Holding group WPP’s chief people officer Lindsay Pattinson is set to exit the company in May. She has been in post since January 2024 and a successor is being sought before her departure.
Pattinson’s replacement would mark the fourth chief people officer appointment by the group in the last six years, with her predecessors Jennifer Remling (2021-23) and Jacqui Canney (2019-21) only lasting two years in post, respectively.
Prior to her appointment last year, Pattinson had been working as the group’s global chief client officer, a role she had held since for close to seven years.
Having first joined the network as the global chief strategy officer and UK CEO of now-defunct Maxus in 2009, Pattinson steps away from the group after 16 years, having worked in a range of senior roles across WPP, including at GroupM.
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In a statement on LinkedIn, Pattinson wrote: It’s true, I’ll be stepping away from WPP, my home of 16 years, in the spring, I’m taking a very intentional break to recharge, and reflect before exploring new opportunities. I’m incredibly grateful to my colleagues and friends across the company.”
According to Campaign, Pattinson will continue to be a shareholder in the business, writing in an internal memo, she said: “As many of you have experienced first-hand, I tend to do everything at a hundred miles an hour. Although that’s taken me a long way, at some point it’s probably sensible to slow down for a bit and take some time to figure out what’s next.
“Mark (Read) and I started talking seriously about me taking a break last year, but I also wanted to make sure we delivered on certain priorities absolutely critical for the future success of the business.”
