Women's Forum for Economy and Society Joins Publicis Groupe

• Press Release
• Source: Publicis Groupe Services
• On 2:30 am EDT, Thursday September 3, 2009

PARIS, September 3 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Publicis Groupe announced today its acquisition of a majority stake in the Women's Forum for the Economy and Society. Founded in 2005 by Aude Zieseniss de Thuin, the Women's Forum for the Economy and Society is an independent global women's forum. It is a hub of debate, sharing, brainstorming and action where women are given pride of place for speaking out on all major societal issues that count today and will count tomorrow. The 2008 Women's Forum was attended by 1,200 participants from 90 countries. In 2009, the Women's Forum will be focused exclusively on preparing the Women's Forum Global Meeting in Deauville and the Women's Forum Asia. The shared goal is to expand the scope of the Forum as of 2010 to eventually cover all world regions.

Aude de Thuin will be staying on as Chairwoman of the Women's Forum. Because the Forum is to remain autonomous, it will not be incorporated into any of the Publicis networks. Overseeing it will be Olivier Fleurot, the CEO in charge of public relations and event marketing for the entire Publicis Groupe. The Women's Forum will be drawing on the skills of the Publicis agencies with a PR and event marketing focus.

Aude de Thuin remains a shareholder and the Chairwoman of the Women's Forum. The other minority shareholders and all the women members of the Women's Forum Board will continue to provide their support and their energy to ensure the ongoing success of the program. Aude de Thuin stated, "I am delighted to be joining Publicis Groupe. This move marks a real turning point for us, because it demonstrates the validity of our approach and the appeal of our brand name. We will now have a higher profile and greater means to expand internationally. With the backing of a global company like Publicis Groupe, we can step up our growth and further enrich our programs to meet the needs of our partners and participants more effectively."

"Aude de Thuin is a visionary who is both an entrepreneur and a leading creator of international events. She has made the Women's Forum an organization with real impact on current societal discussion. The Women's Forum is an extremely important platform for debating, exchanging views and engaging in discussion on issues that are relevant to both our core business and the overall position of women in today's global world," commented Maurice Levy, Chairman and CEO of Publicis Groupe. "With our international conference expertise, our close connection to brand names and our thorough understanding of societal and market trends, we can help build up the Women's Forum and enrich its content. Publicis Groupe has consistently promoted the role of women in business. They make up 54% of our workforce, and the Publicis Groupe Supervisory Board chaired by Elisabeth Badinter is comprised of 6 women out of 15 Board members. I am delighted that Aude and all the other women on the Women's Forum Board will be staying on to keep this exciting organization moving forward. It will be highly challenging, but also extremely gratifying to have them as genuine partners to our group."

Rated one of the top five global forums worldwide in 2007 by The Financial Times, the Women's Forum will be holding its fifth annual meeting in Deauville on October 15-17th. The program for 2009 highlights the challenges of our times and features personalities whose talents, efforts or ideas put them in an ideal position to speak out on the theme, "Think again, think ahead! It is time for action, change and hope."

About Publicis Groupe

Publicis Groupe [Euronext Paris: FR0000130577] is the world's fourth largest communications group. In addition, it is ranked as the world's second largest media agency, and is a global leader in digital and healthcare communications. With activities spanning 104 countries on five continents, the Groupe employs approximately 43,000 professionals. Publicis Groupe offers local and international clients a complete range of advertising services through three global advertising networks, Leo Burnett, Publicis, Saatchi & Saatchi, and two multi-hub networks, Fallon and 49%-owned Bartle Bogle Hegarty. Media consultancy and buying is offered through two worldwide networks, Starcom MediaVest Group and ZenithOptimedia; and interactive and digital marketing led by Digitas. Publicis Groupe recently launched VivaKi to leverage the combined scale of the autonomous operations of Digitas, Starcom MediaVest Group, Denuo and ZenithOptimedia to develop new services, tools, and next generation digital platforms. Publicis Groupe's Specialized Agencies and Marketing Services offer healthcare communications, corporate and financial communications, sustainability communications, shopper marketing, public relations, CRM and direct marketing, event and sports marketing, and multicultural communications.

Web site: http://www.publicisgroupe.com

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