Publicis Makes Key Promotions

Publicis Communications CEO Arthur Sadoun announced a series of key promotions within the holding company’s network today, Adweek reports

Among the promotions, Carla Serrano and Bill Kanarick were appointed as co-chief strategy officers of Publicis Communications. Serrano will also continue to lead Publicis New York as CEO, while Kanarick will retain his role as CSO of Publicis digital hub Publicis.Sapient. 

“Our ambition is to be our clients’ indispensable creative partner in their transformation,” Sadoun told Adweek. “With these appointments, we are creating closer ties with Publicis.Sapient to deliver the interdependent model of the future to all of our clients. We are strengthening our leadership teams to continue to raise the bar for creative excellence.” 

Sadoun added in an internal memo that part of the strategy involves leveraging SapientNitro’s digital capabilities across Publicis’ agency network.

Kate Stanners was also appointed global chairwoman of Saatchi & Saatchi, while continuing to serve as global chief creative officer. She takes over for Kevin Roberts in the role, following  Roberts’ resignation at the start of the month in the wake of his controversial remarks about gender diversity issues in a Business Insider interview that “The fucking debate is over” and he doesn’t spend “any time” worrying about diversity issues at his agencies. 

Leo Burnett Canada CEO and CCO Judy John will now also serve as Leo Burnett chief creative officer, North America, while Brent Nelson will take on the role of chief strategic officer for Leo Burnett, North America. John and Nelson will join global CEO Rich Stoddart and global CCO Mark Tutssel to complete Leo Burnett’s leadership team, and will be responsible for uniting the agency’s operations in the U.S. and Canada. 

Rounding out the series of promotions, Publicis Conseil CEO Valérie Henaff will take on the additional role of Publicis Worldwide global president, while Loris Nold will now serve as Publics Communications chief operating officer, Asia and the Middle East and Justin Billingsley will serve as COO for Latin America and Europe. 

“We are reinforcing the spirit of Power of One by simplifying our structures at local levels to foster greater collaboration and seamless access to resources,” Sadoun said. “In just nine months, our approach has delivered some fantastic results, and I know that with these latest moves the best is yet to come,” he added, referring to the restructuring moves last December which also led to Sadoun’s appointment as Publicis Communications CEO.

 

Saatchi & Saatchi N.Y. Parts with CEO Brent Smart and CCO Jay Benjamin

Saatchi & Saatchi New York CEO Brent Smart and CCO Jay Benjamin are leaving the agency, to be replaced by Andrea Diquez and Javier Campopiano at the beginning of September.

Smart was appointed CEO in November of 2013, replacing Durk Barnhill, who spent a little over a year in the position. Before being named CEO of Saatchi & Saatchi New York, Smart spent two years serving as worldwide managing director, leading the General Mills account globally. Prior to joining Saatchi & Saatchi, Smart spent two years as managing director with BBDO San Francisco, following over four and a half years in the same position with Colenso BBDO in Auckland, New Zealand.

“Jay and I started this journey of reinventing Saatchi New York together as partners, and we’ve decided to finish as partners, as we both leave the agency to pursue other opportunities,” Smart said in a statement. “For me personally, after five years with the agency it’s time for a change, and the time is right to do that now with the right succession in place, which is something we’ve been talking about for a while.”

Benjamin joined Saatchi & Saatchi New York as CCO from Leo Burnett in April of 2014. He spent four years as CCO for Leo Burnett New York, following two years as executive vice president, executive creative director with Leo Burnett Sydney and a year as executive creative director with JWT before that.jay benjamin“I’m incredibly proud of the team at Saatchi & Saatchi New York, and especially of being named Creativity’s Comeback Agency of the Year,” Benjamin said. “It’s been a true labor of love and an honor to work with such an amazing roster of brands. I’m very excited for what’s next for myself and for the agency. The view was pretty good too.”

Diquez has served as president, global director of Saatchi & Saatchi since last October, tasked with leading day-to-day operations, client relations and running P&G’s global Olay account, a task she previously handled as executive vice president, global director for three years, also leading P&G operations in the Americas. Prior to that she spent nearly two and half years as CEO of Saatchi & Saatchi Mexico. She originally joined Saatchi & Saatchi as vice president, management supervisor of Saatchi & Saatchi New York in 1997, rising to the rank of senior vice president, global equity director at the New York office before leaving to lead Saatchi & Saatchi Mexico.

