Publicis Groupe tipped to promote operations head to chief executive

Publicis Groupe chairman and chief executive Maurice Lévy has confirmed he will step down at the end of 2011, as expected. It is thought Jean Yves Naouri will step up to the chief executive role.

Succession plans are high on the agenda for Lévy and the Publicis Groupe board and, as Pitch predicted via Twitter on 10 March, some senior group executives are betting on Naouri, currently associate managing director of group operations, in addition to being in charge of Publicis Healthcare, as the most likely candidate to step into Lévy’s shoes.

The decision of who will succeed Lévy rests with the group executive board, which consists of Naouri, Kevin Roberts, ceo of Saatchi & Saatchi Worldwide, Jack Klues, chairman of Publicis Groupe Media, and Levy himself, and was explored in Stuart Smith’s recent blog.

It is anticipated that the members of the group executive board will also change, as part of the succession plans.

This story first appeared on pitch.marketingweek.co.uk