Mark Read to retire as WPP CEO
HighlightsMark Read, the chief executive of British advertising giant WPP, will retire at the end of the year after a seven-year tenure leading the company that owns renowned agencies like Ogilvy and GroupM. During his leadership, Mark Read focused on streamlining WPP's vast operations and strengthening its core business, while the company faced challenges in adapting to digital platforms and evolving industry dynamics. WPP has not yet named a successor for Mark Read, and the new chief executive will be tasked with revitalizing growth and navigating the rapidly changing global advertising landscape.
Mark Read
, the chief executive of British
advertising giant WPP
, will retire from his position at the end of the year, concluding a seven-year tenure leading the company that owns renowned agencies like Ogilvy and GroupM. The announcement was made by WPP on Monday.
Read's departure comes as WPP, which recently lost its title as the world's largest
advertising
group to Publicis, navigates a challenging market environment. In February, WPP projected a flat to 2% decline in growth for the current year, signaling ongoing struggles.
During his leadership, Read focused on streamlining WPP's vast operations and strengthening its core business. In a statement, he affirmed that he had successfully built "a simpler, stronger business," and that now was "the right time to hand over to a new leader."
Read took the helm in 2018, succeeding founder Martin Sorrell. His time as CEO saw WPP grapple with evolving industry dynamics, including the rise of digital platforms and in-house agency models. The company has been working to adapt its offerings and maintain its competitive edge amidst these shifts.
WPP has not yet named a successor, and the search for a new chief executive is expected to begin shortly. The incoming leader will face the task of revitalizing growth and steering the advertising powerhouse through a rapidly changing global advertising landscape.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Business Standard
an hour ago
- Business Standard
Pound slips to 1-week low after disappointing UK jobs report; GBPINR down half a percent
The British pound is seen weighed down on Tuesday following disappointing UK jobs data in addition to rebound in dollar overseas. Job growth is slowing in the UK and the unemployment rate rose to a new cyclical high of 4.6%, the highest since July 2021. Average weekly earnings were slowed to 5.3% in the three-month year-over-year in April, though excluding bonuses, slowed to 5.2% from 5.5%. This is seen adding case for a rate cut for the Bank of England. Meanwhile, US dollar index is seen elevated and hovering around 99 mark amid ongoing trade talks between US and China in London and ahead of US CPI report. Meanwhile, for the pound, upcoming monthly GDP data and the governments spending review will be keenly watched. Currently, GBPUSD pair is quoting at $1.3499, down half a percent on the day. On the NSE, GBPINR is down 0.53% at 115.65.
Mint
2 hours ago
- Mint
RCB for sale: Diageo plans to sell IPL 2025 champions, values Royal Challengers Bengaluru at ₹17,000 crore: Report
British company Diageo Plc is thinking about selling part or all of its ownership in the IPL chamoions Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), Bloomberg has reported. Diageo controls RCB through its Indian company, United Spirits Ltd. The company may look for a deal worth up to $2 billion ( ₹ 17,000 crore), according to Bloomberg. Talks are still in the early stages, and no final decision has been made, the publication added. LiveMint could not independently verify the development. After news of the possible sale on June 10, United Spirits' share price rose by 3.3% in BSE. United Spirits has categorically denied any possibility of the RCB sale. In a regulatory filing with the BSE, the company has called the media reports speculative 'This has reference to your email communication dated 10th June 2025 seeking clarification from the Company on media reports in relation to potential stake sale of RCB. The Company would like to clarify that aforesaid media reports are speculative in nature and it is not pursuing any such discussions,' the company said. The ongoing speculation comes as India's health ministry pushes to stop the promotion of tobacco and alcohol through cricket. Although liquor ads are banned, companies like Diageo advertise soft drinks using top players. RCB, one of the original IPL teams, were first owned by Vijay Mallya. Mallya, then chairman of United Breweries Group and United Spirits Limited (USL), purchased the RCB franchise in 2008 for $111.6 million during the inaugural IPL auction. He was the face of the franchise until 2016, when legal and financial troubles, including unpaid loans, led to his exit from ownership. Then, Diageo took over the team in 2016. Royal Challengers Bengaluru, which Virat Kohli has played for throughout his IPL career, earlier became the most followed IPL team on Instagram, crossing 18 million followers. However, since they won the IPL trophy after 18 years, their social media accounts further exploded. At the moment, they have nearly 22 million followers on Instagram. They are ahead of Chennai Super Kings (18.8 million) and Mumbai Indians (18.4 million). In November 2023, RCB were behind both teams but gained a quick rise due to strong fan support and creative online posts. RCB reached 17 million followers on in March 2024 and added another million in the same month. Nikhil Sosale, RCB's Head of Marketing and Revenue, was arrested after the June 4 stampede at M Chinnaswamy Stadium that killed 11 people. Sosale is one of several arrested after the tragic stampede during RCB's IPL victory celebration. Sosale was picked up by the Central Crime Branch at 4:30 AM from the airport. His lawyers told the Karnataka High Court that the arrest had been made under the direct order of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and not through a proper investigation.
