WPP CEO Martin Sorrell Steps Down -- Update
April 14 2018 - 7:23PM
Dow Jones News
By Nick Kostov
Martin Sorrell, chief executive of advertising giant WPP PLC,
has stepped down, effective immediately, following the conclusion
of a company probe into a personal misconduct allegation.
The company said Mark Read, chief executive of WPP agency
Wunderman, and Andrew Scott, WPP corporate development director and
chief operating officer, Europe, have been appointed as joint-chief
operating officers of WPP. Mr. Sorrell's departure is being treated
as a retirement, the company said.
Roberto Quarta, chairman of WPP's board, will take on the role
of executive chairman until a new CEO is appointed, the company
said.
"Obviously I am sad to leave WPP after 33 years. It has been a
passion, focus and source of energy for so long," Mr. Sorrell said.
"However, I believe it is in the best interests of the business if
I step down now."
The 73-year-old Mr. Sorrell had been at the helm since he
founded the company in 1986 and has helped build it into the
largest advertising holding company in the world. It boasts a host
of blue-chip creative agencies like J. Walter Thompson and Young
& Rubicam, as well as powerhouse media-buyer GroupM.
On April 3, WPP said an independent counsel had been appointed
to look into "an allegation of personal misconduct" after The Wall
Street Journal reported on the probe. The Journal reported that the
board was looking into whether Mr. Sorrell misused company assets.
WPP said any possible misconduct didn't involve sums that were
material to the company. Mr. Sorrell at the time issued his own
statement denying any financial impropriety.
"As I look ahead, I see that the current disruption we are
experiencing is simply putting too much unnecessary pressure on the
business," Mr. Sorrell said in a letter to WPP staff Saturday.
"That is why I have decided that in your interest, in the
interest of our clients, in the interest of all shareowners, both
big and small, and in the interest of all our other stakeholders,
it is best for me to step aside," he said.
Write to Nick Kostov at Nick.Kostov@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
April 14, 2018 19:08 ET (23:08 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2018 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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