WPP has appointed company veteran Lindsay Pattison global chief people officer, with responsibility for the company’s people strategy and operations. 

She succeeds Jennifer Remling, who is leaving to become chief people officer at Warner Bros. Discovery. The two executives will work together on the transition until the end of the year, taking up their new positions in January 2024.  

Pattison has been WPP’s global chief client officer since 2018 and the company said it would name her successor in the role shortly. 

Earlier she held leadership roles at WPP, GroupM and media agency Maxus, where she was CEO. 

At Maxus she launched Walk The Talk, an initiative to help senior women reach their full potential, and after moving to her current position she expanded the initiative across the holding company. More than 3,000 female leaders have participated to date. 

Pattison has also played an important role in WPP’s Diversity & Inclusion Council, sponsored the Elevate program for Black female talent and, as a former president of Women in Advertising and Communications Leadership, mentored early-career talent across the industry. 

She is an independent non-executive director for the Rugby World Cup (England 2025) Limited. She also serves on the board of Waldencast, the NASDAQ-listed global beauty and wellness company; the advisory board of Planet First Partners, a fund focused on sustainable products and services; Meta’s Global Client Council; and the UK Effies advisory board.  

"Our most valuable assets are our people," said Pattison. "And creating the culture and environment where they can do the work of their lives is both what excites me about this new role, and what will deliver results for our clients.”