Saatchi’s exec chairman Kevin Roberts ordered to take immediate leave after diversity comments
Following controversial comments made by Saatchi & Saatchi global Executive Chairman and Publicis Groupe Head Coach, Kevin Roberts, in a recent interview with Business Insider, Publicis Groupe Chairman & CEO, Maurice Lévy addressed a statement internally to all Publicis Groupe employees to reiterate the Groupe`s no-tolerance policy towards behavior or commentary counter to the spirit of Publicis Groupe.
The statement: “It is for the gravity of these statements that Kevin Roberts has been asked to take a leave of absence from Publicis Groupe effective immediately. As a member of The Directoire, it will ultimately be the Publicis Groupe Supervisory Board`s duty to further evaluate his standing.
“Diversity & inclusion are business imperatives on which Publicis Groupe will not negotiate. While fostering a work environment that is inclusive of all talent is a collective responsibility, it is leadership`s job to nurture the career aspirations and goals of all our talent. Promoting gender equality starts at the top and the Groupe will not tolerate anyone speaking for our organization who does not value the importance of inclusion. Publicis Groupe works very hard to champion diversity and will continue to insist that each agency`s leadership be champions of both diversity and inclusion.”
Adds Robert Senior, worldwide CEO, Saatchi & Saatchi: “Kevin has given what are his personal views on the subject of gender diversity. However, those views are not mine, and nor are they the position of the agency.
“Saatchi & Saatchi is, and has always been, a meritocracy. We live and die by our people, our talent, and it makes no difference to us whether that talent is male or female. Indeed, I’m very proud to be able to say that 65 per cent of our staff are female, and it is to our great benefit that we have women in senior leadership roles across our business.
“However, the issue of gender diversity is not in any way over for our industry. It is live, emotive and vital for the communications business that we continue to insist that the best people, whatever their gender, are able to achieve their potential. This is what we strive for at Saatchi & Saatchi, and is what we will continue to strive for alongside all of the best agencies in our industry.”
From 1989 to 1997, Roberts was director and chief operating officer of Lion Nathan, based in New Zealand before being appointed CEO Worldwide of Saatchi & Saatchi, splitting his time between New York and Auckland. Roberts became executive chairman of Saatchi & Saatchi in 2015, then non-executive chairman in 2016.
34 Comments
I knew it; dinosaurs aren’t extinct.
Kevin Roberts is an absolute disgrace. Well done Publicis Groupe for cutting him loose so quickly, about bloody time. He’s a dinosaur and has no place in this or any other industry. The fact he lectures about leadership is a joke.
Sadly, the one type of diversity Progressives/Regressives can’t handle, is the diversity of ideas—the only diversity that matters.
A LOVED brand no more.
Watch them quickly put into place many women into leadership positions to counter this. Girls go ask for a pay rise tomorrow!!
Groucho would know.
And I thought he couldn’t come up with anything dumber than love marks
You’re so right Groucho – they’re not extinct.
This guy’s the tip of the iceberg… Publicis Oz agency group is like bloody Jurassic Park…In their Creative Depts, anyway.
They won’t do anything about it…not while the dino’s are in the top jobs.
If I was his son I’d be getting nervous.
There is no question his views would have been known and probably sadly shared in the Publicis Leadership team. He has only been asked to leave because he decided to make them public.
No surprises there, he was just stupid enough to say it outside the boys room.
Troubling times ahead for washed-up, middle-aged men in advertising.
I would love to see more of this. The ‘boys club’ who actively insult woman, homosexuals and people of color, bullying their way to the top (all in good humor
of course) need to be replaced.
This is a pretty big wake up call to the chauvinists that run agencies: they may not have moved on from the dark ages, but the rest of the world (including their clients), has.
Time to catch up, boys.
Maurice might like to explain why no female has been shortlisted for his replacement over the last 5 years… or maybe he’s all hot air
Perhaps Maurice Levy should also be put on leave as his actions of not shortlisting any females as his successor puts a spotlight on his real views
This is what happens when you earn several millions a year, can have the Mrs at home organising your laundry, someone else to do the garden, service the vehicles, manage your holiday home, blah blah blah, try working in advertising as a single working parent, for a company that is empathetic to this modern life. The sheer nature of agency life caters to the former, not the latter.
Kevin was stupid but told the truth. Truth is, you can’t tell the truth. He told it, now he’s semi-retired.
As for the thought that agencies are run by sexist males – some are, a vast majority aren’t. This observation was true 20-30 years ago but is no longer valid. You simply cannot survive and no-one would work for you.