The Print
2 hours ago
- The Print
SJM to launch nationwide movement to encourage people to boycott foreign goods
The 'Swadeshi Suraksha evam Swavlamban Abhiyan' will be launched at an event here on Thursday, SJM national co-convenor Ashwani Mahajan said in a statement. The RSS affiliate also called upon the government to protect national interest while entering into free trade agreements with other countries and regulate e-commerce giants to stop them from indulging in 'predatory pricing'. New Delhi, Jun 10 (PTI) The Swadeshi Jagran Manch (SJM) on Tuesday said it will launch a nationwide movement this week to encourage people to use indigenous products and boycott foreign goods as it called upon the government to curb imports of Chinese products. He appealed to people from different walks of life including traders, representatives from industry, farmers, students and social organisations to become part of the movement to make India great again. 'The consumer must become a conscious citizen, not just a passive buyer. When one chooses a local product over a Chinese import, or supports an Indian platform over a foreign digital monopoly, one is participating in nation-building,' he said. 'We also call upon the government to curb imports of Chinese products and protect the national interest while entering into free trade agreements with other countries,' it said. 'We also call upon the government to regulate e-commerce giants, and stop them from indulging in predatory pricing, warehousing of their products being sold on their platforms, stop practice of preferred sellers and selling of products with their own labels; and uphold the law of the land,' it added. The SJM also urged the government to provide 'encouragement' to Swadeshi digital platforms and Indian MSME (micro, small and medium enterprises), start ups, like ONDC (open network for digital commerce) and support them. It called upon the government to protect and promote 'Indian electronics, telecom and other strategic industries'. Mahajan said India's freedom struggle was not merely a movement to gain political independence from British colonial rule but also an assertion of economic dignity, cultural identity, and civilisational sovereignty. 'The Swadeshi movement, born during the early stages of independence movement, was a clarion call to reject foreign goods, restore domestic production, and to rebuild India's self-sufficient economic ecosystem,' he said. He said political will, policy interventions and public participation in achieving 'atmanirbharta' (self-reliance) in some of the sectors, have shown positive results. 'Today, more than seven decades after independence, we are once again confronted with a silent but dangerous form of economic colonization,' Mahajan said. The players have changed, the methods have become more sophisticated, but the objective remains the same: 'to dominate India's markets, control our consumers, weaken our producers, and deepen our dependency on them', he claimed. 'This new colonisation comes not with gunboats or viceroys, but through the digital manipulation of e-commerce platforms, the infiltration of hostile economies into strategic sectors, and the unfair dumping of cheap foreign products into our market,' he further claimed. Some of these 'dubious players' were exposed during the ongoing tariff war and recent Pakistani misadventure of attacking our territories, he added. 'China has long been India's biggest trading partner, but this relationship has become increasingly one-sided and dangerous. India's trade deficit with China consistently and currently reached 99.2 billion USD, with cheap and often substandard goods entering Indian markets, undercutting our MSMEs, destroying jobs, and weakening domestic manufacturing capacity,' Majajan claimed. 'Turkey, a country whose present regime under President Erdogan has made no secret of its anti-India rhetoric and unholy alliances with Pakistan and extremist forces. Yet, Turkish companies continue to invest and operate freely in India, reaping the benefits of our open market while undermining our sovereignty,' he added. PTI PK ZMN This report is auto-generated from PTI news service. ThePrint holds no responsibility for its content.
