• by Richard Whitman , Columnist, July 7, 2022

After a five-year run at the agency, John Patroulis is leaving WPP’s Grey effective at the end of the month. 

A rep for the agency said that Patroulis was looking for a new challenge. 

It was just seven months ago that Patroulis was promoted to global creative chairman and president, creative business after having served as Worldwide Chief Creative Officer at the network. Succeeding him in the global CCO role was Javier Campopiano, who previously served as global creative partner. 

Patroulis’ departure follows last month’s news that Grey Global CEO Michael Houston has been elevated to U.S. president at WPP, the first time the holding company has had a country manager overseeing U.S. operations. 

Patroulis joined Grey as its global creative chief in 2017 after serving as creative chairman at BBH New York. 

In the role he took on late last year, Patroulis effectively wore two hats, working with Campopiano on creative leadership and also partnering with Houston on business strategy, new service offerings, business transformation at the agency and other areas. 

The rep confirmed that the agency is not replacing Patroulis. 

Meanwhile Houston will remain at Grey for several months to ensure a smooth transition to the next CEO who has not yet been named.