Year in Review: WPP’s leadership, losses and learnings

March

Coca-Cola $700m media account shifts to Publicis: One of the earliest blows of the year came when Coca-Cola’s North American media business, estimated at around $700m, moved to Publicis following a competitive review, testing WPP’s integrated media model and placing significant pressure on the GroupM-led offering. 

While WPP continues to handle Coca-Cola’s wider global partnership, the loss of media duties in the crucial US and Canada markets underlined ongoing challenges in defending marquee accounts against aggressive rivals in 2025.

WPP has been Coca-Cola’s global network partner for four years. It won the year-long pitch against Publicis in November 2021, assuming responsibility for the marketing of over 200 brands across five categories in 195 countries and nine territories. In total, the business is worth $4bn to WPP.

Jay Pattisall, VP and principal analyst at Forrester, had told The Drum that losing the business would “contribute to WPP’s performance woes.”

Return to office sparks internal backlash: By the end of March, WPP’s 2025 return-to-office mandate, requiring most staff to be in the office four days a week, caused frustration across its global network. The Drum exclusively revealed floor plans that showed some employees would have to work on couches, high-top tables or in pantry areas due to limited desk space, while communication about the policy was inconsistent. Offices in Detroit and the UK faced additional challenges, including closures and inadequate technology, which added to employee anxiety.

Leadership, including then-chief executive officer Mark Read, emphasized that in-person collaboration was crucial for performance and client satisfaction and promised phased improvements. Despite this, staff remained skeptical, feeling that the focus on presence over productivity highlighted a gap between traditional office culture and modern workforce expectations.

A manager from within the WPP network in the UK said at the time: “Mood remains low, especially with the Publicis wins. And the office is not fit for a four-day RTO. There have been no additional desks added or meeting room amendments.”

April

Leadership in flux, Mark Read speaks: In April 2025, Read, a man not known for chasing headlines, broke cover in The Sunday Times, offering a rare and revealing portrait of a leader who felt both underestimated by the City and misunderstood by some of his own people. 

He emphasized that WPP had quietly built advanced AI capabilities, including the WPP Open platform, and was transforming into both a creative and technology company. 

Despite internal criticism over return-to-office policies and a halved share price since his appointment in 2018, Read argued that the company’s strengths were underappreciated and that he remained focused on a five-year plan for sustainable growth.

“I do look at the share price, obviously,” he admitted at the time. “But I need to focus on setting the company up for the next five years.”

Industry talent moves, Ajaz Ahmed leaves to found Studio.One: In a separate but equally symbolic shift, AKQA agency founder Ajaz Ahmed left WPP to launch indie agency Studio.One, reigniting debates about holding company bureaucracy versus the agility of independent shops. Ahmed’s departure from the AKQA Group, long one of WPP’s most respected creative brands, was framed around a desire to escape “bloated” structures and run a lean, modern agency of the future.

“When WPP went down the road of consolidation and mergers, at that point, I felt that the best path for a very creatively led, values-oriented organization like AKQA would have been to have been spun out as an independent agency and taken private,” Ahmed told The Drum. “But, you know, the powers that be obviously didn’t agree with me.”

June

Mark Read steps down as CEO: In June, Read announced that he would step down as WPP CEO at the end of 2025, after more than 30 years with the company, including seven years as its leader following the abrupt departure of his predecessor, Sir Martin Sorrell. 

His tenure had been marked by major business transformation, including the development of WPP Open, the consolidation of agency brands and investments in AI and technology. In recent months, however, the company faced declining revenues, staff unrest over return-to-office policies and the loss of its position as the world’s top holding company to Publicis Groupe.

Read emphasized that he had strengthened WPP’s creative and technological capabilities, won recognition such as Creative Company of the Year at Cannes Lions and maintained strong client relationships with four of the world’s five most valuable companies. 

The board expressed gratitude for his leadership and planned a smooth transition to his successor, while Read highlighted that the company was well-positioned financially and operationally to face the future.

September

A new leader nobody saw coming: When Cindy Rose was named WPP CEO on September 1, she inherited a company with declining revenues, falling share prices and the loss of major accounts. Mark Read’s final notes highlighted that she needed to focus on strategic review, client retention, operational efficiency and integrating WPP Media, while deploying AI tools such as Open Intelligence and addressing structural inefficiencies.

Rose’s appointment surprised many, but her Microsoft experience and prior WPP board role positioned her to lead a tech-driven turnaround. She also had to rebuild staff morale after layoffs and office-policy backlash, while convincing clients of WPP’s value amid a challenging, AI-driven marketing landscape.

Forrester analyst Jay Pattisall applauded her hire, saying she would be a “powerful and articulate ambassador to the continued modernization of WPP.”

Rose’s first Town Hall: At her first Town Hall meeting, Rose outlined a vision built on three principles: putting people first, winning for clients and harnessing AI. In her first global town hall, she emphasized improving staff experience, career development and culture while maintaining a four-day return-to-office policy, signaling a balance between structure and flexibility.

Rose also addressed client priorities, viewing recent account losses as learning opportunities and stressing the importance of collaboration and value creation. She pushed WPP Open, the company’s AI platform, as central to efficiency and innovation, urging all employees to become “AI superusers” to strengthen WPP’s competitive edge and set the stage for transformation and growth.

December

FTSE departure and what’s next: WPP ended 2025 by being relegated from the FTSE 100 after nearly 30 years, as its market value plummeted from around £24bn in 2017 to just £3.1bn. 

The company’s share price fell by two-thirds that year, reflecting client losses, profit warnings and struggles to keep pace with AI and data capabilities compared with rivals such as Publicis Groupe. 

Rose acknowledged that WPP had “not gone far enough or fast enough in adapting to the evolving needs” of its clients and launched a strategic review to address structural inefficiencies, integrate AI and stabilize client relationships.

Looking ahead to 2026

Green Square’s Barry Dudley called 2025 WPP’s “annus horribilis,” a year marked by major client losses, internal upheaval and the holding company’s relegation from the FTSE 100. 

He argued that the challenges echo those faced by Marks & Spencer in 2019, when the retailer, hit by declining sales and a slow digital transition, dropped out of the FTSE 100 before embarking on a careful restructuring, digital overhaul and sharper brand focus to restore investor confidence.

For WPP CEO Cindy Rose, he added, that the comparison underlines the scale of the task ahead: modernizing a sprawling, legacy advertising group, addressing structural inefficiencies and proving that the traditional holding company model can remain competitive in a rapidly evolving industry.