When you combine the Cindy Gallop theatrics with the drive for gender neutrality, history dictates that inevitably, someone has to be held up as the guilty party so that we can all gather around and throw stones at them. That way we all feel innocent, guilt free and always on the right side of good.
Kevin made his comments at the wrong time; Maurice is stepping down and he wants to keep his beleaguered network from losing any more clients. And this is the crux of the matter: Maurice wants to protect his payout. Kevin endangered it. This bloodletting is nothing more than a stop-gap strategy. That is, at least, until KR’s court case. Which he will win.
I’ve talked to a number of females whom I work with about the KR episode. I’ve also talked to my wife, and her sister as well. My observation is that their opinions are split 50:50. Half think he’s said nothing wrong, the other half think he’s a sexist pig but can’t articulate why – they just think he is. And that, once again, is the problem. Our desire for blood has made many jump on the ‘all men are pigs’ bandwagon. It’s hysteria.
At the end of the day, Kevin should have just given a PR sanitised answer and be gone with it. Instead, he’s now an object of hatred.
Most sickening has been the outpouring of hatred from various female agency owners – the same one’s whom proudly talk about how their businesses are run ‘by women’. This hypocrisy is saddening, for it exposes them to be as sexist as they suppose KR is. Mind-boggling. Trying to play the victim and an aggressor must be a fun.
As I said, KR will win his court case. Men will continue to be cast as villains (until the next victim arrives). But even if the ‘change’ that females demand happens, nothing will change, because advertising is a cunt of a business.
Salem witch trials, anyone?
He said nothing wrong. Calm down the lot of you.
Amen.
sounds like they just needed something to get rid of him
I’m so happy this kind of garble is finally unacceptable. Bravo.
Clearly you have no idea what you are talking about.
“Maurice is stepping down and he wants to keep his beleaguered network from losing any more clients.”
Maurice happens to own a different agency, aka M&C Saatchi, not Saatchi and Saatchi.
If you don’t understand the difference between the two, maybe you shouldn’t be typing between nap times at ye’ol nursing home.
Over and out.
The second the conversation becomes about female / male / pigmy / asian / antartican / animal / black person / purple person / invisible person aka diversity, that’s the second we get away from creativity.
I’ve always loved advertising agencies for not caring if you’re black or white, transgender or just figuring it out, we’ve always supported people doing great stuff. Men and women included.
Something smells funny here, not sure what it is but I’m sure as heck not wanting to be associated with this.
Truth is, if all the talented males left the industry because they were sick of being bashed by less talented women — would the women lament this?
If the talented women left the industry because they were sick of being bashed by less talented males — would the industry lament this?
I think yes for the girls leaving, but a huge ‘hell no’ if the guys left.
Which brings me to my point. Women are sexist pigs. Men, not so much.
Maurice Levy, ya putz.
So, I reckon unless you actually ARE a female creative, you don’t really know about discrimination in this industry. Thanks for checking with your wife Mr Walcott. I hope she had your dinner ready on time.
How’s about you check with one of the many women who struggle to get full time work, let alone a CD job, once they hit the grand old age of 40 and let us know what they have to say.
Calling Cindy Gallop’s campaign for equality ‘theatrics’ is akin to calling any women who complains about discrimination ‘hysterical’.
@the other foot. you sir, are a delusional fool. “if all the talented males left the industry because they were sick of being bashed by less talented women”… maybe like so many talented women have left because they are sick of being looked over for less talented me. Women are sexist pigs? Oh please. Get a grip, your white male entitlement is laughable.
Female Creative, yes dinner was ready when I came home last night: Venison burgers.
We have two children. My missus works part time so she can get the kids from school. Her sister helps out, that’s why I asked her opinion too.
Why does my missus’s opinion count? For one, she’s very bright, yes, much brighter than you and is the recipient of accolades in her field that would dwarf anything you might have scammed at Cannes. Like you, she’s also over 40.
When the KR issue came up she read about it before I had a chance to. When I saw her that morning she seemed perplexed and motioned me over to read the article (Daily Mail, ahem..).
She didn’t understand what he had said that was so awful. After all, she had worked in an industry that makes Adland seem like kindergarten.
Before being a mum she worked in medical research, pioneering stuff too. If you’ve had children then you would’ve enjoyed the fruits of her labour.
Why say this? Because medical research is a male dominated industry that demands longer hours for less pay than advertising. She used her intelligence and creativity to reach the top of her field. There’s no promotion in medical research based upon lack of gender equality, just how good you are. Why there are more men in the industry is beyond me. Perhaps because, like advertising, it’s a cunt of an industry.
Finally, please don’t cry me a river about being over 40. Ageism is a gender neutral issue that even I’ve suffered from. So stop playing victim. Write a better ad.
