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Arthur Sadoun to assume the role of chairman and CEO of the Publicis Groupe Board
Maurice Lévy, who is currently the chairman of the supervisory board, is set to be appointed as chairman emeritus.
Publicis Groupe announced a proposed change to the company’s governance, that will be put to a shareholder vote at its AGM on May 29, 2024.
This change would see the company shift from a dual structure corporation with a supervisory board and management board (directoire), and instead adopt the more widespread model of a single structure corporation with a board of directors.
In this new structure, Arthur Sadoun would become chairman and CEO of the board. His appointment would be accompanied by the creation of the role of lead director, and the reinforcement of the board’s committees, as part of a governance model and in line with AFEP-MEDEF guidelines.
Maurice Lévy, chairman of the supervisory board, would be named chairman emeritus in order for the Groupe to continue to benefit from his insight, experience, and leadership. In addition to attending board meetings, Maurice Lévy would preside over a mixed group of board members and executives.
These changes would allow for the continuation of the partnership formed by Lévy and Sadoun, which in the past seven years has seen Publicis become first in the industry on market capitalisation.
“Publicis Groupe has a long history of anticipating change and transforming itself to face the future” commented Maurice Lévy, chairman of the supervisory board. “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. With this in mind, I proposed changing the governance of the Groupe in order to put in place a board of directors, with Arthur Sadoun as chairman and CEO. It’s the most effective way of maintaining the Groupe’s success, now and in the long term. 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.”
“The aim of this change in governance is simple: to preserve the driving forces behind the Groupe’s success and maintain the model that has made Publicis our industry’s most valuable company in terms of market capitalization. It will also allow us to continue the duo that we have formed with Maurice 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” said Arthur Sadoun, chairman and CEO of Publicis Groupe.