Haupt to step down as president and COO of Publicis

by Jennifer Whitehead,, Brand Republic 08-Dec-04, 09:00

LONDON - Roger Haupt is to relinquish his roles as president and chief operating officer at Publicis Groupe, but is to stay on as chairman of recently formed media division Publicis Groupe Media.

Haupt, 57, has written to the board of Publicis to inform it of his decision, but no details of when he will step down have yet been revealed.

As well as keeping the role of chairman of Publicis Groupe Media, which was formed in September to house the media agencies Starcom MediaVest Group and ZenithOptimedia, Haupt will act as a consultant to Publicis Groupe chairman and chief executive Maurice Levy.

Haupt came to Publicis Groupe by way of Bcom3, of which he was chief executive when it merged with Publicis in 2002. At the same time, he steps down from the management board, with Jack Klues, chief executive of Starcom MediaVest Group, stepping in to take his place.

Levy said: "It was an easy choice for all of us, a measure of Jack's qualities as a manager and his track record of performance. We will benefit tremendously at a time when the importance of media has never been greater, when the holistic approach is a critical strategic objective for us and for our clients, and when Jack's hands-on experience and comprehensive knowledge of the American marketplace can guide the management board and the group as a whole."

He joins Levy; Kevin Roberts, CEO of Saatchi & Saatchi; Claudine Bienaime, general secretary; and Bertrand Siguier, executive vice-president of Publicis Worldwide on the management board.

At the same time, Tateo Mataki, president and CEO of Japanese advertising giant Dentsu, is joining the supervisory board of Publicis Groupe.

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