5 WPP execs who insiders say could be top candidates to become the ad giant's next CEO
Who wants to fill Mark Read's shoes?
The hunt is on for a new chief executive at WPP after Mark Read announced he intends to step down after seven years leading the advertising agency giant.
Whoever takes over will inherit a company that's recently been usurped from pole position within the agency sector by Publicis Groupe. WPP has already undergone a series of restructures and repositionings that insiders and shareholders are hoping will convert into new business and turn around a period of decline.
WPP and its competitors are also battling for relevance as their clients face downward pressures on their ad budgets and as new technologies like artificial intelligence threaten the traditional ad agency business model.
Jay Wilson, a VP and analyst at research company Gartner's marketing practice, said the next WPP leader will need strong expertise in launching new products and experience guiding teams through periods of volatility.
"In the current agency environment, what is needed is a leader with a strong track record in crisis management, financial expertise, and people leadership," Wilson said.
WPP is assessing both internal and external candidates for the role. Business Insider asked six industry analysts and insiders to suggest the current WPP execs who could be considered for the top position. They are listed below, in alphabetical order by surname. The execs mentioned didn't respond to requests for comment or declined to comment.
Devika Bulchandani, Ogilvy Global CEO
While many of WPP's iconic agency names have been flattened out through mergers and restructures in recent years, Ogilvy, named after its founder David Ogilvy, still retains its name above the office door.
Bulchandani joined Ogilvy in 2021 as the global president and CEO of its North American business from McCann, a creative agency owned by rival holding company IPG. She was promoted to the global CEO in 2022.
Ogilvy has been a bright spot for WPP's creative businesses. Last year, Ogilvy was named the "most effective agency network in the world" by the World Advertising Research Center, for work like "Shah Rukh Khan-My-Ad" from its Mumbai office for the confectionery brand Cadbury. It was also named "network of the year" at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity.
Jon Cook, VML CEO
Cook is a WPP veteran who is no stranger to a merger.
Cook joined the digital ad specialist VML in 1996 and continued to lead the agency as it combined with famed ad firm Young & Rubicam to create VMLY&R. Another merger followed in 2024, when the digital agency Wunderman Thompson was folded into the group, which became known again as simply VML. He's now responsible for a head count of around 26,000 people across 55 markets, working for brands like Ford, Microsoft, and AstraZeneca.
WPP last year said VML's expertise in shopper marketing was one of the key reasons it won Amazon's media account outside the US.
Laurent Ezekiel, WPP chief marketing and growth officer
Ezekiel spent 16 years at rival Publicis Groupe before joining WPP as its chief marketing and growth officer in 2019, leading its new business efforts. WPP hadn't had a CMO before Ezekiel's arrival.
He's also been leading Open X, a unit created to serve WPP's $4 billion Coca-Cola account. This account spans the full gamut of marketing services, from media to creative and data.
It's had mixed fortunes, after Coca-Cola shifted its North America media business to Publicis earlier this year, though a WPP insider told BI this represented just a single-digit percentage of the overall billings from the account. Coca-Cola renewed the remainder of the partnership with WPP in May.
Johnny Hornby, CEO, WPP specialist communications agency division
Hornby rose to advertising fame as one of the cofounders of the UK marketing agency CHI, named after its founders Simon Clemmow, Hornby, and Charles Inge, which created acclaimed campaigns for brands like Lexus, The Sunday Times, and Drench.
In 2007, WPP acquired a 49.9% stake in CHI, which later rebranded to The & Partnership, with Hornby at the helm. Last year, WPP fully acquired T&P, and this year, Hornby was promoted to the holding company's executive committee and became CEO of WPP's specialist communications division.
Hornby is well-connected beyond the ad industry. He was a guest at Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's wedding, and he's a cofounder of Hawkstone, former "Top Gear" presenter Jeremy Clarkson's lager and cider brand.
Brian Lesser, WPP Media CEO
Lesser is a WPP boomerang who returned to the company in 2024. He leads WPP Media, the new name for its media investment division, previously known as GroupM.
He previously did a 10-year stint at WPP, with highlights including his founding of its programmatic media buying arm Xaxis, and rising to become CEO of GroupM North America between 2015 and 2017.
He joined AT&T to lead its $3 billion advertising and analytics division in 2017. He oversaw AT&T's $1.6 billion acquisition of the adtech company AppNexus and later launched the Xandr advertising brand, setting out a bold ambition to build a marketplace for TV and video advertising, bolstered by AT&T's acquisition of Time Warner. The vision was never fully realized: AT&T ended up spinning out its WarnerMedia business unit, and Xandr was sold to Microsoft, which recently shut down much of the tech.
Lesser's name is often in the mix when big advertising and media roles become available (he also once had his eye on becoming WarnerMedia CEO).
Andrew Scott, WPP chief operating officer
The WPP CEO succession speculation might feel a little like Groundhog Day for Scott, who took on the co-chief operator role alongside Read in 2018 when former CEO Martin Sorrell abruptly exited the company. Scott was also considered a contender for the CEO role that was ultimately awarded to Read.
Scott has been integral to WPP's M&A activity for more than 20 years, and has helped close deals like its acquisition of the UK digital ad specialist Essence.
He's also been a key leader of WPP's simplification strategy, helping to structure the VMLY&R and Wunderman Thompson mergers.
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