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Publicis Groupe announced that it is stopping all operations, engagement and investment in Russia with immediate effect, with CEO Arthur Sadoun saying it “strongly condemns” the country’s “unilateral aggression against Ukraine.”
The French-owned ad network has ceded the ownership of its agencies in Russia, which include Starcom, Zenith and Leo Burnett, to the founding chairman of Publicis in Russia, Sergey Koptev, who is taking over the business with the clear contractual condition of “ensuring a future” for its 1,200 employees there.
“We were committed to taking strong actions that fully respond to the gravity of the situation. But we were determined to take the necessary time to come up with a truly people-first solution because our 1200 employees in Russia are our people too. We couldn’t just abandon them. By ceding control of our Russian operations to Sergey, we are securing a future path for our colleagues while immediately stopping all of our operations, engagement, and investment in Russia”, said Arthur Sadoun, CEO & Chairman of Publicis Groupe.
Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, holding group rivals WPP and IPG have also suspended their operations in the country.
Consultancy Accenture, which employs 2,300 across the country, was the first big industry player to bow out.
