WPP has appointed Cindy Rose, a senior Microsoft executive, to replace Mark Read as chief executive

WPP has appointed Cindy Rose, a senior executive at Microsoft, to replace Mark Read as chief executive.

Rose takes over on 1 September and already knows the British agency group well because she has been a non-executive director on WPP's board since 2019.

She is currently chief operating officer, global enterprise, at Microsoft where she has worked for nine years. “In this role she helps the world's largest companies use digital technology and AI to drive business transformation,” WPP noted.

She has held the COO role for three years and was previously a president of Microsoft Western Europe and CEO of Microsoft UK. Prior to that, she worked at Vodafone, Virgin Media and Disney.

She is a lawyer by training and has not worked in agencies. Microsoft and a number of her past employers are WPP clients.

Rose, who has an OBE, holds both British and American citizenship. WPP said she will be “based in both London and New York” – a significant dual location given WPP’s under-performance in North America in recent years, since before the pandemic.

She will start facing many challenges as WPP experiences its third year of lacklustre growth, issuing a shock profit warning yesterday (9 July).

Rose said: “WPP is a company I know and love – not only from my six years on the board but as a client and partner for many years before that – and I couldn't be happier or more excited to be appointed as CEO. I began my career in the creative industries and this feels like coming home.

"There are so many opportunities ahead for WPP. We have and continue to build market-leading AI capabilities, alongside an unrivalled reputation for creative excellence and a pre-eminent client list. WPP has the most brilliant, talented, creative people and I can't wait to write the company's next chapter together.

"I am grateful to Mark for his many contributions to the business over the years and I look forward to working together to ensure a smooth handover."

She will be paid a basic salary of £1.25m, with short and long-term bonuses that are based on multiples of salary.

Rose, who turns 60 in August, has had a relatively low profile on WPP's board as a non-executive director. But in a sign of her influence, Philip Jansen, the chair, asked her to answer a shareholder question about technology during the recent annual shareholder meeting in London in May.

Jansen, who started as chair in January and led the search for a new CEO, said: "Cindy is an outstanding and inspirational business leader with extensive experience at some of the world's most recognised companies and a track record of growing large-scale businesses. She has led multi-billion-dollar operations across the UK, EMEA and globally, built enduring client relationships and delivered growth in both enterprise and consumer environments."

He added: "Cindy has supported the digital transformation of large enterprises around the world – including embracing AI to create new customer experiences, business models and revenue streams. Her expertise in this landscape will be hugely valuable to WPP as the industry navigates fundamental changes and macroeconomic uncertainty.

"Cindy's appointment follows a thorough selection process that considered both internal and external candidates. As an existing board member she understands our business and the needs of our clients, and we look forward to working with her in her new role as CEO."

Jansen also praised Read "for his tireless commitment during more than 30 years with WPP and in particular the progress he has made to modernise, simplify and transform the company over the last seven years as CEO". Read will support Rose until the end of the year.

Read said: "Having worked closely with Cindy for the last six years, I am delighted to see her appointed as CEO of WPP. From her time on the board, she has real insight into our business and knows many of our clients, people and partners around the world.

"She brings deep experience of technology and AI and its transformational impact on business, and has successfully run large global organisations with talent at their core. After seven years as CEO, I know that I am leaving WPP in excellent hands."

Campaign reported on Tuesday (8 July) that WPP was “closing in on its new CEO” and a decision by the board was set to come “sooner than expected”.

WPP first announced Read was leaving on 9 June and said at the time he would remain as chief executive until 31 December when he would retire from the board.

Rose becomes the third CEO and first woman to lead WPP. The company launched as a listed agency group in 1985 under Sir Martin Sorrell, who led the business until 2018 and expanded it rapidly through acquisition.

WPP has been through multiple restructurings and internal mergers in a push to simplify the business in recent years. The share price has tumbled from a peak of £19 in 2017 to below £4.50 earlier this week.

Rose’s previous roles before Microsoft were managing director of the UK consumer division at Vodafone and executive director of digital entertainment at Virgin Media.

She spent 15 years at The Walt Disney Company, ultimately as senior vice president and managing director of Disney Interactive Media Group.

She is a graduate of Columbia University and New York Law School.

One former WPP executive who has dealt with Rose described her as "straight-talking and authentic" and "well networked in the UK and US".