IPG CEO Michael Roth talks to us about diversity, Yahoo, and why Arianna Huffington told him off

New York-based Interpublic Group (IPG) is one of the "big four" advertising agency networks, competing alongside WPP, Omnicom, and Publicis Groupe.

The company - which owns agencies such as McCann, R/GA, IPG Mediabrands, and FCB - ended 2015 on a high, posting better-than-expected organic growth for the year. It reported its first quarter earnings on Friday, beating expectations on both revenue and earnings, with a 6.7% rise in organic revenue.

It was also one of the big winners of one of the major events to hit the ad industry last year: "Mediapalooza," where an unprecedented number of big-name brands put their media-buying accounts up for review. 

So it was fitting that IPG CEO Michael Roth was in a jovial mood when Business Insider caught up with him at Advertising Week Europe in London earlier this week.

We discussed a range of topics including how he's feeling about the year ahead, his favored buyer for Yahoo, and why Arianna Huffington has told him off.

IPG has been no exception with what happened at Campbell Ewald (IPG fired the agency's CEO and a staffer who sent a racist email to colleagues inviting them to take part in a "Ghetto Day") the ongoing JWT discrimination suit (in which the agency's now former CEO is accused of making racist and sexist slurs - allegations he denies.) What are holding groups like yourselves doing to ensure there are less of these cases happening?

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