WPP Chief Mark Read Will Exit as Ad Industry Grapples With Massive Changes

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Following seven years as its leader, and having established a strong base for WPP’s ongoing prosperity, Read announced it was time to pass on the reins of this remarkable company. He is eager to embark on the next phase of his life and can only express gratitude towards all the talented individuals he has had the privilege of working with over the past three decades, who have played a crucial role in the significant strides we’ve made collectively.

Despite the fact that WPP, an organization that oversees numerous agencies including Hill & Knowlton and Landor & Fitch, has experienced a decline during Read’s leadership, it is important to note this. The company’s shares have dropped by a third since the start of 2025, and over the course of Read’s seven-year term, they have fallen by half. Read, who has spent three decades with the company, serving as a deputy to its founder Martin Sorrell, took over as CEO after Sorrell departed in 2018 following an investigation into allegations of misconduct. Throughout much of this time, Read focused on developing new digital operations within the company.

Under Mark Read‘s leadership since 2018, WPP (a company that owns many agencies like Hill & Knowlton and Landor & Fitch) has faced a drop in its share prices by about half over seven years. This decline started from 2025 onwards and has continued since. Mark Read, who spent 30 years with the company, working under its founder Martin Sorrell, took over when Sorrell left due to misconduct allegations. During his time as CEO, he has mainly focused on expanding digital operations within the company.

In his tenure as a leader, Read has navigated WPP through challenging market conditions. Major advertisers such as Procter & Gamble, Unilever, and Ford Motor are reconsidering the amount they spend with companies like WPP, aiming to reduce both the number of firms they collaborate with and the costs they incur. These companies are also becoming more self-sufficient in buying media slots and gathering consumer data. To counteract this trend, WPP and another major player, Interpublic Group, have been focusing on innovative technology that gathers and interprets consumer data, but they’ve also had to consolidate some of their largest and most prominent assets.

Due to these developments, advertisers have been shifting their strategies, no longer relying heavily on the traditional 30-second TV ads that were once popular on Madison Avenue, and instead exploring methods that might yield less income but offer better results.

Instead of focusing on individual agency brands, WPP combined powerhouses like J. Walter Thompson and Young & Rubicam with data and technology specialists to better cater to contemporary advertisers. This strategic move, nonetheless, seems to have diminished the distinct identities and visibility of these agencies.

Recently, WPP restructured its media-buying agency, GroupM, leading to job cuts and a shift in focus away from individual entities like Mindshare and Wavemaker towards emphasizing advanced AI capabilities for creating media strategies and placements. However, this transformation wasn’t prompted by prosperity; instead, it was a response to the loss of significant client accounts over the past few years.

Competitors have been innovating strategies to outperform as well. The Interpublic Group is planning to merge with its bigger U.S. counterpart, Omnicom Group, at some point this year. Meanwhile, Publicis Groupe from France has expanded by acquiring businesses that specialize in leveraging influencers.

Reading’s commitment to remain until the end of the year allows for an orderly shift towards his replacement, according to Philip Jansen, WPP’s board chairman, in a statement. However, navigating WPP through an ever-evolving industry won’t be without challenges.

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2025-06-09 13:47