• by Richard Whitman , Columnist, May 8, 2018

He may be gone from WPP, but Martin Sorrell, the company’s recently departed chief, is far from done. 

That was the message he delivered Tuesday at the Techonomy conference in New York. 

According to the Financial Times, which covered Sorrell’s early Tuesday morning address, Sorrell acknowledged being “extracted” from WPP. 

But he told attendees that he was “going to start again. I’m not going into voluntary or involuntary retirement.” 

And has been widely reported, Sorrell left WPP without non-compete restrictions, so he’s free to start an agency or fledgling holding company if he decides to do so. 

Sorrell resigned last month as CEO of WPP about a week after the company’s board announced that it was conducting an investigation into a “personal misconduct” charge that had been leveled at him. WPP has insisted that it will not disclose the specifics of the allegation or what the investigation turned up. 

Why? Because it doesn’t have to, according to company chairman Roberto Quarta, who addressed the issue in a conference call with investors last week after the firm announced its first quarter results. 

Why the company felt compelled to announce the investigation but not the results is not clear. 

Per the Times coverage, Sorrell said that leaving WPP had given him a better perspective on which parts of the industry were growing and adapting and which were held back by the “warts and problems that legacy companies have.” Hmmm, call me crazy, but I think he pretty much knew that from his perch at the holding company. But, when you go to these conferences as a speaker, you have to give the ink-stained wretches something to write about! 

What Sorrell didn’t give was any detail on plans related to his next move. Which I’m sure are still jelling, given that it’s only been a month since his abrupt departure. 

But all in all, I think this is good news. Love him or hate him, and there are plenty of people on both sides of that discussion, you have to admit Sorrell is a colorful Adland character who’s rarely at a loss for words or a provocative statement that keeps industry tongues wagging. 

It will be interesting to see what he comes up with next.