WPP advertises for new CEO amid AI disruption

Mark Read's exit from the company comes at a pivotal moment when agencies' creativity faces the threat of artificial intelligence, writes Barney Macintyre

- Barney Macintyre

When the Cannes Lions international festival of creativity kicks off tomorrow there will be a conspicuous absence among the annual jamboree of advertisers and marketeers.

Mark Read, chief executive of WPP, announced he was stepping down last Monday, ending a 30-year career at the UK’s largest advertising group.

The industry is at a crossroads, torn between the power of AI and the value of human creativity. Is advertising a tech business or a people business? The choice of Read’s successor will say much about how WPP sees the future of marketing.

Read was no doubt feeling the pressure, but his departure appears to be a personal choice. He had run the company for seven years, having taken over after the tumultuous exit of Martin Sorrell. The share prices of the world’s big advertising agencies are almost all down over the past year, but WPP’s has fallen more steeply, by nearly a third.