Publicis is looking for someone to take over its Montreal office with the departure of Alain Tadros who is joining Metro as vice-president of marketing for Quebec.
Tadros knows the brand very well—it’s been a Publicis client since he took over as president of the agency in 2013 when his shopper marketing agency EM was acquired. (Publicis has held the Metro creative account since 2010 though the two were also together in the ’90s.)
Tadros said working full-time on the Metro brand would be a “dream job” for him and an opportunity too good to let pass by. “Retail is a passion of mine,” he said, pointing to his start in the industry 25 years ago working retail, and the success he enjoyed in shopper marketing with EM. While the move takes him client side for the first time in his career, he doesn’t see it as a radical departure.
(One thing that will change, however, will be Tadros’s long association with A2C — formerly AAPQ. After nearly eight years on the board, leaving the agency meant he had to resign nearly eight years on the board.)
“I see [joining Metro] as being a continuation of what I am doing here and, I think, an opportunity for me to work on a brand which is in my eyes a loved brand,” he said. “When an opportunity like that comes along…. You need to consider it.”
Fortunately, both Publicis Canada chair Yves Gougoux, and president and CEO Duncan Bruce were willing to discuss it and make it possible for him to make the move.
“We will miss him as a colleague, but we look forward to working with him as a client and we will offer our full support during his transition,” said Gougoux, in a release.
“Metro and Publicis have a long-standing business relationship that allowed us, with the authorization of the agency’s leadership team, to approach Alain for this important position,” said Christian Bourbonnière, executive vice-president and Quebec division head of Metro. “Metro will benefit from Alain’s extensive knowledge of the retail industry combined with his experience in marketing and in the agency world.”
Clients and the nearly 150 Publicis Montreal staff were notified of the move Tuesday. Tadros said he would work a couple of more weeks at Publicis before taking time off and joining Metro in late August.
In the release announcing the move, Bruce said Tadros had “left an indelible mark on Publicis,” adding that they have “already taken all the necessary steps to find his replacement.”
In the interim, Bruce along with Thomas Lecordier, executive vice-president of Publicis Montreal, will manage the office.
