LONDON—Anders Kempe is stepping down from his role as EMEA president at MSLGroup after nine years in the role.

Kempe, who sold his JKL business to Publicis Groupe in 2002, relinquishes his senior roles at MSLGroup and JKL with immediate effect, but will retain a senior advisor position at the network until the end of this year.

Kempe founded Nordics powerhouse consultancy JKL with Bo Jansson and Anders Lindberg in 1985. After selling the firm to Publicis, he became EMEA president of MSL in 2007, moving to London in 2011 after the merger with Publicis Consultants to create the MSLGroup network.

He becomes the latest senior departure from MSLGroup, following a period of turbulence and restructuring under Publicis Communications CEO Arthur Sadoun, who hired Guillaume Herbette as MSLGroup global CEO last year.

MSLGroup is now aligned with Publicis Groupe's advertising and digital agencies under Publicis Communications. Senior exits over the past 12 months include North American CEO Paul Newman, global chief client officer Renee Wilson, UK chief strategy officer Kelly Walsh and global corporate citizenship head Scott Beaudoin.

In an email seen by the Holmes Report, Kempe called his decision "big, but still well-considered."

"I feel that if I am ever going to do something different in life, the time is now," said Kempe in the email. "I am confident that the changes currently taking place within the Publicis Groupe are good and necessary and, when these become effective, it is also a good time for me to take the next step and pursue something new."

Herbette told the Holmes Report that Kempe's decision was "unrelated to the integration initiatives at Publicis Groupe."

"Anders has explained that this is a well-considered decision and that, after 30 years in the industry, if he was going to do something different, the time is now," said Herbette. "I really want to thank Anders for his many contributions over the course of the last few years helping MSLGroup grow into one of the largest fully integrated marketing agencies in the world."