WPP has appointed top Microsoft boss Cindy Rose as its new chief executive as the marketing services giant aims to implement a sweeping restructure to turn around the ailing London-listed company.
Rose, who is Microsoft’s chief operating officer for global enterprise and a former head of its European and UK businesses, will take over from Mark Read on 1 September.
Under Read’s tenure, WPP’s market value has slumped by two-thirds, with its share price languishing at a 16-year low, as the company has struggled against the rise of AI tech that helps companies automate the creation of adverts. It has also struggled to stem a string of big client losses to rivals, most notably French group Publicis.
Publicis, which overtook WPP to become the world’s biggest marketing services group by revenues last year, has snapped up billions in business including Coca-Cola’s media account in North America and, most recently, Mars’ $1.7bn (£1.25bn) global media planning and buying business.
The latter win, revealed by the Guardian, coincided with WPP’s move to announce Read’s departure after three decades at the company, with almost seven as chief executive.
Philip Jansen, the chair of WPP, said: “Cindy has led multibillion-dollar operations across the UK, EMEA and globally, built enduring client relationships and delivered growth in both enterprise and consumer environments.
“Cindy has supported the digital transformation of large enterprises around the world – including embracing AI to create new customer experiences, business models and revenue streams.”
In her most recent role at Microsoft, Rose was responsible for working with large clients to use digital technology and AI for business transformation.
Rose, who has British and US citizenship, has been on WPP’s board since 2019.
She will be based in London and New York, where WPP has in the past considered moving its listing. She is an advisory board member at Imperial College Business School in London and McClaren Racing.
Before Microsoft, Rose held senior roles at Vodafone and Virgin Media, and worked for 15 years at the Walt Disney Company.
“Cindy is an outstanding and inspirational business leader with extensive experience at some of the world’s most recognised companies and a track record of growing large-scale businesses,” said Jansen, adding that the recruitment process had been “thorough” and that internal and external candidates had been considered.
WPP moved swiftly to secure a successor to Read, who only announced his departure last month.
Read overhauled the group over the course of his tenure, merging agencies and selling off some businesses, which has helped cut net debt.
However, client losses fuelled by being slower off the mark to build an AI offering, as well as fighting against developments by deep-pocketed big tech in the sector, meant he was not able to reinvigorate the company’s share price.
“There are so many opportunities ahead for WPP,” said Rose. “We have and continue to build market-leading AI capabilities, alongside an unrivalled reputation for creative excellence and a pre-eminent client list. I began my career in the creative industries and this feels like coming home.”
On Wednesday, WPP cut its forecast for revenues and profits this year, blaming a challenging economic backdrop. The warning sent the company’s share price tumbling by 19%.
