Maurice Levy from Publicis Groupe joins WeWork as interim CMO
Maurice Levy
Former Publicis Groupe CEO and current chairman of its supervisory board Maurice Levy has been appointed as the interim chief marketing and chief communications officer at WeWork.
His appointment is part of an ongoing turnaround strategy at the beleaguered shared workspaces firm which was recently beset by losses, lay-offs and the exit of its founder and CEO Adam Neumann in September.
Levy and Softbank TechHub CEO Ralf Wenzel who has been brought on board as chief of product and experience officer will add “proven CEO-calibre leadership” at WeWork, according to a note from the company.
The appointments were announced by WeWork executive chairman Marcelo Claure while presenting employees a strategy for the future of the firm, including a new remuneration model.
Levy is the only new management team member to be appointed on an interim basis. His mandate is to oversee marketing and communications.
His appointment has provoked shock from certain quarters of the ad business. Writing in his newsletter, industry veteran Bob Hoffman said: “WeWork is a shared office space provider that tried to pass itself off as a tech company and got suckers to invest big money in its fantasy.
“To get a sense of how full of shit this company is, their stated mission was to ‘Elevate The World’s Consciousness.’
“Why someone like Levy would even think about associating himself with this monstrosity is beyond explanation. Unless, of course, there’s a whole lot of money involved.”
Isn’t Publicis a holding company that’s also tried to pass itself off as a tech company? Sounds like the perfect match!
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