From WPP Open X to Ogilvy: The Rise of Laurent Ezekiel as CEO

Laurent Ezekiel has been named Global CEO of Ogilvy Group, while also taking on the role of Executive Sponsor for WPP Open X. He will build on Devika Bulchandani’s momentum as Ogilvy’s new leader, overseeing the creative network’s global business spanning advertising, PR, social & influence, customer engagement, consulting, and health.

Most recently, Laurent served as CEO of WPP Open X for The Coca-Cola Company, where he was instrumental in securing the industry’s largest-ever global marketing agency partnership in 2021. WPP Open X unites creative, media, social, influencer, commerce, PR, data, and technology into a cohesive marketing ecosystem. Designed to support Coca-Cola’s transformation across 200+ brands in 195 countries, the model became a catalyst for marketing innovation. Under his leadership, Open X developed platforms such as Studio X, and helped Coca-Cola earn Brand of the Year at the 2024 Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity.

Alongside this, Laurent also served as Chief Marketing & Growth Officer at WPP, driving awareness of the company’s agency brands and their global capabilities.

Before joining WPP, Laurent spent over 16 years at Publicis Groupe, holding senior leadership positions including President, North America & International at Digitas, and Global Client Leader for GSK and Samsung. Prior to that, he was Worldwide Client Services Director & Head of Global Clients at Digitas (formerly LBi).

His earlier career includes leadership roles at Grey Group, where he worked on Masterfoods and P&G accounts, as well as client and account director roles at Digitas (formerly LBi). He also worked as an Advertising Executive at UBS, focusing on early digital projects, and began his career as a Graduate Trainee at Saatchi & Saatchi Advertising.