WPP boss Mark Read stepping down as advertisers grapple with rise of AI
WPP shares fell on Monday after the London-listed advertising group announced its chief executive plans to retire by the end of the year.
Mark Read will step down from WPP at the end of 2025 after seven years in which fierce competition and the advance of artificial intelligence has weighed on the sector.
Read, who spent 30 years at the owner of Ogilvy and GroupM before he replaced founder Sir Martin Sorrell in the top job, said he had built a simpler, stronger business, merging several agencies to better support clients.
But WPP, which lost its crown as the biggest advertising group to France's Publicis last year, has struggled in a tough market.
It told shareholders in February its growth would be flat at best this year and down 2 per cent at worst.
Its shares have more than halved since Read took over in September 2018, and they fell to a five-year low in April. Its market capitalisation is around £6billion.
Read said it was the right time to hand over to a new leader.
Read will continue as chief executive for the remainder of the year, while the board starts a search for his successor.
He succeeded Sorrell, who turned WPP into the world's largest advertising group through a string of takeovers, including J. Walter Thompson in 1987, Ogilvy in 1989, Young & Rubicam in 2000 and Grey in 2004.
Read said on Monday: '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.'
He added: '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.'
Philip Jansen, chair of WPP and former boss of BT, said: '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.'
In its latest annual results, WPP, which owns the GroupM, Ogilvy and VML agencies, posted a 2 per cent rise in operating profit to just over £1.7billion on a like-for-like basis.
Last week, S4 Capital, led by Martin Sorrell, cut its annual turnover guidance as technology companies remained cautious amidst heightened uncertainty.
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