CEO Mark Read Discusses WPP's Data-Focused Shift Toward a New Digital Age

The chief executive talked Adweek through his company's playbook for the future ahead of his NexTech 2021 appearance

Mark Read first walked the hallways of WPP, a then nascent holding company, in the late 1980s when he was just embarking on his career in advertising. There was no way for him to know that almost 30 years later—in 2018, to be precise—he would occupy the office of CEO.

Read’s tenure as CEO began at a tumultuous time, following the bitter exit of his predecessor, Martin Sorrell, not to mention during an existential crisis for WPP—most notably, it needed a root-and-branch restructure.

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This story first appeared in the July 26, 2021, issue of Adweek magazine. Click here to subscribe.