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Publicis Groupe chairman and CEO Maurice Lévy said, "This
succession, in the works for more than a year, is taking place in
perfect harmony. On behalf of the Groupe, I want to thank Linda
for her many contributions to Leo Burnett during her impressive
career, and more recently, the extensive time and care she’s
invested to ensure the agency is well positioned to grow in the
future and deliver unprecedented excellence for its clients.
"I hope that she will profit from this new stage of her life
to do all that she has not had the time to do over these past years.
We will all miss her greatly. Leo Burnett is assured of a great
future under the leadership of Tom Bernardin. I have complete confidence
in Tom's ability to lead what is one of the world's best agency
networks towards continued success," Lévy added.
"Having closely worked with Tom since his arrival at Leo Burnett,
I've been struck by his feel for advertising, his meticulous attention
to client's needs, and his respect for the culture of the agency
- as the leadership team surrounding him can attest," he said.
Wolf has spent 27 years of her professional career at Leo Burnett
at various levels, including leading the US agency in Chicago from
1996 to 2001, serving as the agency's worldwide chief since 2001,
looking after the agency's global operations spanning more than
80 countries and more than 200 operating units.
Since coming to the helm of affairs in January 2001, she has grown
Burnett business through client wins and expanded assignments with
existing ones such as Procter & Gamble, Kellogg’s, Hallmark
and Disney.
Her efforts to strategically expand and diversify the network have
resulted in the addition of full-service agencies and an increased
emphasis on marketing services, integrating interactive, direct,
database, promotion and other specialty marketing assets under Arc
Worldwide.
Bernardin, before joining Leo Burnett, was Lowe New York CEO. Prior
to the merger of Lowe New York and Bozell, he was president and
CEO of Bozell. Bernardin's multi-national career included spending
eight years abroad at McCann-Erickson handling brands such as the
American Express GoldCard, GM/Opel and Chrysler. Named president
of Bozell in April 1998, Bernardin reorganised the agency to meet
the rapidly changing marketplace by building on the agency's long
tradition of entrepreneurship and impressive growth.
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