Pioneering WPP media agency veteran Dominic Proctor has died at the age of 68. 

Proctor joined J. Walter Thompson in London in 1979 and quickly rose through the ranks, leading the media department and becoming CEO of the agency in 1992. 

In 1997 Proctor founded Mindshare – splitting off JWT’s media assets into a separate agency during the early days of the unbundling era.  

He led Mindshare as Global CEO until 2012 when he was elevated to global president of GroupM, WPP’s media agency division which at the time included, Mindshare, MEC, Maxus and Mediacom.  

In 2016 Proctor stepped down from the GroupM role but remained with WPP for several years working on strategic projects. 

WPP CEO Mark Read wrote a tribute to Proctor on his LinkedIn page which in part reads.  

“Dominic Proctor was first and foremost a dear friend and colleague to countless people across the world of advertising. He was also one of the most influential people in the global media and marketing industry – very few have done more to shape the media planning and buying landscape we see today.” 

Read added, “Dominic helped so many people in their own careers – including mine. He was always generous with his time and considerable wisdom, and always very good company. Outside WPP he brought his trademark enthusiasm to many organisations and charities that benefited hugely from his skills, experience and determination to make things happen.” 

“Should you wish to join them, the family are supporting the pregnancy and baby charity Tommy’s, which Dominic co-founded and chaired for many years.”