WPP’s succession race is on: who are the front runners and wildcards?

“It is fair to say that Mark has done a lot of the heavy lifting for his successor. Yes, some things could have been done better and the share price performance shows investors still need to be persuaded, but I suspect his successor will be grateful for what he has done.”

The question then: who is likely to be that successor?

Among the most debated names is Brian Lesser. Founding CEO at Xaxis, he joined the holding company in 2015 after it was acquired by Sorrell. After a stint as North American CEO, Lesser left to run Xander and InfoSum (since bought by WPP) before returning last September to lead GroupM. Since then, he’s spearheaded an overhaul of the business to integrate all of the group’s media agencies, including GroupM, to create WPP Media. One source told The Drum he “will be campaigning.” However, Lesser’s aggressive approach to restructuring has lost him some goodwill among staff, with another source saying the mammoth job of managing the newly created WPP Media has effectively taken him out of the running. “He has enough of a challenge,” said one source within the group. Questions have been raised on the “odd call” of Read staying until December, but some commentators have suggested the six-month grace period may be to allow Lesser to get WPP Media in a position to hand over before taking the top job.

Sticking with GroupM alumna, one potential wildcard candidate is Emily Del Greco, global chief operating officer at WPP Media. Praised for her “deep operational expertise and experience driving innovation, market disruption and growth,” she joined from McKinsey in February and has quickly made an impression on industry observers. “She would be my top pick,” said one source.

Though Stephan Pretorius might be an unexpected name to throw in the mix, WPP’s laser focus on building the business’s future on a robust AI offering could put him in pole position to lead the way. The former CEO at Wunderman (Read’s old stomping ground), he was promoted to become the group’s first chief technology officer in October 2018. Since then, he’s quietly built a formidable reputation and established vital tech partnerships with Google, Adobe, Salesforce, Microsoft, IBM and Facebook. However strong his tech credentials, some observers have questioned if he really has the experience to lead an embattled FTSE 100 company.

The new CEO might also live within the walls of Ogilvy. The network’s global CEO, Devika Bulchandani, has been mentioned as a potential candidate given the turnaround plan she’s orchestrated during her relatively short tenure. Read has praised her “creative rejuvenation” of the group and her role in landing the whale that was Verizon’s $3bn global creative account. Prior to joining WPP, she spent 26 years at McCann in various leadership roles, including president of McCann North America. Alternatively, UK group CEO James Murphy has been whispered in some circles. Murphy was hired by Bulchandani last year after Ogilvy snapped up his agency, New Commercial Arts. Prior to that, he co-founded Adam&EveDDB. Under his stewardship over the past six months, the UK division has been outperforming its peers and was named the most awarded agency in the UK and Ireland.

Jon Cook, VML’s chief executive, is another noteworthy consideration. He has been a constant during the prolonged and tricky integration of J Walter Thompson and Young & Rubicam, VML and Wunderman Thompson to eventually create the global digital powerhouse that VML is today. Under his leadership, the new group behemoth has landed clients such as Krispy Kreme, AstraZeneca, Johnson & Johnson, Pizza Hut and Wendy’s. However, one observer said the Kansas-based exec wouldn’t bring the innovation needed to turn WPP's fortunes around.

T&Pm founder Johnny Hornby was among those reported to be in contention for the top job when Sir Martin Sorrell stepped down seven years ago. Since then, he has been promoted to the executive committee at WPP and is set to lead its Specialist Communications agency division.

Other notable mentions include Laurent Ezekiel, WPP's chief marketing and growth officer. The former Publicis exec is also CEO of Open X, the dedicated network agency for the multi-billion-dollar Coca-Cola account. Prior to joining WPP, he held the twin role of president of Digitas, North America and International and Groupe Client Leader for GSK.

Given the scale of WPP’s challenges and the pressure to turn the business around, thoughts have turned to whether an external candidate would be better placed to take on the mammoth challenge. One observer said a “financial big hitter could be preferred by the board as the share price needs urgent attention.”

A name not in consideration until two weeks ago was David Droga. The lauded founder of Droga5 has proven his global leadership capabilities since taking on the global CEO title at Accenture Song. He announced his departure from the management consultancy’s marketing division last month.

“Consider the order of events in the last two weeks: David Droga resigns; WPP announces the exit of Mark Read; Mark Read will stay on for another six months; David Droga takes over as WPP’s new CEO on January 1, 2026? It would be an incredibly bold move by WPP’s board, likely to receive broad support from its disgruntled shareholders,” says Ruben Schreurs, chief executive at Ebiquity. “The main question is whether Droga will want the role, as it will be a challenging turnaround of a company facing many external and internal pressures. I believe he would be able to deliver meaningful change and stellar leadership – my money is on him.”

Then there’s Matt Brittin, who spent nearly two decades at Google, latterly as president, EMEA business and operations. He was among the names touted as a successor when Sorrell left. However, circumstances have since changed. He quit Google seven months ago and has not yet taken on a permanent role elsewhere. A big name with serious digital and AI credentials. If WPP wants to double down on its future as a tech-driven media powerhouse, Brittin could be a smart play.

What investors want from a CEO: the analyst view

Jay Wilson is VP analyst, Gartner Marketing Practice. Here’s his take on what investors, staff and clients will want from a new CEO: “While a CEO with deep background in tech and AI may assuage investors, we are in a watershed moment for big agencies and what is likely needed is a leader with proven crisis management, financial acumen and people leadership skills.

“With large numbers of holdco agency employees reporting morale is low and nearly half wanting to leave – and a large swath of employees facing inevitable workforce reductions due to GenAI, continued downward price pressure from clients and industry mergers – the fundamental business model of agencies, large and small, is at an inflection point.

“The shift away from time- and materials-based renumeration to outcomes-based, project-based and performance-based pricing means that agency leadership must innovate the foundational agency business model in order to survive. To do so will require leadership with deep experience in launching new products and business models while helping a large workforce navigate fear, uncertainty and disruption.“

Forrester’s VP principal analyst Jay Pattisall said: “WPP has two options in terms of succession: a change agent from the outside, who would bring fresh thinking but need to learn the WPP culture. Or an internal candidate, who would have the benefit of a fast ramp-up. In either case, this individual will take over WPP at a pivotal time in the industry and will face the reality of automation across the WPP workforce, a dynamic and consolidating global media market where the Big 6 holding company media groups are becoming the Big 3, and the changing nature of creativity.

"Mark Read’s successor must be able to look around corners for media and creativity, while maintaining the operational realities. It’s a rare executive to fit all those at once.”