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Publicis makes changes to structure and leadership

Publicis Groupe has reorganised its media capabilities globally into Publicis Media, as part of efforts to increase growth and provide value to clients. The organisation has made a number of structural and leadership changes in order to do this; primarily consolidating its six global agency brands: Starcom, Mediavest, Spark, Zenith Optimedia and Blue 449, into four global agency brands: Starcom, Zenith, Mediavest|Spark and Optimedia|Blue 449. Each agency will be lead by a Global Brand President who will be responsible for leading clients, driving growth and enabling best work, with Lisa Donohue as Global Brand President for Starcom, Vittorio Bonori as Global Brand President for Zenith, Brian Terkelsend as Global Brand President for Mediavest|Spark and Andras Vigh as Global Brand President for Optimedia|Blue 449.

Publicis Media’s new structure will cover top 20 markets, led by Tim Jones, Regional CEO for the Americas. Iain Jacob will be Regional CEO for EMEA and Gerry Boyle will now be Regional CEO for APAC. There will also be four US CEO’s who will report to Tim Jones; Chris Boothe for Mediavest|Spark, Dave Ehlers for Optimedia|Blue 449, Lou Rossie at Zenith and Lisa Donohue continuing as CEO at Starcom.

“We are driven to get to the future first,” says Steve King, CEO, Publicis Media. “Publicis Media is a fresh opportunity to simplify our organisation, invent more modern approaches to gain efficiency, introduce structures for greater collaboration and effectiveness as well as drive new levels of scale and client value.”

Maurice Lévy, Chairman and CEO, Publicis Groupe, adds “The new Publicis Media imagined by Steve King is fully equipped to fit the future and best serve our clients. A leaner and simpler structure will bring more value to our clients and further accelerate our growth.”

PublicisLive appoints new President

Publicis Groupe has appointed Anthony Gazagne as the President of PublicisLive, an events agency within the Groupe’s network MSLGROUP, specialising in the production of international conferences and prestige events. Anthony has spent the majority of his career at Publicis Groupe; since joining Publicis Dialog in 1998, he has held the positions of Project Manager, Director of Operations, Vice President of Operations and most recently, since 2008, Managing Director of PublicisLive. Anthony’s predecessor, John Rossant, who held the position of President since 2008, will leave Publicis Groupe to continue the development of his foundation, The New Cities Foundation and other personal projects.

“Anthony Gazagne is an extraordinarily worthy successor to John,” says Maurice Lévy, Chairman and CEO, Publicis Groupe. “This promotion is a natural next step for Anthony within our Groupe. Thanks to the hard work and dedication of its employees, PublicisLive is today one of the most well renowned and prestigious events agencies worldwide. Anthony’s international experience and professionalism will be deeply valuable as PublicisLive continues to go from strength to strength. Anthony is tasked with taking the agency to the next level, and I thank John Rossant for his untiring commitment and efforts to date, wishing him the best of luck with his future projects.”

Anthony adds, “Being named President of PublicisLive is a huge honour, and a testament to the Groupe’s recognition of both my and my entire team’s performance at PublicisLive. I would also like to thank Maurice Lévy and Olivier Fleurot [CEO, MSLGROUP] for the confidence they have placed in me. After more than 15 years at the heart of this impressive company, I look back with pride and also relish the prospect of the formidable challenge in front of me. PublicisLive regularly supports local government, international organisations and foundations – notably the World Economic Forum, our long-term client – to achieve their aims. Our role, one that is constantly evolving to deliver best in class leadership solutions for our clients, is at an important crossroads. We will focus on continued organic growth, while also looking at a range of external opportunities to further maximise growth.”