• by Larissa Faw , September 27, 2017

Annette King is leaving Ogilvy & Mather Group after 18 years to become CEO of Publicis Groupe in the UK.

The single-country Groupe CEO model is a relatively new one for Publicis, which recently  implemented it in France.

In this new role, King will oversee all UK operations, including Publicis Communications, Publicis Media, Publicis.Sapient and Publicis Health as well as work with UK leaders to drive greater integration across the Groupe's capabilities. She will report to global CEO Arthur Sadoun and join the global Management Committee.

In addition to serving as CEO of Ogilvy & Mather Group UK, King has experience in both the U.S. and the UK at Wunderman.

“Annette is one of the industry’s most recognized leaders thank to her ability to inspire her teams, create real bonds of trust with her clients and win the respect of even her fiercest competitors," stated Sadoun. "Her wealth of expertise and experience make her the right person to leverage Publicis Groupe’s unique assets in the UK to drive transformative solutions at the service of our clients."

King is not related to Publicis Media CEO Steve King, and some reports mistakenly indicated that  that Steve - and not Annette - would be tapped to lead the Groupe approach for the UK. However Steve King was actively involved in the recruitment process and is overseeing this model's expansion to additional markets.