17411: On WPP CEO Cindy Rose Raise, Raising, And Reaching.

 

The Times reported WPP CEO Cindy Rose could collect a maximum payout of £14.2 million (roughly $19.1 million USD) if she manages to raise the White holding company’s share price by 50 percent.

 

If successful, Rose would earn more than her predecessor, Mark Read, whose 2024 salary was capped at £8.6 million.

 

It might sound like progress given the gender pay gap issues prevalent at WPP (and Adland overall). However, there are at least two critical points to consider:

 

1. Read took multiple pay cuts in recent years resulting from his failure to even slow WPP’s financial free fall.

 

2. The £14.2 million Rose deal is still dwarfed by former WPP Overlord Sir Martin Sorrell, who once pocketed almost £30 million.

 

In comparison, Omnicom Chairman and CEO John Wren received $21.67 million in 2024; Publicis Groupe CEO Arthur Sadoun has a base salary of roughly $1.25 million with perks and bonuses that could bump total compensation to over $10.7 million; Havas CEO Yannick Bolloré reportedly received roughly $11.4 million in 2024; Former Dentsu CEO Hiroshi Igarashi could’ve received a package exceeding $14 million (no word yet on new CEO Takeshi Sano); Stagwell CEO Mark Penn received $8.4 million in 2023. In short, holding company CEO salaries are all over the global map—and obscenely high.

 

Keep in mind too that WPP has been on a death spiral since at least 2018, making the goal of boosting the current share price by 50 percent downright delusional.

 

In the end, Rose will probably raise a White flag vs raising the share price.

 

WPP boss Cindy Rose could make £14.2m if she gets things right

 

The payout for her predecessor, Mark Read, was capped at £8.6 million for 2024, but she will only get the maximum amount if the shares rise by 50%

 

By Isabella Fish, Retail Editor

 

The new chief executive of WPP is in line for a significantly higher pay reward than her predecessor after the advertising group overhauled its remuneration structure to align UK packages with those in the US. 

 

Cindy Rose could receive a maximum payout of £14.2 million if she lifts the company’s share price by 50 per cent, under a newly proposed remuneration policy set out in the annual report. 

 

By comparison, the maximum potential payout for her predecessor, Mark Read, was £8.6 million for 2024. 

 

The advertising company said it was overhauling its pay structure to address what it described as a “disparity in incentive arrangements” between employees based in the UK and those in the US. In 2023 and 2024, total compensation for about a third of its US-based executive committee members exceeded that of the group chief executive under the previous framework, it said.

 

WPP said it “believes it is appropriate to narrow this disparity and alleviate some of the challenges of pay compression, creating a fair and sustainable framework across the global executive team”.

 

British companies have warned of a transatlantic pay gap and restrictive UK corporate governance frameworks. Unilever, the consumer goods giant, recently said it had missed out on high-calibre American candidates whose existing compensation packages far exceeded what the group could offer under its current structure. 

 

Rose, 60, is an American-British dual national who splits her time between the UK and the US. The former Microsoft executive, who took over at WPP in September, was appointed on a base salary of £1.25 million, with additional incentives paid in cash and shares depending on performance. 

 

Under the proposed policy, her maximum payout includes £5.9 million in bonuses and stock awards to compensate for those she forfeited by leaving Microsoft, as well as salary, benefits, pension, maximum annual bonus, and the combined value of long-term share awards, including a new restricted share plan.

 

The company is hoping to introduce a restricted share award worth 100 per cent of salary for the chief executive and chief financial officer, alongside existing long-term incentive plans. These awards would run over five years, with a three-year vesting period followed by a two-year holding period, and would be subject to performance conditions.

 

A 50 per cent share price increase might seem like a steep target for Rose to hit, but the stock is currently at a particularly low point. The group was ejected from the FTSE 100 in December after its shares fell to a near 30-year low. The stock is down 75 per cent over the past five years and about 63 per cent over the past 12 months.

 

Rose is seeking to stabilise the business through cost savings and having a simpler structure following a series of client losses and a downturn in advertising spending.

 

In February, she set out a plan aimed at cutting £500 million in costs, including removing duplication and combining human resources and back-office functions across parts of the group.

 

According to the company’s latest report, WPP employed 98,655 workers at the end of last year, 6,500 fewer than the year before. WPP declined to comment.

