Six-years into his role at WPP, CEO Mark Read has troubled waters to navigate with major contracts up for grabs including Unilever.
Speaking to The Times newspaper one former WPP senior said: “I think if you’re a new chairman coming in, will you sack the chief executive straight away? Probably not.”
Amid a tough and competitive landscape, WPP has announced Philip Jansen as its new non-executive chairman.
Jansen, who was previously boss at telecoms giant BT and begins his role at WPP on 16 September, was part of the team when former BT chairman Jan Du Plessis departed after just four years in the role and during a significant overhaul of business.
Jansen has emphasised the importance of technology in driving the business forward.
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It comes after WPP had to downgrade its forecasts following a tough first half of 2024, predicting growth of -1% to 0% as opposed to its previous guidance of 0% to 1%.
WPP-owned Group M recently lost the account for Sky, after the broadcaster dropped Essence Mediacom as its European media and planning agency. It was won by Publicis-owned Zenith Media.
Publicis experienced stronger-than-expected Q2 growth, with organic growth at 5.7%, while IPG’s Q2 profits were down 19.2% to £238.95m for Q2 despite net gains when it came to creativity.