Folding logos into logos isn’t leadership

Another CEO exits. The holding company sends out a reassuring memo. Headlines speak of “transformation.” And somewhere in between, thousands of creatives, strategists, data scientists and client partners across continents brace for more “restructuring.”

This isn’t just about Mark Read. Or WPP. Or even the agency world.

This is about a larger crisis; a fundamental mismatch between the urgency of change and the pace of legacy leadership.

Transformation isn’t consolidation. It’s reinvention.

Let’s call time on a tired playbook. Folding iconic agency brands into newer configurations might streamline overheads or make a spreadsheet look cleaner, but it does not build a future-ready organisation.

Reinvention, not rearrangement of brands

Transformation is not cosmetic. It’s systemic.

You cannot restructure your way into relevance if the operating assumptions remain rooted in yesterday. Leadership that confuses brand migration with model migration is leading in name only.

The market isn’t waiting. And neither are CMOs.

Across boardrooms and brand war rooms, the signals are clear. CMOs are no longer looking for a “global network partner.” They’re looking for co-pilots who can think fast, build lean, and land sharp.

They want agencies and partners who can move at the speed of cultural relevance, not just compliance. Who know what to do with first-party data before the brief lands. Who are willing to experiment at scale, not just execute scope.

You don’t earn that with legacy. You earn it with velocity, precision, and conviction.

AI isn’t an add-on

And then there’s AI. The accelerant. The leveller. Let’s stop pretending this is a “tool” to plug in.

AI is not a department. It’s not a press release. It’s an operating system shift. You don’t bolt it on. You build around it. You rewire your teams, your briefs, your KPIs, your P&L. Most holding companies haven’t even scratched the surface of what that demands.

Meanwhile, tech-native challengers and yes, even consultants, have already moved on to deploying AI for audience design, narrative generation, and real-time media orchestration.

If you’re still trying to sell your ‘platform’ you’ve already missed the point. What we need now is leadership that’s allergic to comfort.

Not management by memo. Not town halls with muted Q&As. But leadership that’s fluent in uncertainty, obsessed with learning, and brave enough to discard sacred cows.

This is leadership that asks tough questions like what are we still doing out of habit, not value? What if we rebuilt from scratch today? What does this industry need us to become before clients ask for it?

Time for decisive design leadership

Folding logos into logos is not leadership. It’s delay dressed as design.

The next chapter doesn’t need smoother transitions. It needs sharper breaks. The holding companies that survive won’t be the biggest. They’ll be the most decisive.

This is the moment for leadership that doesn’t just maintain the ship but redesigns the compass. And if that sounds dramatic, good. Because change doesn’t come from people who are comfortable. It comes from those who are restless!

- Geetanjali Bhattacharji, founder and CEO of Glassbox Ventures.