17398: Mo Money No Money Mo Problems.

Adweek reported on a study revealing the obvious: women in Adland continue to make less money than male counterparts.

 

While Adweek did not indicate if the study broke down racial and ethnic data, here’s another obvious revelation: underpaid White women in Adland continue to make waaaaay more money than underpaid—and underrepresented—women of color peers.

 

Bet cash money on it.

 

Women in Advertising Are Closing Every Gap They Can. The Pay Gap Persists Anyway 

 

A new study finds a stubborn 5% pay gap and points to managerial gatekeeping and workplace social dynamics as key culprits

 

By Audrey Kemp

 

A new study examining pay in the U.S. advertising industry finds that women are still earning less than their male peers, even after accounting for nearly every variable commonly cited to explain the disparity.

 

The research, conducted by strategist Jess Watts in partnership with Dr. Nancy Wayne of UCLA and data scientist Ryan Crone, analyzed survey responses from more than 900 advertising professionals across agency types, roles, and seniority levels.

 

DNA&Stone, the independent agency where Watts joined as chief strategy officer in December (and an ADWEEK Small Agency of the Year 2025 finalist), is publishing the study.

 

After controlling for factors such as education, experience, hours worked, geography, and agency type, the researchers found that women earn about 5% less than men in advertising on average. For mothers, that figure climbs to 8%.

 

Both numbers are smaller than the broader U.S. gender wage gap but still statistically significant and, according to Watts, impossible to explain away through the usual structural arguments.

 

“We wanted to test the arguments that are often made about why the pay gap exists,” she said. “Things like education level, job choice, performance, negotiation, or hours worked. What we found is that women are aggressively mitigating all of those factors, and the gap still exists.”

 

The study began as a personal project for Watts, a notable hire for DNA&Stone who previously served as director of integrated marketing strategy and brand planning at Expedia Group since 2022. She spent roughly two and a half years researching pay disparities independently, motivated by years of anecdotal accounts from colleagues across the industry.

 

“As soon as you start working in advertising, you hear stories,” Watts said. “Women comparing salaries with co-workers or realizing a male hire at the same level is earning more. It’s something many people felt in their bones, but there wasn’t enough rigorous data validating it.”

 

Watts developed the survey in partnership with academic researchers and distributed it across professional networks including the American Advertising Federation, alumni groups, and industry communities. She ultimately collected more than 1,000 responses, with 926 included in the final analysis.

 

The perception problem

 

Beyond measuring the pay gap itself, the research also examined how industry professionals perceive pay equity, and how those perceptions compare to reality.

 

Nearly all women surveyed (96%) said they believe a gender pay gap exists in advertising. Yet only about one-third believed they personally were being underpaid because of their gender.

 

Watts said that disconnect may reflect a psychological tension between acknowledging systemic inequity and wanting to believe one’s own workplace is fair.

 

“So much of our identity is tied to our work and our salary,” she said. “It can be easier to believe the industry has a problem in general than to accept that your own company might be treating you unfairly.”

 

The study also found that pay transparency remains limited across agencies. Nearly half of women surveyed said they do not understand how salary decisions are made at their organization, and more than two-thirds said they had worked at a company where employees were discouraged from discussing pay with colleagues, a practice that is illegal under federal labor law.

 

Where the gap gets made

 

Structural opacity, however, is only part of the picture.

 

One of the clearest patterns emerged when women attempted to address perceived pay inequities with their managers. Women who raised pay concerns with supervisors, who were predominantly male in the sample, were significantly more likely to encounter indifference or stalled conversations than male employees making similar requests.

 

“Women were going to their managers and asking about pay disparities, but the conversation often stopped there,” Watts said. “Managers would say they’d look into it or push it off, and nothing would happen.”

 

By contrast, male employees were more likely to receive direct answers about promotions or pay decisions, even when the outcome was negative.

 

“That gatekeeping point, where the conversation stops at the manager level, is one of the biggest places agencies could intervene,” Watts said.

 

Another striking finding involved workplace dynamics between male and female colleagues. The study found that men who reported being uncomfortable working closely with women tended to earn more than women overall, a pattern Watts attributes to homosocial reproduction: the tendency for leaders to reward and promote people who resemble themselves.