Tonight’s dinner was slow roasted pork belly. It was on the table the minute I stepped through the door. It was delicious.
If your wife is responsible for pioneering medical breakthroughs then for fucksake do humanity a favor and get her back to work full time and you pick up the kids! All you do is sell shit for a living!
Ps – saying cunt doesn’t make you a tough guy. It makes you a foul mouthed vulgarian.
@Female Creative,
Your comment has unequivocally proven mine, I’m not sure what your argument is.
By the way, the very fact you define yourself as a ‘female creative’ makes another thing certain.
Well, whatever one might say about Kevin’s actions in this, it’s great to see a debate on the CB blog that involves actual sentences and words of more than two syllables.
Bandying words like ‘hysterical’ and mentioning ‘Salem Witch Trials’ as well as inappropriate use of ‘cunt’ paints you in my view into the same corner as these old dinosaurs… good that you have the wife and the sister in law doing all the domestic chores for you, that’s the way it should be eh..
http://www.campaignbrief.com/2016/08/saatchi-saatchi-global-executi.html
Issue over, gender diversity dealt with. Right?
Wrong. They fired a guy whose words (if you read the whole article) may have been misconstrued, they threw someone under the bus without the chance to correct themselves or apologise, educate themselves and in the process educate an industry on what is the right way to do things and the wrong way.
Instead they burned him at the stake, and history has taught us that never solves anything.
Whatever happened to forgiveness and rehabilitating people? Social media witch hunt.
As a white male creative, I’ve been ridiculed several times on social media just because I was hired. The news comes out and there is outrage, not just in the comments section but also from one Cindy Gallop. The company who hired me is also ridiculed, making it far less likely that they will hire another white male creative (or publicise it) in the future.
I’m called privileged, self-entitled, privately educated, chauvinistic, undeserving and it’s generally assumed I’m part of some ‘boys club’, a club that even if it did exist, I’ve certainly never been invited to.
While many might say ‘suck it up you over-privileged white male insert other insults’, it hurts.
The truth is, I wasn’t privately educated. I grew up very poor. I struggled to get into the advertising industry. I couldn’t even speak properly until the age of 12, and I still hide my impediment. Nothing was handed to me, I worked for 4 years as a runner / office-hand / lackey before I even had a shot at a decent brief.
And even then, I never fit in. I didn’t go to their schools, I didn’t talk like they did, I couldn’t afford to dress like they did, I didn’t have rich parents and connections like they did. I didn’t really relate to any of them, including the women who as far as I knew all went to prestigious schools and all had family backgrounds much better than mine.
But I enjoyed my job. And I felt lucky to be a part of a colourful industry. And I worked hard, harder than most to get to a point where I was promoted, moved through the ranks, won business, won awards and a lot slower than my peers eventually learned how to dress / speak / politic properly. And I was offered a job.
It was publicised. Then my company was ridiculed within an inch of their life for hiring me, just because I was white and a male.
Now I don’t want you to feel sorry for me, but just imagine this.
Imagine if I was asian and people ridiculed me for being hired because I was asian and it’s 2016 for fucks sake, why are we only hiring asian men.
Would that be acceptable?
Even if it were true that we were only hiring asian men?
Or would that be racist?
Imagine if I was female, and people ridiculed me for being hired and everyone said ‘FFS it’s 2016, why so many females? THIS IS FUCKED!’.
If everyone was hiring females and someone said that, would it not still be sexist?
Even just a little sexist?
I don’t expect anybody to care about me or my feelings. I don’t expect anyone to care how much their anonymous remarks really do cut, especially when they are untrue and unfounded.
What I do care about is the blatant discrimination that is happening in this industry. The discrimination that nobody would ever call ‘discrimination’, because with 52% of the population being female, us men are still the ‘majority’.
I also care about the ‘us vs them’ mentality. It shows there are a great many people upset with the fact that some of us have penises. And like most dicks, most of us have strong opinions.
I hope an industry of artists, crazy people, writers, university drop-outs, inventors, deadbeats and failed people in general would be mature enough to stop the entire ‘us vs them’ sexist bullshit, stop dividing each other in terms of gender and start seeing what is common amongst us.
Kevin articulated it poorly but what he should have said is the debate needs to finish soon. We need to move on to a solution. One where we’re not tearing each other apart based on gender, but one where we reward each other based on merit.
And Cindy Gallop is not a cool person. I’ve suffered from her bigotry. In fact, I’ve suffered more blatant gender discrimination than any female I know in this industry in the most humiliating and public forum.
And to the grown-ups, I simply ask you one thing.
Stop it.
Just stop it.
Thanks.