John Farrell, the president of Publicis Groupe’s specialised agencies and marketing services operations (SAMS), has quit.
Farrell, who previously ran IMP and played a key role in the creation of Arc in 2002, will step down in July next year after taking on his current role five years ago.
SAMS businesses include Publicis Dialog, Arc Worldwide and Saatchi & Saatchi X.
Maurice Lévy, chief executive of Publicis Groupe, said: “I am sorry to see John leave as he has done an absolutely remarkable job in defining the strategy of SAMS as well as securing the good development of our operations.”
Farrell added: “I am proud of the development of SAMS within Publicis Groupe, development that we have achieved together, and I am committed to striving for its success before my departure. I wanted to make SAMS a business of strength and quality within Publicis Groupe and, with 36 per cent of group revenues today, I think that has been achieved.
“It has been a difficult decision to take because the five years I have spent at Publicis Groupe have been among the most gratifying of my career. Now, I am preparing myself enthusiastically for my new professional life.”
A former president of the ISP, Farrell began his career in sales promotion when he joined IMP in the early 1980s. He was instrumental in expanding IMP into the rest of Europe before heading parent group D’Arcy in London.
In 1997 he took over responsibility for all of D’Arcy’s operations in North America and then, in 2001, became president and chief executive of D’Arcy Worldwide.
Under Farrell’s leadership, IMP was rebranded as Arc in 2002, shortly before D’Arcy was acquired by Publicis. Farrell chose to stay on and has been involved in key acquisitions including Freud Communications.