Cindy Rose takes the helm at WPP from Mark Read, with big promises and bigger challenges ahead
Cindy Rose takes over as WPP CEO amid steep revenue declines, client losses and a strategic review, as outgoing chief Mark Read departs emphasizing AI’s transformative role.
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Cindy Rose addressed WPP employees for the first time this week, setting the tone for her tenure as she prepares to succeed Mark Read as chief executive of advertising holding company WPP.
In a video message shared with staff, Rose pointed to her long history with the group, describing her ties to WPP “from many different angles” — first as a client of Grey, VML and Wunderman Thompson during stints at Vodafone, Virgin and Microsoft; then as a strategic partner while at Microsoft; and most recently as a WPP board member over the past six years.
“I am, as you can probably tell, super excited to co-create the new WPP together,” she said in the video, first obtained by Adweek.
“You could say I’ve been a mega-fan of WPP for more than 15 years now,” she said. “I feel so privileged and inspired to work together with all of you to write WPP’s next chapter, and our next chapter will be fantastic.”
Rose, who joined Microsoft in 2016 and has served on WPP’s board since 2018, will formally assume the top job on Sept. 1. Read, who has led WPP since 2018 after three decades at the firm, announced in June that he would step down. He will remain on as an adviser through the end of the year.
Her arrival comes at a delicate moment for the London-based company. WPP has also slashed approximately 7,000 positions over the past year - bringing its headcount down to around 104,000 as part of sweeping cost reductions amid a fall in profits and a broader restructuring effort.
WPP is confronting a perfect storm of pressures that have significantly eroded its performance. In the first half of 2025, operating profits plunged nearly 50 percent, prompting the company to halve its interim dividend and initiate a strategic review amid a 40 percent decline in its share price to a 16-year low, according to the Financial Times.
Meanwhile, Reuters reports that WPP remains on track to meet its downgraded full-year forecasts, despite a sharp 5.8 percent underlying drop in revenue for the quarter ending June and the loss of major accounts such as Mars Inc. and Paramount. Together, these developments highlight the deepening economic headwinds, client losses and strategic uncertainty that now define WPP’s near-term outlook.
“I won’t sugarcoat this: We have a lot of hard work ahead, and of course, it won’t be easy,” Rose acknowledged. “But when I think about the assets that we have as a company — the brilliant people we have, the multi-award-winning creative work that we produce, our beloved agency brands, our amazing clients, our global reach, our world-leading technology capabilities — wow. I cannot help but feel excited about our future.”
To mark the beginning of her tenure, Rose has scheduled a global town hall on Sept. 4, live from WPP’s New York headquarters, where she plans to outline her vision for the group. Employees will be invited to ask questions during the event or submit them in advance.
Mark Read: WPP's outgoing CEO
As he prepares to step down, Mark Read offered a measured but forward-looking closing note to staff and stakeholders recently. He described WPP as “an incredible organisation” with “tremendous assets” — notably its people, its clients, and its AI capabilities.
In his final earnings call and internal addresses, Read highlighted AI’s transformative potential. He said AI will fundamentally change 'what we do and how we do it… but if we embrace it fully, it will make us stronger, bring new business opportunities, and create more value for clients and shareholders,' he argued.
That belief in AI's promise extended to his reassurance that the world of creativity remains secure: humans, he maintained, will continue to lead even amid sweeping technological change.
As his farewell, Read counselled that WPP’s future depends on balancing innovation with humanity — a philosophy he practiced during a tenure defined by bold restructuring, modernization and the reinvention of legacy agencies into an AI-forward marketing group.
