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Reuters
3 hours ago
- Business
- Reuters
Ad group WPP says CEO Mark Read to step down at end of the year
LONDON, June 9 (Reuters) - Mark Read will step down as CEO of WPP (WPP.L), opens new tab, the global advertising giant said on Monday, after seven years in which fierce competition, technological change and challenges in key sectors and geographies led its share price to halve. Read, who replaced founder Martin Sorrell in the top job at the Ogilvy and GroupM owner, said he had built a simpler, stronger WPP by merging agencies to provide a broader service to clients, increasingly centred on artificial intelligence. But WPP, which lost its crown as the biggest ad group to France's Publicis last year, has struggled to grow. It has been hampered by notable client losses, its greater exposure to China than rivals and the upheaval sparked by artificial intelligence, which gives clients the tools to create and manage more of their own marketing campaigns. Organic revenue declined by 1% in 2024, and the outlook for 2025 remains muted, with forecasts ranging from flat growth to a 2% decline. Shares, which have fallen more than 50% since Read took over, hit a five-year low in April and were down 1.75% by 1104 GMT. WPP appointed former Worldpay and BT boss Philip Jansen to chair its board at the beginning of the year, fuelling speculation that he may shake up management of a company with more than 100,000 staff. "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," Jansen said. Read said it was the right time to hand over to a new leader. "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 said. Read will leave WPP more integrated after years of acquisitions by Sorrell, who created the world's largest ad group through buying agencies including J. Walter Thompson in 1987, Ogilvy in 1989, Young & Rubicam in 2000 and Grey in 2004. He has consolidated WPP's more than 200 brands into six core companies and WPP Open, its AI-powered marketing platform. This more focused group has won more business from its major clients, which include the likes of Ford, Google and Unilever, but it has also had some losses, notably Pfizer. It is in a four-way battle for a large part of Mars' non-creative business. WPP's EssenceMediacom has held the media planning and buying accounts since 2018. One major shareholder, who asked not be named, said Read had jettisoned world-renowned agencies, losing some clients and talent in the process. The shareholder said he expected WPP to look externally for a new CEO, and said the likelihood that the group could be broken up had increased.
Irish Times
4 hours ago
- Business
- Irish Times
WPP chief steps down as advertising group struggles with rise of AI
WPP chief executive Mark Read is standing down from the UK's largest advertising group as it struggles with a near five-year low in its share price and an industry-wide upheaval caused by artificial intelligence. Mr Read's exit will end a more than 30-year career at WPP and leaves it looking for a new chief executive during one of the most turbulent periods for the industry. He will continue as chief executive until the end of the year while the board starts the search for a successor. Former BT boss Philip Jansen became chair of the group at the start of the year, sparking speculation about the future of Read. In an internal note to staff, Mr Read said 'there is never a perfect time to move on as CEO ... but this feels like the right time for me'. In a statement on Monday, Mr Jansen said Mr Read had 'played a central role in transforming the company into a world leader in modern marketing services'. READ MORE Read has sought to restructure and streamline the group's global operations and invest more in technology since taking over from Sir Martin Sorrell in 2018, but WPP's share price has halved during his tenure, taking its market capitalisation to about £6bn. Shares in WPP fell 1.3 per cent in early trading on Monday. People familiar with the move said it was Mr Read's decision to leave now, although he did not have a job lined up. He is expected to seek other roles in the tech, marketing or consumer industries. How to manage your pension in these volatile times Listen | 37:00 WPP last year lost its position as the world's largest ad agency by revenues to French rival Publicis, while its two largest US rivals – Omnicom and IPG – have announced plans to merge to create a single, North American advertising heavyweight. WPP is still Britain's biggest advertising group, with revenues of close to £15 billion (€18 billion) and more than 100,000 employees around the world. [ Advertising giant WPP sees 2023 revenue gains above analyst estimates Opens in new window ] Mr Read, who is 58 years old, took over from Mr Sorrell, who resigned after an inquiry into his workplace conduct. Mr Read has overseen the company as it has tried to reorientate its business to cope with the dominance of the advertising market by tech giants Meta and Alphabet. Social media and influencer content have become key marketing channels, while traditional advertising media such as TV have shrunk in importance. More recently, Read has pushed WPP to invest hundreds of millions of pounds in AI, which has threatened to shake up the advertising agency model by offering much quicker and cheaper ways to do labour-intensive creative and media planning work. More than 50,000 people now use WPP Open, its AI platform, to assist them with their work. Mr Read said in January that WPP needed to move on from a difficult period of restructuring and rebuild its network of businesses with AI at the centre. WPP last year sold its controlling stake in public relations group FGS to private equity group KKR for $767 million (€671 euro) in cash. In the internal note to staff, Read said the company 'needed to make many difficult decisions that were necessary to serve our clients better, simplify the company, build our culture and put WPP on a more solid financial footing'. He added: 'We have also lived through some of the most challenging external events of modern times, from the pandemic to the war in Ukraine, and navigated an increasingly polarised and difficult world ... However, I strongly believe that the future for WPP is a very positive one.' Media analyst Claire Enders said Read had initially been a 'steady pair of hands holding the ship together through hundreds of acquisitions and integrations', and then had overseen a 'complete simplification' as chief executive of the business. 'WPP has struggled against stronger headwinds than its peers, largely due to its UK history and listing,' she said. – Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2025
