Advertising Age reported McCann CEO Tyler Turnbull will take the WPP Creative Global CEO title from departing VML Global CEO-WPP Creative Global CEO Jon Cook.
So much for a thoughtful transition. Then again, given the speed at which WPP CEO Cindy Rose replaced former WPP CEO Mark Read, hyper-accelerated musical chairs appear to be standard operating procedure for the single White operating company.
This also calls into question the transparency Rose once claimed to foster. How long was Turnbull courted behind the scenes? Surely the offer wasn’t hatched last week after Cook announced his resignation.
Turnbull is abandoning Omnicom, triggering suspicion of poaching and/or restructuring resentment. Regardless of the motivations, he’s hopping from the proverbial frying pan into the global flaming dumpster.
In closing, it’s worth noting Cook—a performative proponent for DEIBA+ and certified defender of Divertsity—ultimately replaced himself with two White men.
McCann CEO Tyler Turnbull set to take over as WPP Creative global CEO
By Brian Bonilla and Ewan Larkin
WPP is set to appoint Tyler Turnbull, the global CEO of McCann, as global CEO of WPP Creative, according to people familiar with the matter. Turnbull would succeed Jon Cook, who is due to step down by March.
It wasn’t immediately clear if Turnbull’s remit would extend beyond WPP Creative. Turnbull interviewed for the Ogilvy global CEO role before Laurent Ezekiel’s appointment in late 2025, according to people close to the situation.
WPP, Omnicom, McCann and Turnbull did not immediately return requests for comment.
Turnbull became McCann’s global CEO last December, following Omnicom’s acquisition of Interpublic Group of Cos., and now leads one of Omnicom Advertising’s three creative networks alongside BBDO and TBWA.
Before McCann, Turnbull rose through the ranks at IPG’s FCB. He joined in 2014 to revive the struggling Canadian office, later led New York, became North America CEO in 2019 and ascended to global CEO in 2022. FCB has since been folded into BBDO following the Omnicom deal.
Contributing: Judann Pollack
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