Advertising
From Pink Slips to Silent Sidelining: Inside adland’s layoff and anxiety crisis
Chinese authorities raid WPP-owned GroupM office in Shanghai, execs detained: Reports
The WPP executives are being questioned by Shanghai police.
On Friday morning, the chief executive officer and country managing director, Patrick Xu was also detained by the authorities for questioning. (Image source: WPP and GroupM)
At the Chinese headquarters of media investment company GroupM, police conducted a raid and detained three senior executives for questioning, stated media reports.
Several weeks ago, the Chinese Public Social Authority—whose mandate involves dealing with economic crimes–detained Yao Lan, head of Data Centre, GroupM China.
On Friday morning, the chief executive officer and country managing director, Patrick Xu was also detained by the authorities for questioning.
Reports state that the raids are part of a wider crackdown on foreign companies by Chinese authorities. The GroupM investigations are to do with media broker activities, related to rebates, as per the reports.
SPOTLIGHT
From purpose-driven work and narrative-rich brand films to AI-enabled ideas and creator-led collaborations, the awards reflect the full spectrum of modern creativity.
Read More“Confusion creates opportunity for agile players,” Sir Martin Sorrell on industry consolidation
Looking ahead to the close of 2025 and into 2026, Sorrell sees technology platforms as the clear winners. He described them as “nation states in their own right”, with market capitalisations that exceed the GDPs of many countries.