Marissa explained it all.
In an exclusive interview with Bloomberg, Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer said she didn't mean to slight ad execs who she left waiting for two hours during the Cannes Lions ad festival last week. “I think the dinner is unfortunate how much attention it’s gotten. I was late. I apologized to IPG at the time and in no way meant for it to be a slight to them," she said.
The Wall Street Journal reported last week that Mayer was scheduled to meet a group of ad executives for a private dinner during the Cannes Lions festival in France last Tuesday, but showed up "nearly two hours late" because she had fallen asleep. One executive in attendance from IPG is said to have left before Mayer arrived.
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A rep had declined to comment on whether Mayer overslept the appointment, but told Mashable in a statement that "we value our partnership with IPG and all of our advertisers."
To some, the incident illustrated Mayer's laissez-faire attitude towards courting ad execs. It is another instance where she demonstrated that she doesn’t understand the value of clients, ad revenue or agencies,” one anonymous ad executive at the dinner told the Journal. Business Insider's Nicholas Carlson has also reported that Mayer was late for meetings with interim CEO Ross Levinsohn and Unilever's CEO.