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By Tim Baysinger
Jan 26 (Reuters) - Arthur Sadoun will take over as chiefexecutive of advertising company Publicis Groupe SA from longtime CEO Maurice Levy on June 1, the company said onThursday.
Paris-based Publicis Groupe is the third-largest ad companyin the world, part of what is considered the "Big Four" agencycompanies, along with WPP PLC, Interpublic Group ofCompanies Inc and Omnicom Group Inc.
Currently, Sadoun oversees all of Publicis' creativeagencies, including Saatchi & Saatchi and Leo Burnett.
Levy was set to retire this year - the company said he willbecome chairman when Sadoun takes over - and the identity of hissuccessor was something many in the ad industry were payingclose attention to. Sadoun had been considered among thefront-runners along with Publicis Media CEO Steve King, who willalso join the board.
Much like longtime rival, WPP CEO Sir Martin Sorrell, Levyis considered to be one of the most-influential advertisingexecutives.
Under Levy's leadership, Publicis went on a massive buyingspree, particularly in recent years snapping up digital agenciesas the industry has been more and more reliant on technology.
Changing consumer habits have also forced large advertisingagencies into a more holistic approach in serving their clients'varying needs.
Sadoun will become the third different chief executive forthe French-owned company, following Levy and the company'sfounder, Marcel Bleustein-Blanchet.
"I'm taking on this new role with confidence, determinationand one objective in mind: accelerating our transformation anddevelopment through The Power of One to continue to makePublicis shine like Marcel and Maurice have done for the past 90years," said Sadoun, in a statement.
Last year, along with the three other major ad companies,Publicis revealed that subsidiaries received subpoenas from theU.S. Department of Justice as part of an investigation intovideo production practices in the industry. (Reporting by Tim Baysinger; Editing by Alan Crosby)
