UPDATE: Kevin Roberts may think that “the fucking debate is over” (as he stated in his incendiary interview with Business Insider last week) and while he “doesn’t spend any time on the issue” of women in his agency, Publicis wants the world to know it does. Kevin Roberts has resigned from his position as executive chairman of Saatchi & Saatchi and head coach of Publicis Groupe, effective September 1. He was due to retire in May 2017.

In his statement, Roberts said, “My miscommunication on a number of points has caused upset and offense, and for this I am sorry. ‘Fail fast, fix fast, learn fast’ is a leadership maxim I advocate. When discussing with Business Insider evolving career priorities and new ways of work/life integration, I failed exceptionally fast.”

Here is the original story: 

Saatchi & Saatchi’s executive chairman, Kevin Roberts, has been asked to take a leave of absence, following comments he made about gender diversity and women in leadership roles in an interview with Business Insider.

Kevin Roberts

In the interview, he had suggested that Saatchi’s problem was getting women to want top roles. “Their ambition is not a vertical ambition, it’s this intrinsic, circular ambition to be happy.” To be fair, Roberts did mention that some men feel this way also.

Of Cindy Gallop he said, “I think she’s got problems that are of her own making. I think she’s making up a lot of the stuff to create a profile, and to take applause, and to get on a soap[box].”

Publicis Groupe, holding company for 134 agencies throughout the world including Saatchi & Saatchi, Marcel, Publicis, Leo Burnett, Digitas, BBH and M&C Saatchi, has made it clear that it does not support Roberts’ views.

Publicis made the following statement after the Business Insider interview was published:

“Following the comments made by Saatchi & Saatchi Executive Chairman and Publicis Groupe Head Coach, Kevin Roberts, in a recent interview with Business Insider, Publicis Groupe Chairman & CEO, Maurice Lévy addressed a statement internally to all Publicis Groupe employees to reiterate the Groupe’s no-tolerance policy towards behaviour or commentary counter to the spirit of Publicis Groupe and its celebration of difference as captured in the motto Viva la Difference!

It is for the gravity of these statements that Kevin Roberts has been asked to take a leave of absence from Publicis Groupe effective immediately. As a member of The Directoire, it will ultimately be the Publicis Groupe Supervisory Board’s duty to further evaluate his standing.

Diversity & inclusion are business imperatives on which Publicis Groupe will not negotiate. While fostering a work environment that is inclusive of all talent is a collective responsibility, it is leadership’s job to nurture the career aspirations and goals of all our talent.

Promoting gender equality starts at the top and the Groupe will not tolerate anyone speaking for our organisation who does not value the importance of inclusion. Publicis Groupe works very hard to champion diversity and will continue to insist that each agency’s leadership be champions of both diversity and inclusion.”

Following that statement, Saatchi & Saatchi’s global chief executive officer, Robert Senior, issued a statement on behalf of his agencies:

Robert Senior

“Kevin has given what are his personal views on the subject of gender diversity. However, those views are not mine, and nor are they the position of the agency.

“Saatchi & Saatchi is, and has always been, a meritocracy. We live and die by our people, our talent, and it makes no difference to us whether that talent is male or female. Indeed, I’m very proud to be able to say that 65% of our staff are female, and it is to our great benefit that we have women in senior leadership roles across our business.

“However, the issue of gender diversity is not in any way over for our industry. It is live, emotive and vital for the communications business that we continue to insist that the best people, whatever their gender, are able to achieve their potential. This is what we strive for at Saatchi & Saatchi, and is what we will continue to strive for alongside all of the best agencies in our industry.”