The new post will give King over-arching responsibility for all the group’s businesses in the UK, spanning the four solution hubs Publicis Groupe introduced in late 2015: Publicis Communications (which includes the creative agency brands Publicis, Saatchi & Saatchi and Leo Burnett), Publicis Media (including Zenith and Starcom), Publicis.Sapient and Publicis Health.
King will work alongside Steve King, the global chief executive of Publicis Media, who was appointed executive sponsor of the UK group earlier this month. The group roles reflect Publicis Groupe’s Power of One positioning, which aims to break down the silos between individual disciplines and agency brands, creating a more integrated model for clients.
At Ogilvy for 18 years, King was promoted from chief executive of OgilvyOne EMEA to UK chief executive of the Ogilvy Group in 2014.
As well as unifying the different Ogilvy agencies under a more coherent group offering, King spearheaded the crucial move of Ogilvy out of Canary Wharf and into new premises on the South Bank in 2016.
Since then she has also overseen a rejuvenation of the creative agency, bringing in a new management team, which has won accounts including Boots and Vodafone in the last 12 months.
Paul O’Donnell, EMEA chairman and chief executive at Ogilvy, will step into King’s role until a new group chief executive is found. O’Donnell said: "Over the past 18 years Annette has made a significant contribution to Ogilvy in many capacities. She leaves Ogilvy UK in great shape, with an outstanding leadership team in place across the breadth of the agency, so we wish her all the best"
A spokeswoman for Publicis Groupe declined to comment on King’s appointment.
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