 

“If decision-makers feel more comfortable with people who remind them of themselves, those employees may get more opportunities, bigger projects, and promotions,” Watts said. “Over time, those advantages compound financially.”

 

UCLA’s Wayne said the insights into social dynamics were among the most significant to emerge from the study. “Too often, men default to comfort and familiarity, even when it quietly reinforces inequity,” she said. “Closing the gender pay gap means encouraging men to choose fairness over comfort, and there is still a ton of work to be done to get men on board and fix this continuing problem.”

 

For Watts, the findings underscore how seemingly modest pay gaps produce substantial long-term consequences. Over a 25-year career, the study estimates the gap could translate into more than $167,000 in lost earnings for women who have never been pregnant, and more than $271,000 for mothers.

 

“That’s not small potatoes,” Watts said. “That’s student loan debt, that’s buying a home, that’s building generational wealth.”

 

Samantha Choi Cadley, founder and CEO/CCO of independent agency Manual Labor, said the dynamic is familiar. A friend of hers at a larger agency discovered she had been underpaid only when an acquisition forced the agency’s books open.

 

“She found out she was absolutely getting paid less, even as she was doing more work,” Choi Cadley said. “Not even peer-to-peer.”

 

Now running her own shop, Choi Cadley said the solution starts with who is making compensation decisions. “It’s about who you’re putting at the table,” she said. “If you have the same group of people that have come up through the same organization or model, you’re still playing the same habits, the same structure, whether intentionally or not.”

 

Watts hopes the research will prompt agencies to take concrete action, recommending pay band transparency, regular compensation audits and escalation processes so pay equity concerns do not stop at the direct manager level. Though the research predates her appointment, DNA&Stone has already begun implementing those measures internally, revising promotion guidelines to clarify how employees advance.

 

“Transparency is important,” Watts said. “But accountability is what ultimately closes the gap.”

 

Without those changes, she warns, the industry risks losing the very talent it depends on: “When nearly half of women say gender discrimination is affecting their career, eventually some of them are going to leave. And that’s not the kind of industry any of us want to be building.”

17396: No Flowers For International Women’s Day…?

 

International Women’s Day 2026 campaign theme reads: Give To Gain

 

Here’s the hype from the official IWD website:

 

When we give, we gain.

 

Together, let’s help forge gender equality through abundant giving.

 

The IWD 2026 Give To Gain Campaign encourages a mindset of generosity and collaboration.

 

Give To Gain emphasizes the power of reciprocity and support. When people, organizations, and communities give generously, opportunities and support for women increase. Giving is not a subtraction, it's intentional multiplication. When women thrive, we all rise.

 

Whether through donations, knowledge, resources, infrastructure, visibility, advocacy, education, training, mentoring, or time, contributing to women's advancement helps create a more supportive and interconnected world.

 

What will you Give to Gain gender equality?

 

Okay, but the campaign imagery looks like women are begging for handouts.

 

Since celebrating International Women’s Day could be considered a DEIBA+ stunt, it appears Adland diminished performative propaganda for IWD this year.

 

For White women, Adland continues to present a diversity of disrespect—including gender pay gaps, sexual harassment, unequal opportunities, indifference for maternity and menopause, and much more.

 

For women of color, things get even worse.

 

The global industry presents unfair challenges to women on International Women’s Day—and all year long.

17121: Rose Rises, Rapidly Replacing Read.

 

Advertising Age reported the White men insiders predicted to succeed WPP CEO Mark Read were passed over in favor of a White woman outsider. Hopefully, Cindy Rose won’t be affected by the White holding company’s gender pay gap issues—or the sexual harassment historically prevalent at its White advertising agencies.

 

Opining on Rose’s appointment, a consultant ridiculously stated, “We’ll hear a lot of the same old tropes about the death of creativity, but the ship has sailed and tech will be at the center of corporate strategy.” Death of creativity?! Rose was preceded by Read and Sir Martin Sorrell. The creative ship sank decades ago.

 

Read claimed he’d stick around to help with the search for his replacement. Now that Rose has been named, will Read pull the ripcord on his golden parachute?

 

If Rose leads a WPP turnaround, she’ll inspire a new term: Roserrection.

