At 82, Maurice Lévy wants to prepare for the future by reorganizing Publicis. A year before the end of his mandate as chairman of the supervisory board, the patriarch of advertising proposed on Wednesday to transform the French communications group into a limited company with a board of directors. In this new structure, Arthur Sadoun, currently Chairman of the Management Board since 2017, would then be appointed Chairman and CEO of the Publicis Board of Directors. This appointment would be accompanied by that of a lead administrator. Maurice Lévy would inherit the title of honorary president.
The businessman, who arrived at Publicis in 1971 and heir to founder Marcel Bleustein-Blanchet, has been refining this plan to transform the company's statutes since last summer. A way of ensuring that the balance at Publicis cannot be disrupted in the future by a third party... The idea being to ensure the sustainability of the group, in a sector where human relations and trust remain at the heart negotiations and commercial transactions with customers.
“This is not a parting word”
“This is not a farewell word, I will remain very close
,” assured Maurice Lévy in a note sent Wednesday to a handful of Publicis employees, who would remain in charge of certain questions of innovation and development for the band.
“This transformation would allow us to maintain the tandem that we form with Maurice Lévy
,” said Arthur Sadoun.
The company wishes to initiate this new turning point in a context of good financial health, while it has become the first market capitalization in the sector at 25 billion euros. It is preparing for the future, in an advertising market which should be significantly shaken up by artificial intelligence. This change to the company's statutes must be submitted to shareholders at the Publicis General Meeting on May 29.
If such a change in governance was made, Maurice Lévy would have more time to take care of his holding company Ycor, which should soon take over the Solocal group (formerly PagesJaunes), as well as to accelerate his entrepreneurial adventures through his platform. art YourArt and its start-up incubator Escalator.