Publicis One names Asia-Pacific leadership

Menat has led Beacon Communications since 2007 and will continue to do so until a successor is confirmed. He will remain in Tokyo and be supported by Ricardo Roces as regional CFO.

In December, we reported that Jarek Ziebinski, Leo Burnett’s Asia-Pacific head, will lead the Publicis One unit globally as CEO. He is currently based in Singapore but will eventually relocate to Paris.

Publicis One is billed as a “global communications enterprise that unites all Publicis Groupe agency brands’ capabilities and expertise under one roof” across 50 markets.

Alice McCreath will serve as global CFO, and Maree Prendergrast as global chief talent officer. All roles are effective immediately.

Ziebinski told Campaign Asia-Pacific he believed the development represented "one of the most interesting changes happening in the entire industry".

He said the Publicis One model had been created "with client interests in mind". The aim, he said, was to resolve the problems caused by increasing industry fragmentation and integrate a diverse range of specialists under one umbrella and one P&L.

"Our goal is to be the top integrator of best-in-class specialists," he said. "The fact that we're putting everything under one P&L means we remove silos and barriers just because of the way we report our numbers."

In response to the question of how Publicis One would manage client conflict, Ziebinski said the organisation would "go to market with a portfolio of [agency] brands to address conflicts". This will involve explaining to clients in transparent terms how potentially conflicting accounts will be handled within the group. Individual agencies will retain their brands, and efforts will be made to ensure their cultures remain intact, he said. In Japan for example, Ziebinski said Saatchi & Saatchi Fallon would be integrated, building on the model of Beacon. He noted it was "the only piece left not integrated" in the market. But it will continue to function as an agency in its own right.

It is not clear how the integration over the coming months will affect the heads of individual agencies. Leadership will ultimately be decided by Menat, Ziebinski said. In the case of Saatchi & Saatchi Fallon, CEO Phil Rubel has left the agency, according to Publicis One's communications director Lim. She was unable to give details of a replacement for Rubel.

Ziebinksi said he had pushed for integration "for years". "We look at ourselves as a startup," he said. "A quite unique startup. We have different elements...that we are piecing together to create a new company with entrepreneurial spirit, which we are unleashing and we believe will bring a huge difference to clients."

This article has been updated to confirm Saatchi & Saatchi Fallon CEO Phil Rubel's departure and that the agency will be integrated into Publicis One, not Beacon Communications.