 

WPP’s new CEO—what the appointment signals and behind the search

 

By Ewan Larkin

 

Cindy Rose’s appointment as the new CEO of WPP underscores technology as the backbone of the beleaguered agency group’s future direction, according to multiple industry insiders.

 

“We’ll hear a lot of the same old tropes about the death of creativity, but the ship has sailed and tech will be at the center of corporate strategy,” said Peter Grossman, U.S. regional lead for consultancy Flock Associates, about the move.

 

Rose, chief operating officer of Microsoft’s global enterprise business, will officially take the reins at the world’s second-largest agency company on Sept. 1, with CEO Mark Read staying on through the end of the year to support the transition, WPP announced Thursday.

 

Rose and WPP strongly emphasized creativity in the announcement, but her tenure at Microsoft is both significant and telling. By appointing a leader with a background in tech and software—and little to no traditional marketing experience—the holding company’s board “clearly would like to play into their ambition to scale and monetize” WPP Open, an AI operating system backed by annual investments of $318 million, said Jay Pattisall, VP and principal analyst at Forrester.

 

The incoming CEO’s key challenge will be integrating tech in a way that maintains WPP’s foundation as a marketing services business, added Pattisall. “That’s a subtle but significant shift,” he said.

 

WPP has poured hundreds of millions of dollars into Open, and consultants said they expected the holding company to lean further into licensing Open under Rose’s purview. At Microsoft, she helps companies use digital technology and AI to drive business transformation, WPP stated in its announcement.

 

Some industry veterans, however, remain skeptical of WPP’s tech ambitions.

“Much is made of WPP’s moves in technology and AI around WPP Open, but I’m not convinced that agencies can build a SaaS-type business in competition with software companies like Adobe,” said Martin Sorrell, executive chairman at S4 Capital and founder of WPP.

 

There are plenty of other challenges beyond scaling Open. Rose’s announcement comes a day after WPP issued a profit warning, citing reduced client spending amid economic uncertainty and a slowdown in net new business. WPP has been losing business to rivals, including last month’s loss of Mars’ $1.7 billion global media account to Publicis Groupe.

 

Industry insiders seem bullish on Rose’s chances. She may be a fresh face, but as a non-executive director on WPP’s board since 2019, she’s familiar with the company’s recent internal transformation, including a slew of mergers and consolidations. She also has experience in various areas that WPP is looking to bring closer together under Open.

 

“She ticks all the boxes: media, content, data and tech,” said Ryan Kangisser, chief strategy officer at consultancy MediaSense, adding that Rose’s prior role as chief operating officer signals a shift in focus for WPP. The agency group already has “enough people in the business who have the vision and the strategy, she just needs to implement it,” he said.

 

One WPP exec said Rose was a different type of executive than Mark Read, calling her “energetic” and “client-obsessed.”

 

Given her lack of marketing experience, Rose’s appointment carries some initial risks, said Michael Kassan, founder of 3C Ventures. Still, he called WPP’s bet on her—and tech and transformation—a worthy gamble.

 

“Do I think it’s a short-term win in the new business tables? No. Do I think, long-term, it’s a net positive? Yes,” he said.

 

WPP shares today edged up 1.1% to 433.40 pence in London trading, a muted response to the naming of a new CEO. This came after shares tumbled nearly 19% on July 9 to their lowest level since 2009 after WPP revealed disappointing second-quarter results and lower full-year revenue guidance.

 

Inside the search

 

WPP had been looking outside the company—particularly in the tech sector—for a successor, according to a person familiar with the process. Multiple executives said the search started before Read announced his departure in June, though it wasn’t immediately clear how serious those efforts were.

 

WPP inquired about the interest of Wendy Clark, the former global CEO of Dentsu International, people close to the situation told Ad Age. The holding company also held discussions with internal candidates, including Jon Cook and Devika Bulchandani, the global CEOs of VML and Ogilvy, respectively, according to people familiar with the matter. WPP Media CEO Brian Lesser, who has been overseeing a restructuring of the media network, is believed to have been in consideration too, according to people with knowledge of the situation.

 

Lesser and Clark couldn’t immediately be reached for comment. Cook declined to comment. Bulchandani declined to comment on the discussions, but in a statement said, “Cindy has the perfect blend of experience for WPP as we look to the future.”

WPP declined to comment on the candidates in the search.

