What WPP’s next CEO must fix first

On June 9, WPP officially announced the departure of CEO Mark Read, without naming a successor. The silence at the top has left the advertising world buzzing with speculation, concern, and more than a few pointed questions. What happens next for the world’s largest advertising holding company, now dethroned by Publicis Groupe? Who will take charge as WPP faces growing client losses, internal changes, and slow financial growth? And more pressingly, who can?

Read, who has been with WPP for more than 30 years and led the company through a period of consolidation and transformation, stepped into the top job in 2018 following the dramatic exit of founder Martin Sorrell. He inherited a large, loosely connected empire built on decades of acquisitions, including names like Ogilvy, J. Walter Thompson, Y&R, and Grey, all stitched together into the WPP patchwork. 

His mandate was clear: simplify, consolidate, modernise. And to some extent, he delivered. Under Read, WPP collapsed more than 200 brands into a tighter portfolio of six core companies and launched WPP Open, its AI-powered platform touted as the group’s future.

Yet even as the company restructured internally, questions about its external direction persisted. On May 6, speculation around WPP’s plan to retire the GroupM brand in favour of ‘WPP Media’ sparked fresh concern. GroupM, formed in 2003, had long been WPP’s media backbone, housing agencies like Mindshare, MediaCom (now part of EssenceMediacom), Maxus, MEC, and Wavemaker. The rebrand, officially rolled out on May 29, was seen by many as a cosmetic fix rather than a bold reinvention. 

But structural changes alone haven’t been enough to shield the company from external pressures. Fierce competition, particularly from Publicis and Omnicom, an AI-driven shake-up in the media business, client churn, and exposure to geopolitical tensions, especially in China, have eroded both confidence and cash flow.

The financial strain is visible. WPP’s share price has fallen by more than 50% during Read’s tenure, reaching a five-year low in April. Organic growth declined by 1% in 2024, and analysts expect this trend to continue or worsen in 2025. 

Adding to the gloom, the company has suffered a series of high-profile client departures in recent months. In March, Coca-Cola shifted its $700 million North America media business to Publicis. Then, in June, long-time client Paramount ended its two-decade partnership with WPP Media, followed just days later by Mars awarding its $1.7 billion global media account to Publicis, marking the third major loss in what has become a bruising year for the holding group. The Mars blow came a mere 48 hours after Read’s resignation was made public.

All of this has amplified the uncertainty around WPP’s future. It’s not just Read’s exit that has unsettled the market; it’s the vacuum of leadership that followed. Though he will stay on until his formal retirement on December 31, 2025, the absence of a named successor has left stakeholders questioning: who will steer a company already in the middle of a complex transformation?

What’s clear is that WPP isn’t just looking for a CEO; this is more than just a leadership vacancy or the ceremonial task of filling big shoes. The incoming CEO will inherit a business mid-restructure, grappling with confused rebrands, client attrition, and the lingering effects of strategic missteps. The real challenge isn’t just running WPP, it’s fixing it.

Experts weigh in on what kind of leadership WPP needs to get back on track. But the bigger concern? The silence at the top.

What WPP’s succession silence signals

Mark Read’s quiet exit has grown louder by the day, not because of how he left, but because of what he left behind. A company in the throes of transition. A talent pool facing burnout. A media business model under siege by platforms that don’t wear suits to Cannes. And most notably, a top job with no successor in sight.

The next CEO will inherit more than a corner office. There’s GroupM’s rebrand, a stream of client exits and a media model facing existential questions from AI and automation.

Marketing strategist and industry veteran Lloyd Mathias emphasised that the challenges ahead require more than business-as-usual thinking.

“The agency network will have to take on two big challenges: AI, and the dominance of digital majors like Meta and Google,” he said.

This has sparked the biggest question now floating across adland: should WPP promote from within or bring in an outsider?

“There is no room for maintenance managers. There are some managers who are very good at maintaining an ongoing organisation, and there are some who have the entrepreneurial spirit, the leadership charisma to take the organisation to the next level, to tackle obstacles they may be facing, and overcome them, turning them into positives, etc.,” said Ashish Bhasin, Founder of The Bhasin Consulting Group. “They probably need someone who is not a maintenance manager, but a transformation- and growth-oriented manager.”

Agreeing with the sentiment, Nisha Sampath, Founder and Managing Partner at Bright Angles Consulting, said the very lack of a named successor suggests WPP is already leaning outward.

She said, “It's not a bad time to bring in fresh thinking from outside. In fact, this seems to be the agency's intent, as it could have easily announced an internal successor by now if that were the direction.”

Summing up the situation, Mathias said, “WPP has a lot of talent… But overall, I think they're looking for new strategic leadership, and that’s why they’re looking outside.”

He pointed out that with Read’s departure, the board is likely eyeing “discontinuous change.” The company’s market capitalisation has dipped over 50% since 2018, and its number one spot was recently usurped by Publicis. “So clearly, the board is now seeking to get an outsider to change the trajectory of the company,” he noted.

