WPP CEO Cindy Rose plans structural overhaul to future-proof group amid AI disruption

WPP’s new chief executive Cindy Rose is preparing a sweeping restructuring of the British advertising major as she seeks to stabilise the business and reposition it for an industry increasingly shaped by artificial intelligence, according to a report by the Financial Times.

In her first media interaction since taking charge in September, Rose said the London-listed group needs to significantly simplify its operations, acknowledging that the traditional agency network model no longer reflects how clients buy services today. She indicated that a detailed blueprint of the transformation will be shared early next year.

Rose described the shift as moving WPP from a pure holding-company structure to a more integrated operating model, aimed at delivering seamless, cross-disciplinary services to clients. More than half of WPP’s pitches now involve integrated offerings spanning creative, media, commerce, data and influencer expertise.

The restructuring effort comes at a challenging time for WPP, which has faced multiple client exits, profit warnings and a sharp erosion in shareholder value. The company’s market capitalisation has fallen to around £3.7 billion, down from nearly £24 billion less than a decade ago, while its shares have declined roughly 60 per cent over the past year. Earlier this month, WPP exited the FTSE 100 for the first time in almost three decades.

Rose, 60, said the role is “more than just a job”, describing it as a mission to secure the long-term future of what she called a “great British company”. While she declined to comment directly on potential job cuts, she acknowledged the need to identify operational efficiencies as part of the reset.

Having previously led Microsoft’s Europe business, Rose succeeded long-serving CEO Mark Read and had been a non-executive director on WPP’s board since 2019. Since assuming office, she has prioritised direct client engagement, participating in pitches, reviews and relationship meetings across markets.

In October, WPP forecast an adjusted like-for-like revenue decline of 5.5–6 per cent for the current year, which Rose said internally served as a wake-up call. She added that the company is already seeing early signs of improvement in new business momentum, citing recent wins including Mastercard, Henkel, Reckitt Benckiser and PwC. WPP also secured over $1.5 billion in billings in November and expects to finalise a major UK government mandate early next year.

Addressing investor sentiment, Rose acknowledged shareholder frustration but said her approach is to listen and rebuild confidence through execution. Earlier this month, WPP raised €1 billion through an oversubscribed bond issue, which executives viewed as a positive signal from the market.

On artificial intelligence, Rose pushed back against perceptions that WPP is lagging peers. She highlighted WPP Open, the group’s AI-powered marketing platform, as central to its strategy, enabling faster creative production, media planning and performance measurement through a unified data backbone.

While conceding that AI adoption will reshape roles and exert pressure on traditional pricing models, Rose rejected the notion that AI poses an existential threat to advertising. Instead, she characterised it as a once-in-a-generation opportunity that automates routine tasks while amplifying high-value creative work.

She also noted that WPP’s workforce composition is already shifting, with nearly as many software engineers, data scientists and AI specialists as traditional creatives. Over time, she expects the business to move away from time-and-materials billing towards technology-led fees and outcome-based remuneration.

Rose emphasised that the scale and pace of disruption remain manageable. “This is about execution,” she mentioned in her interview to FT, adding that the transformation is already underway and within the company’s control.