Damian Blackden, global chief strategy officer at WPP Media, has announced he is leaving WPP after 10 years.
Blackden said his departure also marks the end of his 37-year career in the ad industry. He now plans to work on his personal side business and travel following his retirement.
In a post on LinkedIn, Blackden thanked his “media and advertising friends”. He added: “Thanks to you I’ve always looked forward to Monday mornings, always loved the unique mixture of art, science and business, always loved the opportunities to solve problems, create stuff and make things happen – all whilst having fun, working with some of the most intelligent and resourceful agency people, clients and business partners from all over the world, many whom are now good friends.”
WPP did not confirm whether it would be hiring a new global CSO of WPP Media.
Blackden has been responsible for leading parts of the holding company’s relationship with Google throughout his time at WPP, and reported to Brian Lesser, chief executive of WPP Media.
Blackden served as global CSO of Group M for three years until April 2025, where he was responsible for problem solving for Google clients.
He was Group M's president, business strategy and operations prior to that, a role in which he centralised Google’s $4bn (£3bn) annual global media strategy and buying arrangement into WPP’s media buying arm.
He is also the former global CSO of Essence (now part of EssenceMediacom) and former global CSO of Maxus (now part of Wavemaker).
Before joining WPP in 2015, Blackden held various roles in programmatic businesses and rival holding companies including a term as joint chief executive of UM UK.
Lesser said: “Damian has been a positive force for marketing transformation throughout his career. We’re grateful to him for his many contributions to our business and our clients over the last decade and wish him the best for his retirement and the future.”
