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WPP has named top Microsoft executive Cindy Rose as its chief executive, tasking her with leading the turnaround efforts of the struggling London-based advertising agency.
Rose will replace Mark Read, who announced his departure in June after a thirty-year career with the agency.
WPP shares are languishing at a sixteen-year low as the group has lost key clients to rivals such as Publicis, which overtook WPP as the world’s largest ad agency by revenue last year.
Rose is chief operating officer for global enterprise at Microsoft, working with large companies to use digital technology and AI for business transformation.
She was previously president of Microsoft Western Europe and chief executive of Microsoft UK. She has also worked at Vodafone, Virgin Media and Disney. Rose has been a non-executive director on the WPP board since 2019, and holds dual British and American citizenship.
Announcing the appointment on Thursday, Philip Jansen, chair of WPP, said Rose had “led multi-billion-dollar operations across the UK, Emea and globally, built enduring client relationships and delivered growth in both enterprise and consumer environments”.
Rose said that there were “many opportunities ahead for WPP” including building “market-leading AI capabilities”.
She faces a daunting set of challenges at WPP, including from the disruption caused by AI tools that can replace many of the traditional activities of an agency.
On Wednesday, WPP slashed its forecast for revenues and profits this year, blaming a “challenging economic backdrop”, sending its shares down 19 per cent.
