in place a board of directors, with Sadoun as chairman and CEO. It’s the most effective way of maintaining the Groupe’s success, now and in the long term.”
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“I’m delighted that the supervisory board was unanimous in its approval of this change, and confident that our shareholders will give it their support, seeing it as the means of preserving and perpetuating the outstanding results that have taken our group to new heights,” he added.
Whilst Lévy will not be a director of the new board, he will continue to work closely with Sadoun and will continue to act as an adviser and attend board meetings. Having proposed the changes to shareholders, a vote on the matter will take place at Publicis’ general meeting on 29 May.
Sadoun has led the management board since 2017 when he took over from Lévy himself, who had at the time held the role since 1987.
Sadoun added: “It will also allow us to continue the duo that we have formed with Lévy since 2017, which has seen Publicis extract itself from the pack and emerge as a clear leader in our sector.
“The continuity of our partnership, combined with the incredible talent of our teams around the world and our best-in-class capabilities make us more confident than ever in our ability to help our clients transform and thrive in this ever-changing environment, and drive even greater value and innovation for all of our stakeholders. For those reasons, I hope that our shareholders will support this proposal.”
