Alain de Pouzilhac, the chairman and chief executive of Havas, has been forced to put aside his personal dispute with the French corporate raider Vincent Bollore, and has vowed to stay on at the network.
Last week, de Pouzilhac lost his long-running battle to keep Bollore off the board when Havas shareholders voted to give the French investor four seats on the 18-strong board.
There had been specula-tion that de Pouzilhac might resign after he mounted a personal crusade to try to turn investors against Bollore. However, in a memo to staff this week, de Pouzilhac said he intended to stay on running the network.
"I feel neither personally beaten nor dejected, just sad," the memo read.
"I now intend to assume fully my responsibilities. I will devote all my heart and all my energy to continue the turnaround of our company."
A triumphant Bollore emerged from the meeting last Thursday saying that he did not want de Pouzilhac to resign, but he thought there were plenty of people capable of taking over from him.
Bollore amassed a 20.4 per cent stake in Havas, giving him four seats on the board. Since the meeting, it emerged that he has teamed up with another investor, Sebastian Holdings, which has 4 per cent.
So far Bollore has not made public his plans for the future of Havas, describing himself as a long-term investor.
He and de Pouzilhac have clashed in the past over the running of the company, particularly Havas' attempt last year to acquire Grey Global.
However, the fact Bollore has never offered an alternative strategy to de Pouzilhac has worried Havas insiders, who believe he is hatching his own plans for the network.
His growing hold on the company has raised fears that he may want to break up the company or sell it to a larger rival. As well as its main advertising network, Euro RSCG, Havas owns Arnold Worldwide and the media network Media Planning Group.
- Perspective, page 23.
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