WPP CEO Cindy Rose awarded USD 6.1M in shares after Microsoft exit
The award is meant to compensate her for incentives forfeited when she left Microsoft.
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WPP's new chief executive officer, Cindy Rose, has been awarded shares worth an estimated $6.1 million, according to a media report. The award is meant to compensate her for incentives forfeited when she left Microsoft, as per a media report.
Under WPP’s Executive Performance Share Plan, Rose received 1,137,233 shares, which will vest in tranches between December 2025 and September 2030, contingent on her continued employment with the company.
The number of shares was calculated based on the average closing price on the London Stock Exchange over the three months leading up to September 8, 2025.
It is reportedly standard practice for senior executives to receive such compensation when they miss out on equity awards due to changing employers. Rose, who officially joined WPP on September 1, will receive a base salary of $1.7 million, along with short- and long-term bonuses based on multiples of her salary.
For comparison, WPP’s former CEO Mark Read received total compensation including bonuses of approximately $5.2 million in 2024.
Rose previously joined Microsoft in 2016 and has served on WPP’s board since 2018. Read, who had led WPP since 2018 after nearly three decades with the company, announced his resignation in June. He will remain on as an adviser through the end of the year.
Rose’s appointment comes at a critical time for the London-based firm, which has cut around 7,000 jobs over the past year, reducing its global headcount to about 104,000. The cuts are part of a cost-reduction and restructuring effort amid falling profits.
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