Publicis Groupe has announced the merger of Publicis Worldwide and Leo Burnett to form 'Leo'.

Leo Burnett founded the agency in 1935 under his own name. In a video (below), he stated that the day his name is removed from the door, the agency will spend more time trying to make money, and less time 'making (our kind of) advertising'.
While his first name has been retained, Burnett has now been dropped.

Leo Burnett operates with 8,000 employees globally while Publicis Worldwide has 7,000. Now, the combined entity will have 15,000 staff members across 90 countries.

In 2024, Publicis Conseil (Publicis France) was the agency of the year at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity.
The combined entity will be led by the team that  helped it win the accolade. Marco Venturelli and Agathe Bousquet will act as co-presidents, and will be joined by chief strategy officer, Gareth Goodall. 

The Leo constellation joins Publicis Groupe’s creative global roster, alongside Saatchi & Saatchi, LePub and BBH, and creative hot shops like Fallon and The Community, as well as Le Truc.

Serrano said, “Through Leo we are doubling down on our strategy of strong creative brands, connected to the industry’s only data, media and tech ecosystem. With Publicis as the global group brand we all rally to, we are now accelerating on the Power of One, turning two networks into one constellation.”

Bousquet added, “At Publicis, we have demonstrated time and again the power of the Power of One. Leo’s global spirit will live and breathe at the local level, with outstanding creative and strategic talent turbocharged by best-in-class data and technology through our country model, to create truly bespoke models for its clients.” 

Marco Venturelli, co-president and chief creative officer, Leo, added, “We’ve never had so many tools to better understand people and connect with them. Nevertheless creativity still is, and forever will be a messy human process. Leo will be a true global community of creative and strategic talents, connected together for a more human way of creating at scale.”

Arthur Sadoun, CEO, Publicis Groupe, said, “I have had the privilege of leading both Publicis Worldwide and Leo Burnett. Since then, other iconic names have disappeared, but I have never believed that creative efficiency should mean fewer brands and fewer operations. It is about big ideas from creative minds that are nurtured by strong agency culture, to have an impact on our clients’ business. In today’s world it is also about more collaboration and more access to capabilities. That’s exactly what Leo stands for. By unifying the spirit and talent of these global creative communities, Leo will be bigger, stronger and on more doors than ever.”