Maruice Levy, chairman and CEO of the Paris-based Publicis Groupe, told French newspaper Le Monde he plans to waive his 2012 salary following a deferred compensation payment he’ll collect instead.
That payment, based on the group’s performance from 2003 through the end of 2011, was designed as golden handcuffs to ensure Levy remained at the helm of the agency group he has run since 1988, although no one who knows him could imagine Levy ever leaving for a rival group. (The base salary Levy is waiving was $1.2 million in 2010, according to a regulatory filing; he would still collect a variable compensation payment; this was $3.6 million in 2010. The deferred compensation due in 2012 is an additional payment)
The salary waiver is in keeping with the open letter Levy and other wealthy French execs signed in August urging other rich folks to help President Nicolas Sarkozy patch gaping holes in the country’s budget by paying extra taxes.
Levy, 69, was originally scheduled to retire at the end of this year, but was persuaded to stay on until a successor is found. He also heads the five-person Publicis management board, which last week was given a new four-year mandate.
Several Publicis companies operate in Canada, including Publicis Canada, Saatchi & Saatchi Canada, Starcom Mediavest and Leo Burnett Canada.
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