Martin Sorrell’s successor flags need for radical change at WPP
Cannes, France — WPP, the world’s largest advertising group, needs radical change to stay ahead of the digital revolution ripping through the industry and its clients, according to the man tasked with running the group after Martin Sorrell. The once glamorous world of Madison Avenue has been forced to confront reality in recent years as the rapid growth of digital platforms opened the industry to new competition at a time when clients are questioning everything they spend. As the biggest holding company in the sector, WPP has been particularly hard hit, losing some major contracts, almost 30% of its market value and in April its founder and CEO Sorrell over an allegation of pers-onal misconduct. The softly spoken Mark Read, WPP’s former digital boss, has been appointed to run the company of 200,000 employees as a joint chief operating officer in the short term, charged with reviewing the firm’s structure while keeping staff and clients on-side. "In five years’ time the business shou...
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