Maurice Lévy

Maurice Lévy is the president of the French advertising agency Publicis Groupe.

Lévy began his employment with Publicis in the early 70's as the company's IT director and was instrumental in saving the company from ruin following the disastrous fire September of 1972. Knowing that all the company's client data was stored on disks and magnetic tape in the building's computer lab, Lévy did everything possible to gain access to the building and retrieve the valuable information, even going so far as to disguise himself as a member of the fire brigade.

With the help of members of his IT team, Lévy salvaged the data on the damaged disks which enabled the company to return to business in just one week following the blaze. His undeniable loyalty to the company earned him the gratitude of Publicis founder Marcel Bleustein-Blanchet. It is said that Lévy's actions on the night of the fire is what prompted Bleustein-Blanchet to appoint Lévy his successor as head of the company.