Publicis' Arthur Sadoun reveals cancer surgery

Publicis Groupe Chairman-CEO Arthur Sadoun told employees today that he has had surgery to remove a cancerous tumor in his neck and will cease traveling for two months to undergo further treatment. "Today I want to share something with you that is very personal," said Sadoun in an internal video addressed to the company's 88,000 global employees. "A couple of weeks ago I had surgery to remove a very small tumor that turned out to be cancer. Many of you have experienced that for you or for your family. This is something that is pretty tough to hear, but most of you know also that this is something you can overcome. In my case we caught this very early. We went to surgery immediately and they removed all the cancerous cells, so today I can tell you that there is absolutely no reason to worry. I have been very lucky that we have moved so fast." Sadoun then referenced a scar visible on his neck that nearly extends from jawline to shoulder. "The doctor could have made the scar a bit more discreet," he said wryly, "but I live with it." The leader of Ad Age's Holding Company of the Year then reassured employees, saying, "This is over, I am now back to the office and back to work" but that he will remain in Paris during the next few months, curtailing his usually frantic travel schedule temporarily. "Many of you know me very well and you know that I leave no place for uncertainty, so now I am going to have fuller treatment to make sure that this thing never comes back. This means I will stay in Paris in May and June," said Sadoun, joking: "I am not sure that is great news for the French team to see me so much and so often, but I have promised that I won’t bother anyone." Toward the close of the video, Sadoun becomes slightly emotional. "Honestly, it has been difficult to decide whether I should communicate on that because it is not an easy thing to say, but I prefer that you should learn this from no one else but me. It was important for me to go directly to you, and maybe even more importantly we have always decided to be open and transparent and I wanted to do it also here for something that is so personal." He ended with an entreaty for employees: "Take very, very good care of you and your family."

Publicis' Arthur Sadoun reveals cancer surgery

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