Sectors: Corporate

The 7am Monday press release announcing Mark Read’s departure at the end of the year was befitting of a man who, by nature, has always been more understated than his high-profile predecessor. But context, not choreography, is the real reason Read’s resignation, seven years after succeeding Sorrell, hasn’t come as a shock today. It had been an open secret for months now, inside WPP’s Sea Containers HQ in London and out, that the CEO was on the brink. As early as February, The Drum was in the company of senior counterparts from a rival holding company who were crudely discussing Read’s departure as a matter of when, not if. Unkind industry speculation has not stopped since and even found its way into a Sunday Times profile of Read, in April, referring to “ad industry gossips” suggesting the boss was “on his way out.” The ruthless rumor-mongering has been fueled by WPP’s sluggish performance in recent quarters, with revenue down 5% in Q1 and its share price falling 29% year-on-year at the time of writing. It is not the only holdco to have struggled in an undeniably grim macroeconomic climate, but its revenue decline has looked particularly perilous next to the much healthier performance of its main competitors, Publicis Groupe and Omnicom. WPP cannot simply claim to be a victim of challenging circumstances when its biggest rivals are winning. There’s the symbolism, too. After three decades at the top, WPP lost its position as the world’s biggest advertising holding company to Publicis at the end of 2024. The relentless rise of its French challenger and the impending mega-merger of American rivals Omnicom and IPG have made for unflattering comparisons and a gnawing sense among some observers that WPP risks being left behind by its growing rivals. Read has not been deaf to this mood music. As has been characteristic of his tenure, he has been bold in restructuring WPP’s agency brands in a bid to convince clients and shareholders it has the right model for the future. Only last month, he announced the rebranding of media buying giant GroupM to WPP Media, a significant step in reimagining the most valuable part of the business. But what should have been a milestone moment was spoiled by news of the relaunch leaking to the press before employees had been briefed, causing consternation for GroupM staffers unsure if their roles would survive the restructuring. Leaks are inevitable in an organization of more than 100,000 people. But staff dissent has become increasingly visible and vitriolic in recent months. The public backlash to WPP’s return to office mandate in January, prompting a 20,000-strong petition, was a case in point. Mandating four days’ office attendance may not be universally popular, but it is hardly draconian, especially when many of WPP’s FTSE 100 counterparts are insisting staff return to the office full-time. But haphazard company communication and questionable practical planning blew the issue out of proportion, turning internal politics into public ridicule. Once a narrative builds, it is hard to stop. Each company town hall (increasingly leaked, by the way) becomes a goldfish bowl, each account move a damning blow. The loss of $700m worth of Coca-Cola US media business in March was undoubtedly a sickener for Read and the man who may end up succeeding him, WPP Media CEO Brian Lesser. But the industry post-mortems on this portion of the account moving to Publicis vastly outweighed the coverage of Coke proudly renewing the remainder of its business, worth more than $3bn, with WPP two weeks ago. WPP had delivered “significant value,” said Coke’s global CMO, Manuel Arroyo, in a largely under-the-radar LinkedIn post. It sounds superficial. But if you want to be the CEO of one of the world’s biggest communications companies, company communication cannot be underestimated. This doesn’t mean you need the bravado of Sorrell (Arthur Sadoun, the CEO of Publicis Groupe, seldom speaks to the press outside earnings updates), but you do need a compelling story. Read inherited a chaotic and oversized organization. The analyst firm Forrester, recognizing WPP’s complexity, urged him to consolidate its innumerable agencies into a handful of core networks and get its media agencies to “operate as a single GroupM.” Its recommendations proved remarkably prophetic, but this was seven years ago. Since Read merged Y&R and VML in September 2018 – the first of a procession of agency mergers that continue today – it is as though the company has been in perpetual transformation mode. Compare Publicis. “Our transformation is behind us,” said Sadoun in February after being officially crowned the world’s biggest holding company. The Paris firm’s clear and compelling ‘Power of One’ approach, integrating creative, media, data and technology under a unified structure and reducing silos, has been credited with fueling its meteoric growth from third player to top dog. The creation of WPP Media is a tacit admission of how successful this approach has become. As Tony Walford, CEO of corporate advisory Green Square, says: “When Mark Read took over from Sorrell in 2018, things were very different. During his tenure, we’ve seen the rise of Meta and Alphabet, which now dominate the market in terms of sheer media volume, coupled with the threat of AI becoming reality and the need to streamline operations to face the market differently. When you have over 100,000 staff in a business built in a different world, this is tricky. “Publicis had first-mover advantage with its Power of One, while Omnicom and IPG are attempting to solve their challenges by coming together. As mentioned in our commentary on WPP’s 2024 results, it appeared to be putting all its faith in GroupM, having brought Brian Lesser back in last September to lead it all, under which it has subsequently pulled together all WPP’s media operations. “In sum, Read had non-stop challenges mostly not of his making, but maybe WPP just didn’t pivot quickly enough. Easy to say in hindsight and we shouldn’t ignore what was otherwise a stellar 30-year career building the group alongside Sorrell.” Read’s recent PR drive, including the Sunday Times story, an appearance on stage at SXSW and an interview with Fortune, looks now like belated recognition that he and WPP needed to tell their story better. He also used his exit statement to recount his achievements: “I was delighted for our teams that last year we were once again named Creative Company of the Year at Cannes Lions. We have also positioned WPP at the forefront of the industry with our investments in AI and, with the full launch of WPP Open this year, we are now leading the way as AI transforms marketing. We have an exceptional leadership team and a secure financial position that allows us to face the future confidently and capture the opportunities ahead.” Unlike the Saturday shocker when Sorrell left, WPP is in control of the story this time. A week before Cannes Lions is hardly textbook timing to part ways with a CEO, but with rumors of its global Mars media account hanging in the balance, getting the news out now will stop speculation about the boss from overshadowing its big pitch on WPP Media and AI on the Croisette. Beyond that will begin the real test of the transformation Read began – and the unfinished business his successor will inherit. Read more