WPP Media has unveiled its new UK leadership team under global chief executive Brian Lesser’s Vision 30 strategy.
To reflect the removal of P&L responsibilities for all of WPP Media’s agency leaders enacted in May this year, the chief executives of Wavemaker, EssenceMediacom, T&P and Mindshare will now take on the title of “WPP Media president” and have responsibility for defined client portfolios aligned to each agency.
The shake-up means all agency brands will have a president and executive vice-president in charge of clients, with the single P&L "empowering agency brands to operate as client service brands".
The structure also introduces two new divisional leadership roles – the chief media officer role for the newly created Media Management and Delivery (MM&D) unit, formed through the merger of WPP’s Nexus and Investment teams, and a chief strategy officer role, to oversee a single strategy organisation within WPP Media.
According to Kate Rowlinson, UK CEO of WPP Media, the changes have been made to “remove as much bureaucracy and operational burden as we possibly can” and allow leaders to focus on “driving growth” by working more closely with clients.
She said: “Our ambition is clear: to have our strongest talent working directly with clients – entirely focused on driving growth and opportunity for them in new and innovative ways. Everything we are doing is about delivering more value, more quickly, and more effectively for our clients. It’s about being truly client-first in every sense of the word, and as Cindy Rose has said, 'harnessing our AI advantage'.”
Kelly Parker, former UK CEO Wavemaker, has become chief media officer, WPP Media UK, and will oversee the creation of MM&D in the UK – a unit designed to ensure teams deliver client value and maximise performance and quality of work.
All activation and investment teams will report to Parker, though MM&D teams will continue to be embedded in client teams.
Jon Stevens, former UK chief growth officer, WPP Media, will become WPP Media president leading Wavemaker clients.
Jem Lloyd-Williams, former CEO of Mindshare, will lead the new strategy unit in an expanded role as CSO, WPP Media, while still overseeing leadership of clients within Mindshare.
The internal strategy unit has been created to help people move more freely across WPP Media and apply strategic focus on client work.
Lloyd-Williams will be supported in his leadership of Mindshare clients by Fleur Stoppani, the agency’s former chief operating officer, who takes on the role of EVP, Mindshare.
Further appointments at EVP level will be confirmed at a later date.
All roles, with the exception of WPP Media UK chief investment officer Simon Willis, will report to Rowlinson.
All of the new titles are as follows:
- Natalie Cummins, former CEO, EssenceMediacom UK – now WPP Media president, leading EssenceMediacom clients.
- Jon Stevens, former UK chief growth officer, WPP Media – now WPP Media president, leading Wavemaker clients. Stevens will also continue to act as growth lead until WPP Media finds a new person for the role.
- Jem Lloyd Williams, former CEO, Mindshare – now chief strategy officer, WPP Media and WPP Media president, leading Mindshare clients.
- Victoria Appleby, former CEO, T&P – now WPP Media president, leading T&P across media and creative.
- Kelly Parker, former CEO, Wavemaker – now chief media officer, WPP Media UK.
- Nick Adams, former EVP, head of data strategy, WPP Media – now WPP Media UK president, Choreograph.
The following roles will also be retained under the new structure:
- Kate Rowlinson, UK CEO, WPP Media
- Simon Willis, UK chief investment officer, WPP Media – under the new MM&D unit, reporting to Parker
- Luke Bozeat, UK chief operating officer, WPP Media
- Jacinta Brennan, UK chief people officer, WPP Media
- Mike Nichols, UK chief finance officer, WPP Media
Lesser set out the Vision 30 strategy for WPP Media in May, setting objectives for how the media arm will change to become more AI-focused by 2030.
Part of the strategy was the "sunsetting" of agency-specific job titles and the move to a “unified named structure” – now revealed as the move to “president” roles and Group M’s rebrand as WPP Media.
The unveling of Vision 30 followed the axing of global agency CEO roles at the media arm in January.
In an interview with Rowlinson and WPP Media global chief business officer Toby Jenner in June, the pair clarified the new role of WPP Media as a “client-facing identity".
