"I don't know if we're at a tipping point or not, but we're at a point where the need for speedy adjustment and change is really important."
Just weeks before his hasty departure WPP CEO Sir Martin Sorrell told Campaign Asia-Pacific brand director Atifa Silk where he wanted his holding company to go in the next two years. His answer, which included a further simplification of the verticals and more 'horizontality', indicate Sorrell was far from done with consolidating the firm.
The man who built a multi-billion dollar marketing communications giant will now pass that job to a successor, one that will be made all the more difficult by rising shareholder pressures.
While we continue to watch how these latest developments unfold, here is part two of our in-depth chat with Sorrell in the days immediately before he become the target of an in-house investigation for an undisclosed allegation of personal misconduct.
In this video, Sorrell explains his vision for restructuring the company in a way that "breaks as few eggs as possible" in the process, while comparing WPP with recent changes at Publicis.
"I would like to see it fully integrated," Sorrell elaborated of his short-term vision for WPP. "Clients aren't interested in the brands."
