Kevin Roberts, the advertising executive slammed for suggesting women do not have “vertical ambition”, has resigned from Saatchi and Saatchi and will leave the agency within weeks.
Roberts, the executive chairman of the leading advertising agency, was told to go on leave after saying in an interview that he did not believe the lack of women in senior roles “is a problem”.
He prompted a backlash after saying “the fucking debate is over” and that he did not spend “any time” on the issue of gender equality.
Advertising industry magazine Campaign tweeted that he has now resigned in the wake of the controversy.
Saatchi and Saatchi’s parent company Publicis Groupe released a statement confirming he would step down on 1 September, ahead of his planned retirement date next year.