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Ex-Publicis CEO won’t retire at 75 ... He wants to start a new business instead

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Jason Alden | Bloomberg via Getty Images

The outgoing CEO of one of the world's most influential advertising agencies, Publicis, is not looking to retire anytime soon.

75-year-old Maurice Levy led Publicis for 30 years before being succeeded by Publicis Communications CEO Arthur Sadoun. But, while most former CEOs might dream of retirement, the advertising guru has other ambitions in mind.

"It's not impossible that despite my age and betting on the strength of my hair, I will start a new company and will start to play with the start-ups," Levy told CNBC last week, speaking at Cannes Lions in an episode of Life Hacks Live.

"I have a dream of building something fresh and new and it's not impossible that I can do it," he added.

Levy has a few ideas on the direction of his new business, but it definitely won't step on the toes of his previous employer.

"I will not do anything which can compete with Publicis group," he said. "I have to do things which are complimentary to what Publicis is doing, or far away from that."

Levy may have retired from his position as CEO at Publicis, but he still sits as chairman of the holding company's supervisory board.

"I'm still active, and for the time being I don't see a lot of difference in my diary. I'm still waking up very early in the morning and finishing late."

Life Hacks Live is a series produced by CNBC International for Facebook, where tomorrow's leaders get to ask some of the world's biggest influencers for advice. You can watch the full episode here.