Paris, France – Kicking off 2025 on a bold note, Publicis Groupe has unveiled its plans to merge two of its iconic networks, Leo Burnett and Publicis Worldwide, to launch a new creative powerhouse, aptly named ‘Leo’.
Rooted in Publicis Groupe’s ‘Power of One’ philosophy, Leo is crafted to deliver modern solutions by bringing together Leo Burnett, known for its ‘humankind’ approach, and Publicis Worldwide, a network synonymous with transformation, innovation, and leading change.
Leo, an expanded and redesigned version of the Leo Burnett logo, combines the strength of one of advertising’s most iconic names with the roar of a lion, creating a powerful global creative force of more than 15,000 talents from Leo Burnett and Publicis Worldwide. Together, they boast 8 agencies of the year across 90 countries and over 400 major creative awards.
Carla Serrano, global CSO at Publicis Groupe, shared, “Through Leo we are doubling down on our strategy of strong creative brands, connected to the industry’s only data, media, and tech ecosystem. With Publicis as the global group brand we all rally to, we are now accelerating on the Power of One, turning two networks into one constellation.”
With this union, the Leo constellation becomes part of Publicis Groupe’s creative roster, joining renowned names like Saatchi & Saatchi, LePub, and BBH, as well as creative hubs such as Fallon, The Community, and Le Truc—the only creative collective operating at the holding-company level.
Marco Venturelli and Agathe Bousquet will lead the newly created ‘Leo’ as co-presidents, with Gareth Goodall joining as chief strategy officer. The trio will lead Leo’s global creative community and culture, driving activation at the country level through the Power of One. This approach ensures that Leo’s creative teams have direct access to Publicis Groupe’s data, technology, and media assets.
Meanwhile, Andrew Bruce, CEO of Publicis Groupe Canada, will also take on the additional role of chairman for Leo North America.
“At Publicis, we have demonstrated time and again the power of the Power of One. Leo’s global spirit will live and breathe at the local level, with outstanding creative and strategic talent turbocharged by best-in-class data and technology through our country model to create truly bespoke models for its clients,” Bousquet, Leo co-president and president of Publicis France, commented.
Venturelli, Leo co-president and chief creative officer, added, “We’ve never had so many tools to better understand people and connect with them. Nevertheless, creativity still is, and forever will be, a messy human process. Leo will be a true global community of creative and strategic talents, connected together for a more human way of creating at scale.”
Arthur Sadoun, CEO of Publicis Groupe, also shared, “I have had the privilege of leading both Publicis Worldwide and Leo Burnett. Since then, other iconic names have disappeared, but I have never believed that creative efficiency should mean fewer brands and fewer operations.”
He continued, “It is about big ideas from creative minds that are nurtured by strong agency culture to have an impact on our clients’ businesses. In today’s world it is also about more collaboration and more access to capabilities. That’s exactly what Leo stands for. By unifying the spirit and talent of these global creative communities, Leo will be bigger, stronger, and on more doors than ever.”
