Publicis' Olivier Altmann Launches New Agency with Edouard Pacreau

After a decade at Publicis Groupe, Olivier Altmann has left Publicis Conseil to launch a new agency with former McCann CEO and global account director for Renault at Publicis, Edouard Pacreau.

However, Altmann – who was also worldwide CCO at Publicis Groupe and Chairman of the network’s global creative board – will not be leaving the Publicis fold entirely. Maurice Levy’s network is said to have a minority stake in Altmann + Pacreau. As yet it is not known if what accounts the new agency will launch with.

The news follows the announcement that Deezer’s Axel Dauchez has joined Publicis Worldwide as CEO in France, and of course the breakdown of the Publicis-Omnicom merger earlier this month.

It marks a major shift in the French advertising landscape – Altmann co-founded BDDP & Fils in 1998 (now TBWA) and joined Publicis Groupe in 2004. In the past decade he has seen Publicis Worldwide come 2nd in Eurobest’s top network rankings two years in a row and in 2012 the Gunn Report ranked Publicis Conseil as the top agency in France and named Altmann the 4th best CCO in the world.