Former Microsoft executive Cindy Rose faces a daunting in-tray when she takes over as head of British advertising giant WPP tomorrow.
The Anglo-American businesswoman has been left to patch up a wounded firm beset by falling profits and the loss of major clients – both of which have weighed heavily on its share price.
Rose, who has sat on WPP’s board for five years, takes over the hot seat from Mark Read, who endured a troubled seven-year tenure.
With the share price tumbling 69 per cent under his watch, WPP has found its dominant position under threat by overseas rivals.
Last year it was dethroned as the world’s biggest advertising agency by French giant Publicis, which in March secured a contract for marketing Coca-Cola in the US and Canada.
While WPP has struggled, Publicis has thrived – its stock having risen 58 per cent over the same timeframe as its rival’s decline.
Mountain to climb: Anglo-American businesswoman Cindy Rose is taking the helm at WPP
With a market cap of £17.5 billion, Publicis now also towers over WPP in value, with the British firm worth just £4.2 billion.
WPP has also experienced broadsides from a former boss. In July, Ajaz Ahmed, who had worked for WPP for more than a decade after it bought his agency AKQA in 2012, said WPP had lost its way and was ‘more focused on winning awards’ than winning clients.
That prompted a fierce backlash from WPP executives, who said Ahmed had ‘an axe to grind’ and was looking to settle scores.
This month, WPP’s share price hit its lowest in 17 years after gloomy results, with profits falling nearly 48 per cent in the first half.
To stem the bleeding, it said it had slashed 7,000 jobs, taking its global workforce down to 104,000.
And the firm has been pouring hundreds of millions of pounds into artificial intelligence, which has made it easier and faster for firms to create their own advertising campaigns without the need for marketing agencies.
It is in this crucial area that WPP hopes the expertise Rose gained at Microsoft will allow it to take back momentum from its rivals.
In her previous role Rose was responsible for helping larger clients use digital technology and AI to overhaul their businesses. But she faces a mountain to climb to get Britain’s top advertising agency back to the global top spot.
Danni Hewson, head of financial analysis at investment platform AJ Bell, said: ‘It’s tough for a company used to being number one to find itself in the role of underdog.
‘WPP is going to have to get scrappy and will need to be fleet of foot and think differently if it’s going to boost employee confidence, win back lost clients and win over investors.’
She said Rose faced an unforgiving climate, with Donald Trump’s tariffs having battered the economy, causing many firms to cut back marketing budgets. She said: ‘Advertising is as fickle as fashion. The right ideas, delivered in the right way at the right time, will boost employee confidence, restore morale and could tempt past clients to take another look.’
Rose knows she is in for a tough time. In a video to staff last week she said: ‘I won’t sugarcoat this. We have a lot of hard work ahead, and, of course, it won’t be easy.’
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