FOCUS:YEAR-END REVIEW: Our dragon continues to fly ..

<p>I'll remember 2000 as the year of the fourth book in the Harry </p><p>Potter series. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>I got my nephews and my parents into the saga as well, so we had three </p><p>generations of Levy-Lambert's fighting for the books (in a selection of </p><p>English, French, and Hebrew). Professionally, it's been a very happy </p><p>year with the Publicis network in Asia-Pacific, even though I have yet </p><p>to see our first Harry Potter promotion for Nestle or Coca-Cola (but </p><p>that's probably because I don't get to see all the work, busy as I am </p><p>with my reading and overseeing the most wonderful regional team of </p><p>advertising wizards). </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Indeed, the year of the Dragon was magic, and has fulfilled my every </p><p>fantasy of this extraordinary industry. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Our charismatic chairman/CEO in Paris, Maurice Levy, has outdone himself </p><p>with the acquisitions of Fallon, the legendary Minneapolis-based agency; </p><p>Frankel, the marketing services experts from Chicago; and of course </p><p>Saatchi & Saatchi, arguably the best agency brand in the world. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>With the recent news of our acquisition Nelson Communications, we are </p><p>now the world's leading pharmaceutical agency network. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Overall, Publicis Groupe SA is now amongst the world's top five, listed </p><p>on the NYSE, and comfortable in its secure future. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>We have been awarded an increased share of Hewlett Packard's business, </p><p>the launch of the Euro currency, Sampoerna's global </p><p>advertising ... </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>It's now been over three years since I left investment banking for a new </p><p>life in advertising. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>There is even more magic, here, than I expected. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>There is also far more talent, amongst young people of all ages than one </p><p>would believe when reading MEDIA. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>To my favourite wizards, Janet Yeo and Soon, Bharat Dabolkar and Praveen </p><p>Kenneth, Woo Duk Park and Ae Ran Moon, Louis-Sebastien Ohl and Yoshiko </p><p>Koike, Ivan Chong and Tom Neo, Graeme Wills and the Mojo boys, Masood </p><p>Hasan and Lubna Jehangir, Prakit Apisarnthanarax and Ron Webb, Philip </p><p>Ong and Koernia, Jimmy Chang and Clement Chen, Lito de Joya and Minyong </p><p>Ordonez, Stanley Chan and James Wong, to their clients, and to their </p><p>staff, I blow on my wand and wish them a magical festive season with all </p><p>the rewards their magic deserves. </p><p><BR><BR> </p>