Massive reorganisation at Publicis Groupe

Post the failure to merge with Omnicom, Publicis Groupe has made several changes to its top ranks.The company will extend CEO Maurice Levy's tenure to 2017, along with that of Saatchi & Saatchi global chief Kevin Roberts.With effect as of January 2015, Roberts, CEO of Saatchi & Saatchi Worldwide will be appointed as executive chairman of Saatchi & Saatchi/Fallon and will take on the role of head coach of Publicis Groupe, with the task of inspiring and motivating the Groupe's top leaders.Also Robert Senior will be appointed as chief executive officer and chairman and regional CEO, Saatchi & Saatchi Asia Pacific Chris Foster will take on the role of chief operating officer of the Saatchi & Saatchi/Fallon network.Jean-Yves Naouri, Publicis Groupe’s COO (once thought to be the successor for Levy's role), however, will not be part of the management's new structure, said a Publicis release.Also, former TV executive Axel Duroux is to join Publicis Groupe in October this year to take over strategy, development, performance and optimisation of the Groupe's presence in emerging and fast- growing markets.Meanwhile Frank Voris, CEO of VivaKi, is promoted to CEO of resources and will have overall responsibility for the Groupe's shared service centers and internal IT. He will also supervise Prodigious, the Groupe's production platforms. VivaKi will continue its aggressive development through two divisions: VivaKi Exchange, under CEO Simon Pardon, who will deploy trading, negotiation and execution operations worldwide; and VivaKi Data under CEO Stephan Beringer, who will be responsible for the development of AOD and of technology platforms, particularly in the field of data. The position of chair will alternate yearly between Laura Desmond, who is to serve the initial term, followed by Steve King.The strategic communications, events and public relations businesses of MSLGROUP under the responsibility of CEO Olivier Fleurot will be reinforced. More information on the group will be shared later in the year, said the company. The Razorfish and Rosetta agencies will come together under the new Razorfish Global brand, under the responsibility of Tom Adamski, CEO of the new entity.The company also said that advertisers are grappling with the accelerating pace of technological innovation and the inevitable transformation to a digital world.“This transformation is not confined to the fields of marketing or communications, but affects every area of a business. Taking all the changes into account, Publicis Groupe will extend its leadership in the digital sphere and enrich its offerings by creating new services, either by organic growth or acquisitions, notably in the realm of technology. These decisions are in line with the Groupe’s 2018 growth and margin targets.”