Saatchi & Saatchi chairman Kevin Roberts on enforced leave after 'offensive' gender comments

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Saatchi & Saatchi chairman Kevin Roberts has been placed on enforced leave after comments he made about the gender debate in the advertising agency – which he's quoted as saying is "over".

The chief executive of parent company Publicis Groupe has called Mr Roberts' comments "offensive" and its chairman says the board will "evaluate his standing." 

The former Lion Nathan boss and long-time Telecom board member is in hot water for comments he made during an interview with Business Insider.

The publication asked Mr Roberts for his response to a survey that found only 11.5% of creative directors were female. He responded:

"Edward de Bono once told me there is no point in being brilliant at the wrong thing – the f**king debate is all over. This is a diverse world, we are in a world where we need, like we’ve never needed before, integration, collaboration, connectivity, and creativity … this will be reflected in the way the Groupe is."

That comment was ambiguous. The most generous interpretation would be that Mr Roberts was saying no further debate was needed because it was self-evident there should be more gender equality in advertising agencies.

However, with other comments in the interview he seemed to be trying to minimise the issue, although they are only reported in summary. Business Insider reported:

Roberts said he doesn’t spend “any time” on supposed gender issues at his agencies at all — saying the issue is “way worse” in sectors like financial services, where there are “problems left, right, and center.”

And notwithstanding that Saatchi & Saatchi's worldwide chief creative officer is a woman (Kate Stanners), he also said a majority of female candidates don't make the cut for CD, telling Business Insider:

“We have a bunch of talented, creative females, but they reach a certain point in their careers … 10 years of experience, when we are ready to make them a creative director of a big piece of business, and I think we fail in two out of three of those choices because the executive involved said: ‘I don’t want to manage a piece of business and people, I want to keep doing the work’,” Roberts said.

And he criticised Cindy Gallop, an advertising consultant who has campaigned for gender equality in the industry, saying:

“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].”

Chief executive calls comments 'offensive'
Over the weekend, Publicis Groupe's chairman and chief executive released statements indicating Mr Roberts could be facing the sack from his roles of Saatchi & Saatchi chairman and Publicis Groupe "head coach."

In an email to staff, leaked to an industry news site, Publicis Groupe worldwide chief executive calls Mr Roberts' comments "offensive in terms of language and tonality."

And Publicis Groupe chairman Maurice Levy said, "Diversity and 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."

Mr Roberts was made a Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit (CNZM) for services to business and the community in 2013. The UK born businessman arrived here in the late 1980s to serve as Lion Nathan chief executive before being headhunted or Saatchi & Saatchi worldwide CEO in 1997.