Lévy has most emphatically "not retired". After handing the Publicis Groupe chief executive role over to Arthur Sadoun, he has been as busy as ever.
Top of his to-do-list has been what has become Europe's largest technology event, VivaTech, which drew more than 100,000 visitors this year.
Under Lévy's stewardship, the Paris event has become a force to be reckoned with, thanks to a list of speakers that included French president Emmanual Macron, Uber's new chief executive Dara Khosrowshahi, Facebook's chief executive Mark Zuckerberg, Microsoft chief executive Satya Nadella and VivaTech regular, Eric Schmidt, technical advisor to Alphabet.
Campaign caught a few moments with Lévy in between his Stage One appearances to catch up with him on his views about the industry, Sir Martin Sorrell and non-retirement:
If you were starting your career today, which industry would you go into? Start-ups
What’s the biggest opportunity in advertising today? Change
And the biggest challenge in advertising right now? Change
What’s the most annoying buzzword in the industry? Sorrell
What's the most important quality a leader should possess? Fairness
The future of the marketing and advertising industry is....? Bright
In which area does the industry need to improve the most? Alchemy
Mark Zuckerberg at the helm of Facebook is...? Visionary
Consultants or agencies? Agencies
Marcel is… founder [with a cheeky grin]
What's the biggest problem technology is yet to solve? [Human] emotion
What age is the right age to retire? Posthumously
Advice for Martin Sorrell post-CEO? [Be] daring
And life with a beard is….? Fun
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