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.
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