Changes that became bold bets with the introduction of digital technology in the early 1990s, followed by major investments, such as the direction taken with the acquisition of major networks like Saatchi and Saatchi or the Bcom3 communications group, which includes brilliant agencies like Leo Burnett and Starcom.... And the major digital turning point in 2006 with the acquisition of Digitas, which paved the way for a real transformation of the Groupe with the acquisitions that followed, and the leap sideways and forward with Sapient and later Epsilon….
But there are still more changes, breaking with the traditions of the advertising market, which operated in silos (some still operate in this way), by introducing the “Power Of One“ in 2015 … All the Groupe’s power is at the service of each client.
I could go on with the litany of changes in this magnificent company and its incredible ability to stay the same, thanks to a combination of factors that make it unique.
WE’VE ALWAYS DONE OUR BUSINESS WITH ETHICAL AND MORAL STANDARDS BASED ON RESPECT FOR OTHERS.
First, of course, this extraordinary position in the field of communication and technology: no longer just a communications group, or, if you prefer, much more than a communications group and almost a technology group, and tomorrow, Artificial Intelligence... It’s a category apart, a category in itself. We’re comfortable being different, because difference is at the heart of our business and our values. We create difference for every client, every brand and every product: a difference that leads to preference. Hence Viva La Différence, which applies to everything we do, to what we are.
But above all, the incredible continuity in the core values, the family shareholding, and the management teams: Marcel Bleustein-Blanchet, our founder, with 60 years at the head of the company, yours truly, more than fifty years at the service of the company, including thirty as Chairman of the Management Board, and Arthur Sadoun, who joined us nearly twenty years ago and who has been at the head of the company for the past seven years, with dazzling vision
THIS NEW GOVERNANCE WILL ENSURE A HIGH LEVEL OF MANAGEMENT CONTINUITY, AN ESSENTIAL QUALITY THAT IS, IN A WAY, THE GROUPE’S SIGNATURE.
and performance. If there’s one extremely precious thing that must be preserved at all costs, it’s this continuity combined with the gentle way of ensuring transitions with this tandem operation: the one I formed with the founder, then with Élisabeth Badinter, to whom I owe a great debt of gratitude for her support of a bold acquisition strategy, and who always put the interests of the company and its future before that of her own assets; and now the one I’m forming with Arthur Sadoun, who embodies the values of our Groupe so well, and knows how to carry them to the highest level.
It’s to strengthen this continuity that I proposed to the Board to return to the status of Public Limited Company with a Board of Directors, and that Arthur Sadoun should be its Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. I felt that this was the right thing to do to continue to outperform our market, to develop the company in all areas relevant to our future, in particular, Artificial Intelligence (especially with Arthur Sadoun’s project to develop CoreAI), and to engage resolutely in a new phase of sustainable and long-term growth. Of course, I will remain at his side for the time necessary to ensure a complete transition.
The Supervisory Board discussed this change at length, and it seemed to everyone that it was the best way to prepare for the future. In a way, it’s back to the future. This new governance structure will ensure a high level of management continuity, an essential quality that is, in a way, the Groupe’s signature, but also an exemplary Board with specialized committees that will provide the Board of Directors with expertise and supportive analyses.
For my part, I’m delighted with this governance solution capable of securing the Groupe’s future, and invite you all to support it unreservedly with your votes. For my part, I will provide my experience and assistance to the Board and its Chairman as long as it is useful.