The changing faces of the ever-present Maurice Levy

Maurice Levy may be well into his eighth decade but the former Publicis Groupe boss (still chairman of its supervisory board) is moving and shaking, most recently at France’s Viva Tech event, its answer to CES. French premier Emmanuel Macron turned up – you do in France when Levy calls.

But we have more important things on our mind, to wit the new Levy facial hair (this is the only image we could find that didn’t have Getty stamped all over it).

At Viva Tech Levy conducted a “fireside chat” with Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg. These fireside chats are taking over the conference world unfortunately, they’re a way of talking to someone who may be controversial without being controversial at all.

Beards are also de rigueur these days. Obviously Maurice doesn’t look like this any more, around the period when he purportedly rescued Publicis by diving into its blazing HQ to rescue key files.

Is the new look an improvement on this more recent version?

Maybe it is. As the eyebrows get bushier why not go the whole nine yards?

Makes you wonder if his old foe Sir Martin Sorrell will be sporting a new look at Cannes Lions too when the defenestrated WPP boss will be interviewed – not another fireside chat please – by the New Yorker’s Ken Auletta.

SMS has often cut a dashing figure at Davos, swathed in a variety of extravagant over-garments, but, so far, has resisted the temptation of facial hair. But a new era is dawning Martin.