Publicis Groupe Annual General Shareholders' Meeting - Dividend Set at 0.60 Euros Per Share

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Jun 01, 2010, 09:48 ET

PARIS, June 1, 2010 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Publicis Groupe today held a Combined Ordinary and Extraordinary Meeting presided by Elisabeth Badinter, Chair of the Supervisory Board, and Maurice Levy, Chairman & CEO.

All of the resolutions submitted to shareholders for approval at the meeting were adopted.

Shareholders voted to reappoint the following Supervisory Board members, whose terms had expired: Michel Cicurel, Sophie Dulac, Helene Ploix, Amaury de Seze and Gerard Worms. Their mandates were each renewed for a six-year term, and will expire at the Ordinary Shareholders' Meeting concerning the 2015 consolidated financial statements.

The Shareholder's Meeting also ratified the appointment of three new members to the Supervisory Board: Marie-Claude Mayer, Worldwide Account Director in charge of L'Oreal throughout the Publicis network, Marie-Josee Kravis, President of New York 's Museum of Modern Art (MOMA) and Veronique Morali, President of Fimalac Developpement.

The dividend will be maintained at .60 euros per share, and payment to shareholders will commence on July 5, 2010.

Maurice Levy, Chairman & CEO of Publicis Groupe, summarized 2009 highlights and results: "The past year was marked by an ongoing financial crisis of unprecedented proportions. In addition, changing dynamics in the media and consumer landscape continued to shake up the communications industry, adding to the climate of uncertainty. Despite these circumstances, Publicis Groupe posted solid results, becoming the 3rd communications group worldwide and solidifying its position as digital leader, most notably through its acquisition of Razorfish. The Groupe has also remained firmly on track towards its goal of deriving 60% of revenue through digital activities and emerging markets. The Groupe should continue to outperform the market and return to positive growth. At last, Publicis Groupe is particularly proud to have the Supervisory Board with the strongest female presence in Europe and to propose the experience of these talented and accomplished men and women to its shareholders."

Marie-Claude Mayer, born on October 7, 1947, is a graduate of the Institut d'Etudes Politiques de Paris and holds a master's degree in Sociology. She began her career at Publicis Conseil in 1972, as Assistant Head of Advertising. Appointed Client Manager, she managed large accounts in various sectors (Colgate, Europ Assistance, Nestle, Galeries Lafayette, Dim/Sara Lee, among others). She joined the Management Committee of Publicis Conseil as Managing Director/Partner. In 1998, she was appointed Worldwide Account Director for the L'Oreal Group, with responsibility for supervising the L'Oreal brands which are managed by the Publicis network in more than 70 countries (Garnier, Softsheen.Carson, LaScad, Lancome, Biotherm, Helena Rubinstein, L'Oreal Professionnel, Kerastase, Matrix). Since 2009, she has been a member of the Shareholders' Committee of the Women's Forum for the Economy and Society.

Marie-Josee Kravis, born on September 11, 1949, received a master's degree in economics from the University of Ottawa. She is an economist specializing in public policy analysis and strategic planning. She has been associated with the Hudson Institute since 1973. As a journalist, she was a columnist for several Canadian newspapers. She has also contributed to Foreign Affairs and The Wall Street Journal. She is the Chairman of the Museum of Modern Art (New York) and a member of Board of the Hudson Institute and of The Robin Hood Foundation. She is a member of the Board of Overseers and Board of Managers of Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. She is a member of the International Advisory Committee of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.

Veronique Morali, born on September 12, 1958, is a graduate of the Ecole Nationale d'Administration, the Institut d'Etudes Politiques de Paris and the Ecole Superieure de Commerce de Paris. From 1986 to 1990, she was Inspecteur des Finances in the French Ministry of Finance. Since 1990, she has successively served as Chargee de mission, Deputy Managing Director, Director and CEO of Groupe Fimalac, and then as Chairman of Fimalac Developpement and Director and Vice-Chairman of Fitch Group. In December 2009, she was appointed a Director of Coca-Cola Enterprises Inc. and Chairman of Women Corporate Directors Paris. She is also a member of the Supervisory Board of Companie Financiere Edmond de Rothschild. She is Founder and Chair of the website Terrafemina and, since 2010, has been a member of the Shareholders' Committee of the Women's Forum for the Economy and Society.

About Publicis Groupe

Publicis Groupe [Euronext Paris: FR0000130577] is the world's third largest communications group. In addition, it is ranked as the world's second largest media counsel and buying group, and is the first global network in digital and healthcare communications. With activities spanning 104 countries on five continents, the Groupe employs approximately 45,000 professionals. Publicis Groupe offers local and international clients a complete range of advertising services through three global advertising networks, Leo Burnett, Publicis, Saatchi & Saatchi, and two multi-hub networks, Fallon and 49%-owned Bartle Bogle Hegarty. Media consultancy and buying is offered through the two first ranked worldwide networks, Starcom MediaVest Group and ZenithOptimedia; and interactive and digital marketing led by the two first ranked Digitas and Razorfish networks. Publicis Groupe launched VivaKi to leverage the combined scale of the autonomous operations of Digitas, Denuo, Razorfish, Starcom MediaVest Group and ZenithOptimedia to develop new services, tools, and next generation digital platforms. Publicis Groupe's specialized agencies and marketing services offer healthcare communications with Publicis Healthcare Communications Group (PHCG, the first network in healthcare communications), sustainability communications and multicultural communications. With MS&L Group, the sixth leading PR and events network, Publicis Groupe expertise ranges from corporate and financial communications to public relations and public affairs, branding, social media marketing and events, sports marketing and events.

Web site: http://www.publicisgroupe.com

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