All the experts agree that it depends on readiness. “It’s always better to promote people, if that option exists, from within the organisation, because they do know the organisation. Also, it’s a good signal to give to people in the company. So, if there is a reasonable choice available to them, they would definitely first look inside before going outside,” said Bhasin. “Sometimes, it just happens that you don’t have an appropriate person at that stage or appropriate talent at that level, in which case, then you’re forced to look outside.”

The case for external leadership is growing louder, but it doesn’t come without internal debate. Because even insiders might bring the change WPP desperately needs.

Which begs the question: If WPP does decide to look within, who among its own ranks is truly ready to take the wheel?

Internal contenders in the spotlight

The lack of a successor doesn’t necessarily mean the talent pool is empty, but it does underscore the scale of WPP’s challenge.

If WPP looks within, Mathias was clear about who he sees as the strongest contender: “The Ogilvy CEO, Devika Bulchandani, should be a reasonable contender. She is a significant contender in my mind.”

Sampath agreed, citing both Bulchandani’s leadership credentials and her relevance to WPP’s global footprint.

She said, “I would put my money on Devika, based on her impressive track record of driving cultural and creative transformation within the Ogilvy group. Her extensive cross-market experience and her roots in India—which continues to be a critical market for WPP—make her a great choice.”

Mathias also sees Brian Lesser as a possibility but places Bulchandani ahead. “To an extent, I’d say Lesser would be second. But I think Devika would be the winner.”

There’s no scope now for a ceremonial transition or cosmetic restructure at the top. This isn’t just about who gets to lead, it’s about who is willing to do the hard, messy work of reinventing an agency network in the middle of an identity crisis. And while the next CEO will need to think globally, they cannot afford to ignore one crucial market: India.

India’s role in WPP’s next chapter

Long regarded as one of the holding group’s most resilient and high-growth markets, India continues to play a critical role in WPP’s global ambitions.

Industry leaders caution against the trap of a one-size-fits-all global strategy.

“India is not the same as any other market,” said Bhasin. “There is a tremendous need for adapting to the local culture and the local way of working.”

Mathias echoes this: “A lot of creative solutions have to come from within India because of the way India is, in terms of its people and its culture. It’s vastly different.” He also pointed to the regional complexity of the Indian media landscape, where local language content still dominates television and OTTs.

In a way, India is both a test case and a lifeline. If WPP can nurture its strongest market without smothering it in a global process, the blueprint for broader recovery might just emerge from here.

To move forward, WPP doesn’t just need a leader with the right resume, it needs one with the right instincts. With so much at stake, the first few months in the role will be critical in shaping the company’s narrative and momentum.

What the next CEO must get right, right away

With the future of the company hanging in the balance, the pressure on WPP’s next CEO will be immediate and intense. Experts shared that the first few months will set the tone, not just for performance, but for trust.

Bhasin laid out a clear-eyed roadmap for any incoming leader hoping to regain confidence, both inside and outside the organisation.

Step one: listen.
“Before you start meeting clients, you must listen to your own team to provide proper leadership.”

Step two: reassure clients.
“An agency is only as good as its clients. And whenever there are too many changes or too much restructuring, clients do start getting a bit edgy and your competitors start nibbling at your heels. Because they smell an opportunity. So, reassurance to clients is absolutely key.”

Step three: get real about revenue.
“We should boldly say that as an agency, we should be in a position to say, ‘We want to make more money.’ Only if we improve our business can we invest in better people and technology.”

While agencies keep making noise about product, quality, creativity, and a host of other things, we seldom say that as an agency, we should be in a position to say, “We want to make more money.”

He shared that only if we improve our business, only if we make more money, can we invest in better people, can we invest in more technology, and so on. There should be a clearly announced business plan that is inspirational for the team, credible, and focuses everybody in the organisation toward one common target.

“If you are able to achieve that in the first 100 days, any leader would have gotten off to a great start,” he added.

Adding to that, Sampath highlighted the importance of getting India right, quickly and decisively.

“India is a critical market for WPP—not just for business growth but also for talent development. Indian clients value stability, experienced leadership, and nuanced local understanding. International leaders don't impress local clients unless they demonstrate genuine appreciation of India's unique market position,” she noted. “For example, focusing solely on AI and technology may not resonate with clients who remain more ATL-centric in their approach.”

According to her, the new CEO must show intent and the ability to meaningfully partner with businesses at different stages of their digital journey. “Success in India requires understanding that one size doesn't fit all—it's about meeting clients where they are and growing with them.”

That focus on credibility, inspiration, and clarity, within the first 100 days, might be what separates the next Martin Sorrell from just another name in WPP’s HR archives.

For WPP, the next CEO won’t just be judged by awards or earnings, but by whether they can rebuild belief in the brand. With the right leadership, this period of flux could spark a new phase of reinvention that reclaims lost ground, re-energises talent, and restores client confidence.

Whether the answer comes from inside the system or outside it, what WPP needs now is not just a change in guard, but a shift in mindset. Because fixing WPP won't just take strategy, it will take courage.