Overview

• Mark Read will step down as CEO on December 31 after seven years in the role and more than 30 years at WPP.
• Philip Jansen, WPP’s chairman, has launched a global search for Read’s successor to oversee the company’s next strategic phase.
• The group is ramping up its technology capabilities with a £400 million investment in WPP Open, its AI-driven operating system.
• Under Read, WPP streamlined operations by merging agencies and divesting non-core units, including the sale of a majority stake in Kantar.
• WPP lost its top position to Publicis in 2024 and now faces further consolidation from the Omnicom-Interpublic merger alongside competition from Big Tech advertisers.