Campopiano has served as senior vice president, chief creative officer for Conill Saatchi & Saatchi U.S. and Latin America, working with clients including P&G, Toyota, Mondelez and T-Mobile. Prior to that he served four four and a half years as CCO and regional executive creative director for FCB International and FCB New York, leading working for clients such as SC  Johnson, Johnson & Johnson, Kraft, Nissan, Jack Daniels, FDA and Amtrak. Prior to that he spent nearly three years as a  creative director for Saatchi & Saatchi Buenos Aires, working with clients including P&G, Ambev and Cadbury.

“We greatly appreciate the vision and passion that Brent and Jay have brought to the agency during their time here and we thank them for their contribution,” said Saatchi & Saatchi worldwide CEO Robert Senior. “We’re looking forward to the next chapter of Saatchi NY under Andrea and Javier’s leadership as we continue to focus on the success of our clients.”

The leadership changes follow the announcement earlier this month that Saatchi & Saatchi executive chairman and Publicis Groupe head coach Kevin Roberts will resign his position at the start of September, in the wake of theBusiness Insider interview in which he made controversial comments about gender diversity issues and Cindy Gallop.

These moves follow General Mills’ July announcement that it would hold a closed review of its creative and content agencies. Since then, multiple sources have told us that Fallon is representing Publicis in that review two years after GM hired the agency’s former strategy lead Michael Fanuele as its in-house chief creative officer.

Saatchi & Saatchi Chairman Kevin Roberts to Resign: ‘I Failed Exceptionally Fast’

Publicis announced this morning that Saatchi & Saatchi executive chairman and Publicis Groupe head coach Kevin Roberts will resign as of September 1 — ahead of his previously scheduled May 1, 2017 retirement.

Roberts had been placed on a leave of absence following a Business Insider interview in which he made controversial comments regarding gender diversity issues. He told Lara O’Reilly saying “The fucking debate is all over” and he sees no need to spend “any time” worrying about gender diversity at his agencies. He also dismissed those who spend time campaigning over the issue, taking aim at Cindy Gallop specifically as having “problems that are of her own making.”

The press release from Publicis read simply:

“Publicis Groupe announced today the resignation of Kevin Roberts Head Coach de Publicis Groupe, Executive Chairman of Saatchi & Saatchi/Fallon, Member of the Management Board. The Supervisory Board and the Chairman and CEO of Publicis Groupe took note of Kevin Robert’s decision to step down with effect from September 1st 2016, prior to his retirement date due in May 2017.”

Roberts’ PR firm released his own statement to media in which he apologized for the “upset and offence” caused by his “miscommunication on a number of points.” Here’s the statement in full: 

“Fail Fast, Fix Fast, Learn Fast” is a leadership maxim I advocate.

When discussing with Business Insider evolving career priorities and new ways of work/life integration, I failed exceptionally fast.

My miscommunication on a number of points has caused upset and offence, and for this I am sorry.
I have inadvertently embarrassed Saatchi & Saatchi and Publicis Groupe, two companies I love and have been devoted to for almost 20 years.

I have expressed my regret and apology to the companies for the furor my remarks and language stimulated, and I extend this to colleagues, staff and clients.

So that we can all move forward, I am bringing forward my May 1, 2017, retirement from the company, and will leave the Groupe onSeptember 1, 2016.

There is a lot of learning to reflect on, and within the thousands of tweets, comments and articles there are many powerful and passionate contributions on the changing nature of the workplace, the work we do, what success really looks like, and what companies must do to provide women and men the optimal frameworks in which to flourish.

I believe that new thinking, frameworks and measures are needed to make more rapid progress on diversity in all its forms, in all professions and occupations. Hopefully, the focus on this serious and complex issue will gather momentum.

Cindy Gallop, who Roberts mentioned directly, released her own statement to Business Insider in response to the news of Roberts’ resignation. She claims Publicis could have made a greater statement to the women it employs if it had fired Roberts but says she anticipates greater change moving forward.

Gallop’s statement in full:

I’m pleased to see that Kevin Roberts has resigned, given that his comments made him non-credible as a chairman charged with inspiring, motivating and promoting into leadership the thousands of women who work for Saatchi and Saatchi Worldwide; as a coach charged with training and developing the industry leaders of the future; and a leader whom huge clients selling brands. products and services to millions of women trust with their own brand reputation, communication and sales.

However, given he was forced to resign, PublicisGroupe would have made a far greater statement to every woman working within their network, at every client brand they represent, and to the industry as a whole, if they had fired him.