 

WPP focused on five key priorities in its CEO search, according to a memo to shareholders from Chairman Philip Jansen obtained by Ad Age. They included “technology and AI acumen,” “marketing and client credibility,” “U.S. market focus,” “outright leadership and cultural change agent” and “operational excellence and performance management.”

 

Jansen said in the memo that, given “the critical importance of the U.S. market to WPP’s success,” the new CEO had to have significant experience and understanding of the national landscape. (Read has said previously that WPP has considered moving the company’s present London primary stock market listing to the U.S.)

 

Rose holds both British and American citizenship and will be based in London and New York. She doesn’t, however, have a traditional marketing background. In the memo, Jansen wrote that “while not necessarily from the advertising industry itself, the CEO must be deeply marketing-aware and capable of engaging credibly with the CEOs and CMOs of our largest global clients.” He added: “They need to understand our clients’ businesses.”

 

More reactions to WPP naming Cindy Rose as CEO

 

Rose will be the first female CEO of a major agency holding company, a decision that was widely applauded by the industry. Accenture Song, the world’s largest agency company by revenue, will also have a female CEO as of Sept. 1, when Ndidi Oteh succeeds David Droga.

 

“I appreciate the symbolism of a female leader at the helm of WPP, especially at a time when DEI frameworks are being openly dismissed in the U.S.,” said Alkisti Stolp, a former executive at Wunderman Thompson and later VML.

 

Stolp, however, added that Rose’s corporate background “feels far removed from our industry’s creative core.” An agency executive who works with Microsoft added that Rose is far more focused on sales than marketing. While some might view those as potential limitations, an executive at a WPP agency pushed back on such criticisms.

 

“The most creative organization in the world is Disney,” the WPP agency executive said, referencing Rose’s 15 years at The Walt Disney Co. earlier in her career. The person added that, internally, there’s already been discussion about becoming more of a sales-driven organization—suggesting Rose may be more philosophically aligned with WPP than critics assume.

 

“There’s a lot of similarity,” the executive said.

 

Contributing: Garett Sloane, Bradley Johnson, and Lindsay Rittenhouse

17070: Omnicom Facing Charges Of Ageism & Sexism.

 

MediaPost reported a former TPN CEO filed an age and gender discrimination lawsuit against Omnicom and TPN, charging she was fired as retaliation for complaining about pay disparities between her and male peers at the White holding company.

 

Hey, she probably would have been terminated anyway for redundancy if the Omnicom acquisition of IPG is finally executed.

 

Or maybe Omnicom Group Chairman-CEO-Pioneer of Diversity John Wren declared the holding company would save up to $750 million by acquiring IPG because the corporate combination results in more White women who can be paid less than Old White Guys. Such a bargain!

 

Omnicom Sued For Discrimination By Former TPN CEO

 

By Steve McClellan

 

Longtime former Omnicom executive Ellen Cook has filed an age and gender discrimination lawsuit against the company, and its commerce agency TPN.

 

Cook was the president of the holding company’s commerce agency The Integer Group for 16 years before being named CEO in 2020.  She became CEO of sibling agency TPN when it and The Integer Group merged in 2023.  

 

In her suit, Cook said she was fired in 2024 after complaining about pay disparities between her and several male peers at Omnicom, including her predecessor at Integer Group Mike Sweeney.  

 

She alleged a 44% disparity between her compensation and Sweeney’s despite facing revenue headwinds which came from client losses under Sweeney’s watch. Cook said in the suit she was able to make up the losses and drive double digit revenue gains under her leadership. 

 

She said her firing was retaliatory after she complained about the pay disparity and followed up several times after the company failed to take remedial action.  

 

The suit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas earlier this week. 

 

The action cites several other lawsuits filed by senior Omnicom women executives in recent years that also alleged discriminatory behavior by the holding company.  

 

Cook is seeking liquidated and compensatory damages, reinstatement or “front pay” if reinstatement isn’t feasible, attorneys’ fees and other costs.

17014: International Women’s Day & Global BS.

Goodby Silverstein & Partners celebrated International Women’s Day by gushing over performative promotional work produced for its client, Argent, featuring a film written by Jeff Goodby.

 

Okay, just to clarify, International Women’s Day was saluted by a White man who waited over three decades to grant a White woman partnership at his White advertising agency.

