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WPP Chief Mark Read Will Exit as Ad Industry Grapples With Massive Changes
WPP CEO Mark Read will leave the advertising giant by the end of the year as it struggles with a downturn in stock price and big industry changes
Big advertisers like Procter & Gamble, Unilever and Ford Motor have begun focusing on the money they spend with companies like WPP, trying to winnow down not only the number of firms they work with but the fees they pay them. WPP recently overhauled its media-buying agency GroupM, laying off many employees and downplaying individual operations such as Mindshare and Wavemaker while highlighting new abilities to use artificial intelligence to devise media plans and placement. Read’s agreement to stay through the end of the year means the company will focus on “supporting a smooth transition to his successor,” said Philip Jansen, chairman of WPP’s board of directors, in a statement.
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