I look forward to Maurice Levy and Publicis Groupe now spearheading a very dramatic seachange in the way the white male leadership of our industry welcomes women and people of color up to the leadership ranks shoulder to shoulder with them, and to seeing tangible, visible action on their part in the coming weeks. Starting with Maurice Levy attending and speaking at the 3PercentConference in NYC this Nov 3/4 (where I will also be speaking) – the perfect platform to address the female talent and creativity in our industry and demonstrate how much he values it.

Some context for the interview that led to this imbroglio: O’Reilly declined to speak to us about it directly, but we hear that a PR firm that represents Roberts as a client (but has no relation to the Saatchi or Publicis organizations) set up the meeting when Roberts happened to be in London last month.

This interview was more about promoting Roberts as a thought leader than discussing any of his work or future plans for Saatchi & Saatchi/Publicis Groupe. During the same session, O’Reilly asked him to comment on the current U.S. presidential election; he noted that Donald Trump has a simple and effective slogan and said that Hillary Clinton is “bereft of a selling line … bereft of a dream.”

There do not appear to have been any PR professionals in attendance during the interview. Otherwise someone surely would have told Roberts to either avoid the issue of gender equality altogether or to stop while he was ahead.

It’s not clear at this time whether Saatchi & Saatchi plans to name a successor.

Publicis Places Saatchi Chairman Kevin Roberts on Leave of Absence Over Diversity Comments

A quick summary of the weekend’s events surrounding Saatchi & Saatchi global chairman Kevin Roberts, in case you missed it:

On Friday, we wrote about Roberts’ London interview with Kara O’Reilly of Business Insider. In that conversation, he made some controversial statements about gender issues in advertising, essentially saying diversity in terms of male/female leadership was no longer an issue and that he doesn’t spend “any time” on such matters at his agencies. In his own words, “The fucking debate is all over.”

He went on to dismiss some who campaign on the issue, listing Cindy Gallop in particular as having “problems that are of her own making.”

Various parties seemed thoroughly unimpressed by his comments, and the situation escalated quickly.

Early Saturday morning — after the BI post ran and we aggregated it — Publicis Groupe CEO Maurice Levy sent an email to Campaign in which he wrote: “The opinion expressed by Kevin is neither shared nor supported by myself or the Groupe. It is his own, expressed in his unique and provocative way and does not reflect the Groupe opinion or policy.”

Kat Gordon of the 3 Percent Conference then told Adweek that her group’s own research disproves Roberts’ points, stating, “I can say with complete statistical backup that Mr. Roberts is wrong about gender bias being solved in the ad world.”

12 hours later, Roberts was pushed out of his position — at least temporarily. On Saturday evening, Publicis PR sent a statement to Adweek and others about the decision, explaining how Publicis Groupe Chairman & CEO, Maurice Lévy had also sent out an internal memo distancing himself from Roberts comments and reiterating the holding company’s “no-tolerance policy towards behavior or commentary counter to the spirit of Publicis Groupe” and its commitment to diversity. Roberts’ long-term future with Publicis and Saatchi & Saatchi will ultimately be determined by the Publicis Groupe Supervisory Board. 

Adweek then reported that Saatchi & Saatchi CEO Robert Senior also released a statement disavowing Roberts’ comments. “Kevin has given what are his personal views on the subject of gender diversity. However, those views are not mine, and nor are they the position of the agency,” he said. 

“Saatchi & Saatchi is, and has always been, a meritocracy. We live and die by our people, our talent, and it makes no difference to us whether that talent is male or female,” he continued, adding that 65 percent of the agency’s staff are female, including senior leadership roles.

“However, the issue of gender diversity is not in any way over for our industry. It is live, emotive and vital for the communications business that we continue to insist that the best people, whatever their gender, are able to achieve their potential,” he added. This is what we strive for at Saatchi & Saatchi, and is what we will continue to strive for alongside all of the best agencies in our industry.”?

Mr. Roberts himself has yet to make a comment on this story.

Here’s Publicis Groupe’s full statement:

Following the comments made by Saatchi & Saatchi Executive Chairman and Publicis Groupe Head Coach, Kevin Roberts, in a recent interview with Business Insider, Publicis Groupe Chairman & CEO, Maurice Lévy addressed a statement internally to all Publicis Groupe employees to reiterate the Groupe’s no-tolerance policy towards behavior or commentary counter to the spirit of Publicis Groupe and its celebration of difference as captured in the motto Viva la Difference!

