WPP's Read Stepping Down, Successor Search Begins
- by Steve McClellan @mp_mcclellan, 6 hours ago
WPP CEO Mark Read is stepping down after seven years in the role. His departure is set for Dec. 31.
An announcement characterized the pending departure as Read’s decision to retire—he's been with the company for more than 30 years.
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Philip Jansen, Chair of WPP, stated:
“On behalf of the Board, I would like to thank Mark for his contributions not only as CEO but throughout his more than 30 years of leadership and service to the Company. During that time Mark has played a central role in transforming the Company into a world leader in modern marketing services, with deep AI, data and technology capabilities, global presence and unrivalled creative talent, setting WPP up well for longer-term success.”
Read stated: “WPP is an incredible company with over 100,000 talented and creative people, wonderful clients and partners, and an unmatched presence around the world. It has been an immense privilege to serve as its CEO for the past seven years."
“When I took on this role our mission was to build a simpler, stronger business, and put structure and new energy behind our creativity and performance, powered by world-leading technology. I am proud that our teams across the business have delivered that exceptionally well. Our clients today rate us more highly than ever before, we now work with four of the world’s five most valuable companies, and our revenues with our biggest clients have grown consistently.”
Read added: “Our business starts with creativity, and I was delighted for our teams that last year we were once again named Creative Company of the Year at Cannes Lions. We have also positioned WPP at the forefront of the industry with our investments in AI and, with the full launch of WPP Open this year, we are now leading the way as AI transforms marketing. We have an exceptional leadership team and a secure financial position that allows us to face the future confidently and capture the opportunities ahead."
“After seven years in the role, and with the foundations in place for WPP’s continued success, I feel it is the right time to hand over the leadership of this amazing company. I am excited to explore the next chapter in my life and can only thank all the brilliant people I have been lucky enough to work with over the last 30 years, and who have made possible the enormous progress we have achieved together. I would also like to thank Phil and the rest of the Board for their steadfast support for me and the wider executive team, and I look forward to supporting them in the transition to my successor in the coming months.”
There were no details on the search for Read’s successor. The firm does have a Nomination And Governance Committee, whose responsibilities include board and senior management succession plans. Board chair Jansen leads that committee. It wasn’timmediately clear how advanced plans are for selecting a CEO or when Read told the board of his decision to retire.
Commenting on the news in a note to subscribers, Madison & Wall’s Brian Wieser wrote that “the news is unsurprising because of WPP’s lackluster business and stock performance in recent years alongside the installation of a new Board Chairman at the beginning of this year. [Jansen succeeded Roberto Quarta]. Presumably the delay of the transition of Board Chair role by a year was responsible for prolonging this outcome.”
The company is likely to look at both internal and external
candidates to succeed Read, Wieser notes. “The bigger issue for what comes next for WPP is its strategic direction,” which Wieser said has been its biggest problem for years.
The firm’s strategy has been “somewhat unambitious beyond simply trying to better organize the business,” Wieser asserts. “The AI-driven disruptions that threaten creative industries in general (and in WPP’s situation, specifically impacting its traditional creative agency networks much more than its media agency business) is paramount. We believe that higher investments in the right skills / people / capabilities will pay off, as more automation and more AI is likely to cause greater demands for customization by marketers.”
On the media side, he added, “there is a significant opportunity to invest more heavily towards supplying media inventory as a principal rather than solely as an agent, and more generally to help marketers more cost effectively reach audiences to accomplish outcomes one way or another.”
“There could be other strategies to explore and focus on, but in all cases they will require a company who is willing to lean in to related opportunities by deepening rather than running away from meaningful investments (likely more meaningful than we have seen from agency holding companies in the past) which also requires a conviction of view and the ability to either persuade investors to tolerate a changing financial profile or bear with the short-term consequences as a transition plays out over multiple years.”
This story has been updated.