 

Feels like perfectly patronizing performative PR.

16938: FYI IPA DEI WTF.

 

More About Advertising reported on the 65^th Annual IPA Agency Census, spotlighting little to no progress has been made with racial and ethnic diversity for roughly 65 years.

 

White women continue to enjoy increased C-suite representation; however, the gender pay gap is widening—although the ethnicity gap is much worse.

 

In Adland, census results expose senseless racism.

 

Agency staff numbers up and turnover down in new IPA census

 

By Emma Hall

 

The IPA’s 65^th annual agency census shows that staff numbers in both media and creative agencies are up, while turnover is down to 24.1% (from 31.2%). This is likely to be a reflection of tough economic conditions: freelancing is an increasingly precarious option, so people are more inclined to go PAYE and then stay put.

 

Hybrid working could be key to these retention levels, with 66.1% of agencies settling for three days in the office and 16.5% for two days. Only 5% of agencies demand four days and 2.5% still insist on the full five days.

 

The increase in numbers is noteworthy but still tiny, at just 157, taking the total to 26,787. Worryingly, young people are less likely to choose advertising as a career – under 25s are on the decline, bringing the average age up to 35.2 years from 34.6 years. Non-white employees are up 0.5% to 26% in media agencies, and by 1% in creative to 22.6%.

 

Diversity and inclusion continues to make agonisingly slow progress, with c-suite women up by 2% to 39.9% while c-suite non-whites are down by 0.5% to 10.5%. Meanwhile, pay gaps are increasing. The gender pay gap in favour of males has increased from 15.2% in 2023 to 19.7% in 2024, and the ethnicity gap is 31%, up from 21.6% the previous year.

 

Leila Siddiqi, director of D&I, IPA, said: “This year’s census findings show that there continues to be a lack of progress in terms of the progression and remuneration of ethnically diverse talent, and the remuneration of women. Bold leaders who have the foresight to be transparent and galvanise their teams to take an inclusive approach after taking a good look at what their data is telling them are likely to emerge as trailblazers with future-ready agencies.”

 

Paul Bainsfair, director general of the IPA, said: “It is welcome news that the percentage of women in C-suite positions continues its positive trajectory, and that the proportion of women and people from a non-white background entering the business is strong. We are, however, seeing that there are areas where more focus could be applied; particularly with regard to ensuring the progression of people from non-white backgrounds and women up the ladder, which will in turn help to reduce the ethnicity and gender pay gaps.”

16613: IPG CEO Prunes Plum Pay Prize.

Mediapsssst at MediaPost revealed IPG CEO Phillipe Krakowsky received a 9% pay increase in 2023, boosting his annual compensation to $14.4 million. That translates to a raise of nearly $1.296 million—or, to put it in perspective, roughly $1.296 million more than the average IPG drone’s gross salary.

 

What’s most outrageous is that IPG did not do well in terms of revenue last year—and the White holding company continues to prune and pummel White advertising agencies within its network. Krakowsky also managed to personally profit before IPG lost gazillions after getting dumped by Pfizer.

 

Wait, there’s more. The second highest paid IPG executive was CFO Ellen Johnson, who took a pay decrease for a total draw of $5.2 million—which might point to a gender pay gap.

 

The company’s annual meeting, scheduled for May 23, is bound to expel poop loads of gobbledygook.

 

IPG CEO Krakowsky Received 9% Pay Bump In 2023

 

By Richard Whitman, Columnist

 

Interpublic CEO Phillippe Krakowsky received a 9% bump in total compensation in 2023 to a little more than $14.4 million, according to the firm’s proxy statement issued earlier this week.

 

That’s more growth than the company delivered last year. Full-year organic net revenue climbed just 0.1%. Which was in the neighborhood of the growth delivered by WPP although CEO Mark Read didn’t fare so well in the pay department.

 

Read in fact took a 33% reduction in total compensation to 4,498,000 GBP.

 

Omnicom CEO John Wren leads the pack with total comp last year of $20-plus million, slightly less than he made in 2022.

 

IPG’s proxy statement announced the company’s annual meeting will be held May 23 in virtual format only.

 

The second highest paid executive at IPG last year was CFO Ellen Johnson who received total compensation of about $5.2 million, a little less than she earned in 2022.