It is for the gravity of these statements that Kevin Roberts has been asked to take a leave of absence from Publicis Groupe effective immediately. As a member of The Directoire, it will ultimately be the Publicis Groupe Supervisory Board’s duty to further evaluate his standing.

Diversity & inclusion are business imperatives on which Publicis Groupe will not negotiate. While fostering a work environment that is inclusive of all talent is a collective responsibility, it is leadership’s job to nurture the career aspirations and goals of all our talent.

Promoting gender equality starts at the top and the Groupe will not tolerate anyone speaking for our organization who does not value the importance of inclusion. Publicis Groupe works very hard to champion diversity and will continue to insist that each agency’s leadership be champions of both diversity and inclusion.

Saatchi Chairman Kevin Roberts Tells Cindy Gallop ‘She’s Got Problems That Are of Her Own Making’

Saatchi & Saatchi chairman Kevin Roberts told Business Insider that the gender diversity debate is over.

The publication pointed out that all six holding company CEOs are male and that while 46.4 percent of the ad industry is female, only 11.5 percent of creative directors are (a number up from the 3 percent figure that gave The 3% Conference its name when it was created in 2010). When Business Insider suggested that the gender diversity debate continues in the industry, Roberts responded, “Not in my view.” 

The publication brought up the 11.5% figure, as well as recent discrimination lawsuits, such as the one filed against former JWT CEO and chairman Gustavo Martinez by global chief communications officer Erin Johnson or the one alleging former RAPP CEO Alexei Orlov referred to various women as “fat cows” and declined to promote a female executive because she was “too pretty” (amongst other charges).

Edward de Bono [Maltese physician, psychologist, and author] once told me there is no point in being brilliant at the wrong thing — the fucking debate is all over,” Roberts said. “This is a diverse world, we are in a world where we need, like we’ve never needed before, integration, collaboration, connectivity, and creativity … this will be reflected in the way the Groupe is.”

Publicis Groupe employs around 50 percent women, Saatchi & Saatchi around 65 percent.

When asked specifically about women like Cindy Gallop calling attention to ongoing gender issues in the industry, Roberts said, “I think she’s got problems that are of her own making. I think she’s making up a lot of the stuff to create a profile, and to take applause, and to get on a soap[box].”

Gallop responded by saying, “The best response to that is to throw it open to the industry, and ask the women and men of the ad industry, all around the world, to tweet at @krconnect to let him know whether they think I’m ‘making it all up’.”

Gallop has since tweeted about Roberts’ interview with a series of statements, including quoting a Facebook post from William Charnock, who said, “‘Issue is all over’ feels like a Donald Trump-ism – dismissive, insensitive, inaccurate.”

Plenty of other ad folks, meanwhile, have taken up Gallop’s call to tweet a piece of their mind at Roberts.

Big Changes at Publicis: Levy Staying, Razorfish Absorbing Rosetta

Some French dudeIn case you haven’t seen it already this morning, The Publicis Groupe officially rewarded Maurice Levy for his failure today by extending the current chief executive’s role until (approximately) The Avengers 3.

Despite the fact that Levy assured The Guardian that he would “not be seeking a new term” in the halcyon days of 2010 and that other reports had him set to leave next year, it seems that Levy will stick around at least until the approval of all accounts at the end of 2016 — and that he will leave in early 2017.

Obviously, “No clear successor has been appointed to replace Levy.”

Two former candidates will definitely not be replacing him, though.

(more…)

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Smart Takes Over as Saatchi NY CEO

brentsmartWe first started hearing about this a couple of weeks ago and now it’s official that Durk Barnhill, who’s spent the last year-plus as CEO at Saatchi & Saatchi New York, will no longer hold the title at the agency as he’s now moving into the role of business development director on Saatchi & Saatchi’s global transformation team. Barnhill, who will also help build the digital capability within the Saatchi network, will be succeeded by 39-year-old Aussie native Brent Smart (pictured), who has served as worldwide managing director of the New York office for two years (with an initial focus on the General Mills biz).

In a statement, Saatchi & Saatchi Worldwide CEO and Mr. Lovemarks himself, Kevin Roberts, says, “Brent has a record as an outstanding agency leader, a strategic and eloquent contributor in our boardroom, and a fearless producer of work that is equally creative and commercial.” Prior to Saatchi, Smart spent two years as managing director at BBDO San Francisco. During his career, the new Saatchi NY CEO served as MD for several years at Auckland-based Colenso BBDO and worked on the account side at M&C Saatchi Sydney and Melbourne early on.

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