Yahoo
5 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Ad group WPP says CEO Mark Read to retire at end of the year
By Paul Sandle LONDON (Reuters) -Mark Read will step down as CEO of global advertising giant WPP after seven years in which fierce competition, technological change and economic challenges in key sectors and geographies led its share price to halve. Read, who spent more than 20 years at the owner of Ogilvy and GroupM before he replaced founder Martin Sorrell in the top job, said he had built a simpler, stronger business by merging its major agencies to provide a more joined up service to clients. But WPP, which lost its crown as the biggest ad group to France's Publicis last year, has struggled, losing some contracts to rivals and having to navigate the upheaval sparked by artificial intelligence, which gives clients the tools to create their own material. The group said in February its growth would be flat at best this year and down 2% 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. They fell 1% in early trading on Monday. WPP appointed Philip Jansen to chair its board at the beginning of the year, bringing across a corporate heavyweight who had previously led BT and Worldpay, and leading to speculation that he may look to shake up the group. "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," Jansen said. Read said it was the right time to hand over to a new leader. "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 said. Read will leave a simpler WPP after years of acquisitions by Sorrell, who turned WPP into the world's largest ad group through buying agencies including J. Walter Thompson in 1987, Ogilvy in 1989, Young & Rubicam in 2000 and Grey in 2004.
Yahoo
5 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
WPP chief Mark Read steps down as ad agency battles AI
The boss of WPP, Mark Read, has announced he will step down, as the advertising agency, which was once the largest in the world, struggles against the rise of AI and its shares lag at their lowest level in about five years. Read will leave WPP after more than 30 years, with just under seven spent in the top job. He will stay on as chief executive until the end of the year while the board starts to look for his successor. WPP's share price has shed about half its value under his leadership, as the company has struggled against the rise of AI tech that helps companies to automate the creation of adverts. Related: Facebook and Instagram owner Meta to enable AI ad creation by end of next year The chair of WPP, former BT boss Philip Jansen, said Read 'played a central role in transforming the company into a world leader in marketing services'. Jansen, a City heavyweight, triggered speculation about Read's position as chief executive when he joined as chair at the start of the year. Last year the group lost its crown as the biggest ad agency in the world by revenue to its French rival Publicis. Omnicom and rival group Interpublic agreed to combine in a $13.3bn deal, compared with WPP's market value of £5.9bn. Read took over in 2018 from Sir Martin Sorrell, who bought a small Kent-based maker of wire baskets in 1985 and built it into the world's largest marketing services group. Sorrell left amid allegations of personal misconduct, which he denied. Read has overhauled the group over the course of his tenure, merging agencies and selling off some businesses, which has helped cut net debt. However, the shares have lost more than a quarter of their value in the past year alone, as tech companies such as Google, Meta Platforms and Amazon have become dominant advertising names in their own right. This month Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram, said it would start helping advertisers fully create and target campaigns using AI tools, including images, video and text. Weakness in WPP shares had also prompted speculation that it could become a takeover target by a bigger rival or an activist investor hoping to shake up the business. Shares in WPP dropped by 2% in early trading on Monday after the news of Read's departure. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
6 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
WPP boss Mark Read to step down amid AI pressure on advertising
The boss of the UK's largest advertising firm WPP is to step down at the end of the year. Mark Read, chief executive of the business, which owns agencies including Ogilvy, has revealed his departure as the company battles the rapid growth of artificial intelligence (AI) in the sector. Shares in the company dipped after the announcement, moving it closer to the five-year-low it struck in April. Mr Read has been at the company for 30 years, with seven of those as chief executive. He took over the top role in 2018 amid a period of upheaval following the resignation of Sir Martin Sorrell amid a workplace inquiry. Mr Read led the business through a turbulent period as it sought to grow despite pressure from social media giants and the rapid expansion of AI. In its most recent update in April, WPP reported that revenues dropped by 5% to £3.24 billion for the first quarter of 2025. Mr Read said: '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. '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.' WPP has said its search for a successor is under way. Former BT boss Philip Jansen, who was appointed WPP chairman last year, said Mr Read will continue to focus on the firm's growth strategy over the rest of the year. Mr Jansen added: '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.' Error while retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error while retrieving data Error while retrieving data Error while retrieving data Error while retrieving data
