Arthur Sadoun (born 23 May 1971) is a French

businessman A businessperson, businessman, or businesswoman is an individual who has founded, owns, or holds shares in (including as an angel investor) a private-sector company. A businessperson undertakes activities (commercial or industrial) for th ...

. He is the chairman and CEO of

Publicis Groupe Publicis Groupe is a French multinational advertising and public relations company. One of the oldest and largest marketing and communications companies in the world by revenue, it is headquartered in Paris. After 1945, the little-known Paris ...

, the world's third largest

advertising Advertising is the practice and techniques employed to bring attention to a product or service. Advertising aims to put a product or service in the spotlight in hopes of drawing it attention from consumers. It is typically used to promote a ...

and PR group.

Early life and education

Sadoun was born in

Dourdan Dourdan () is a commune in the Essonne department in Île-de-France. It is the capital of the historical region of Hurepoix. It is located in the metropolitan area of Paris. Geography Dourdan is located on the river Orge in the western E ...

, France in 1971 to a well-off family of industrials. He received his secondary education from L'école alsacienne, a private school in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. ...

and graduated from

European Business School Paris European Business School Paris (also known as EBS Paris) is a private business school located in Paris, France, part of INSEEC U. History Opened in 1967, EBS Paris has had a pioneering influence on the European model of education, being the f ...

in 1992. He later obtained an MBA from

INSEAD INSEAD, a contraction of "Institut Européen d'Administration des Affaires" () is a non-profit business school that maintains campuses in Europe ( Fontainebleau, France), Asia (Singapore), the Middle East ( Abu Dhabi, UAE), and North America (Sa ...

in 1997.

Career

In 1992, after graduating in France, Sadoun went to Chile where he founded his own advertising agency ''Z Group'', which he sold to

BBDO BBDO is a worldwide advertising agency network, with its headquarters in New York City. The agency originated in 1891 with the George Batten Company, and in 1928, through a merger with Barton, Durstine & Osborn (BDO), the agency became Batten, B ...

in 1997. Soon after returning to France in 1997 he joined TBWA in 1999 as Head of International Strategic Planning and Head of Development before he became managing director in 2000 and CEO in 2003. In December 2006, Sadoun became CEO of Publicis Conseil, the flagship agency of Publicis Groupe founded by Marcel Bleustein-Blanchet and previously led by

Maurice Lévy Maurice Lévy (February 28, 1838, Ribeauvillé – September 30, 1910, Paris) was a French engineer and member of the Institut de France. Lévy was born in Ribeauvillé in Alsace. Educated at the École Polytechnique, where he was a stude ...

. His initial focus was on development, leading to the acquisition of key clients for the agency. In January 2009,

appointed Arthur Sadoun as CEO of Publicis Worldwide France, a network of 21 agencies including Publicis Conseil, Publicis Dialog, Marcel as well as a regional network across France. In April 2011, Sadoun was appointed managing director of Publicis Worldwide, the global network of the Publicis creative agencies, before becoming its CEO in October 2013. In December 2015, Sadoun was named CEO of Publicis Communications, Publicis Groupe's creative hub composed of

Leo Burnett Leo Burnett (October 21, 1891 – June 7, 1971) was an American advertising executive and the founder of Leo Burnett Company, Inc. He was responsible for creating some of advertising's most well-known characters and campaigns of the 20th cen ...

Saatchi & Saatchi Saatchi & Saatchi is a British multinational communications and advertising agency network with 114 offices in 76 countries and over 6,500 staff. It was founded in 1970 and is currently headquartered in London. The parent company of the agency gr ...

, Publicis Worldwide, BBH,

MSLGROUP MSLGROUP is a public relations (PR) network of companies. Specialists in strategic communications and engagement, the company is part of the French multinational Publicis Groupe. It evolved as a merger of Publicis Consultants and Manning Selva ...

and Prodigious networks, totalling nearly 30,000 employees. His appointment as Chairman & CEO of Publicis Groupe was announced in January 2017. Sadoun officially took on this role on June 1, 2017, making him the 3rd leader of Publicis Groupe in its 91 years of existence after the founder Marcel Bleustein-Blanchet and

Personal life

Sadoun is married to the French journalist and television presenter Anne-Sophie Lapix.

Honours

Sadoun was made Chevalier of the French

National Order of Merit An order of merit is conferred by a state, government or royal family on an individual in recognition of military or civil merit. Order of merit may also refer to: * FIFA Order of Merit, for significant contribution to association football * PDC O ...

in 2014.

Accolades

In 2016, Sadoun was named "Agency Executive of the Year" by AdAge, and as "Personality of Year" during the 37th French ''Grand Prix des Agences de l'Année''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sadoun, Arthur 1971 births Living people People from Dourdan French businesspeople European Business School Paris alumni