WPP has announced that Karen Blackett OBE will become its new president of its business in the UK.
The move is said to recognise the importance of the UK as the group’s second largest worldwide market after the US, and the ongoing ‘simplification and integration’ of the company’s operations.
Blackett will step down as the UK CEO of GroupM, WPP’s media investment business, to focus full time on WPP. The successor of her prior role will be announced ‘in due course’.
According to WPP, the new president will help implement the company’s strategy to simplify its operations, integrate its offer and bring its agencies closer together.
The ‘big six’ agency employs up to 12,000 people in the UK and revenues more than £2 billion.
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“As we bring our agencies together in our new campuses and deliver increasingly integrated services for our clients, the scale and significance of the UK market requires a role with full-time focus,” WPP CEO Mark Read said.
“We also learned during lockdown – when it was essential we acted as one company – how important it is to have dedicated country leadership in our major markets around the world. Karen is one of the most admired figures in our industry and the kind of collaborative, people-focused leader who is perfect for this role.”
Blackett herself added: “I took on the GroupM role in the first week of lockdown in 2020, with a focus on guiding the business through the pandemic and beginning the transformation of GroupM in the UK. We’ve made huge progress and achieved so much in those two and a half years and I’m delighted to be able to hand the baton to a new leader with the organisation in good health.
“The UK is such an important market for WPP, with so many fantastic people, clients and partners, and I’m looking forward to being able to devote all of my time and attention to the country leadership role.”
