White, middle-class men dominate WPP CEO shortlist

The battle to succeed WPP global boss Mark Read has kicked off in earnest, although the shortlist is reportedly dominated by a whole host of white, middle-class men, as the group hunts only its third ever CEO since Sir Martin Sorrell founded the business in 1971.

According to media reports, the agency group has appointed recruitment firm Russell Reynolds to lead the search for a successor to Read, who announced he was stepping down last week after seven years in the role, and more than 30 years with the company.

The former Wunderman global chief executive had replaced Sorrell in September 2018.

External targets reportedly include the outgoing boss of Google’s EMEA region, Matt Brittin, and Informa chief Lord Stephen Carter, who began his career at WPP.

Meanwhile, internal candidates are said to include WPP Media CEO Brian Lesser and VML global boss Jon Cook, with Ogilvy global CEO Devika Bulchandani the only woman on the list.

Some have even suggested that T&P’s Johnny Hornby and Ogilvy Group UK’s James Murphy might be in with a shout, while VML president Mel Edwards, who worked closely with Read and was seen by some as a potential candidate, has not been “mentioned in despatches” yet.

In the meantime, the advertising industry continues to pore over Read’s legacy. On the one hand there are plenty ready to get the knives out, insisting he has been too slow to act despite overhauling the group’s structure since Sorrell’s exit.

Others maintain that Read has laid the groundwork for the future; investing in AI and data, slashing costs and simplifying the group’s structure.

Whoever takes over, however, will have to hit the ground running.

In an era where tech giants are increasingly wooing clients directly – Meta recently said it will soon be offering brands the chance to fully create and target their own advertising using AI – agency groups need to prove they are still relevant.

Then there is the not inconsiderable threat from Publicis, which last week scooped Mars’ $1.7bn media business from under WPP Media’s nose. Add in the proposed mega merger of IPG and Omnicom, which will create the world’s biggest advertising network, and the challenge is laid bare.

Whether an external candidate could step into the breach quickly enough to tackle all these issues – and more – as well as build their own team, remains to be seen.