WPP finally announces new Chief Executive

WPP has now appointed Mark Read as chief executive following the resignation of Sir Martin Sorrell in April. Mr Read and Andrew Scott have been working together as acting joint chief operating officer. He has been with WPP for 12 years in numerous capacities, and led the advertising agency arm Wundernam for more than three years.
Despite the cloud under which Mr Sorrell resigned, he is responsible for the company’s growth from a mere wire basket manufacturer to its current status of global advertising conglomerate. And Mr Read already has plans to emulate that growth success. He intends to focus on WPP’s structure and sort out what he calls the “underperforming operations – particularly in the United States”. There was comparable sales growth in the second quarter, but disappointing results from the North American business. Mr Read said his goal is to simplify WPP’s internal structure and make it easier for clients to work with the company’s network of PR firms, advertising agencies, brand consultancies, and market research services.