WPP set to appoint Mark Read as chief executive as early as next week August 30, 2018 WPP is set to appoint Mark Read as its new chief executive as early as next week, replacing Sir Martin Sorrell at the helm of the world's largest advertising firm. Read, who previously ran WPP's digital agency Wunderman, has long been the preferred internal candidate for the role and his appointment could be confirmed on [...]
Adland is failing to help startups and SMEs grow August 22, 2018 Much has been made over the last few months of the struggles of the network agency groups, Sir Martin Sorrell’s departure from WPP, and his subsequent immediate launch of S4C. But amid these turbulent times the advertising and media industry continues to miss a significant trick. It’s obsessed with big – winning big brands, big [...]
IBM top executive joins the race to succeed Sorrell as next WPP chief August 11, 2018 An IBM senior vice president has entered the running to replace Sir Martin Sorrell at the helm of global marketing agency WPP. David Kenny, the senior vice president of IBM's cloud computing division, was approached by WPP chairman Roberto Quarta and took part in an interview last month, Sky News first reported. Sources close to the [...]
Martin Sorrell vs WPP: The king of adland wages war on the company he founded with his new venture S4 August 8, 2018 When a couple break up, sage advice is that it’s best to part ways amicably. This advice, however, has not been heeded by Martin Sorrell and WPP, the company Sorrell founded in 1985, turned into a global powerhouse, then exited in controversial fashion in April this year. Sorrell and WPP have been engaged in a war of [...]
Apple smashes expectations in third quarter results | City A.M. July 31, 2018 Apple beat Wall Street expectations for its third quarter (Q3) results tonight, delivering revenue of more than $53bn (£40.4bn). Its revenue for the quarter was $53.3bn and its profit was $2.34 per share, outstripping predictions of $52.3bn and $2.18 per share. A higher average selling price for its iPhone helped to drive the impressive numbers. [...]
YouGov challenger GlobalWebIndex raises $40m from Refinery29’s growth fund backer | City A.M. July 25, 2018 London-based market research firm GlobalWebIndex has raised $40m (£30.4m) series A first round from Stripes Group, a New York growth fund that has previously backed the likes of Refinery29, Grubhub and Udemy. Founded in 2009, GlobalWebIndex has consistently doubled its revenue and headcount year after year without seeking any outside funding, and includes the likes [...]
Sorrell ramps up tensions with WPP after resignation of Chinese director July 25, 2018 Former WPP boss Sir Martin Sorrell has ramped up tensions between him and his former employer by commenting on the exit of one of its Chinese board members. Hugo Shong stepped down from the board earlier this year, saying that "additional commitments outside WPP and increased pressure on his time and availability" had led him [...]
Last Week in the City: August rate rise now less likely July 20, 2018 Garry White, chief investment commentator, looks at the market-moving events that have shaped the UK equity markets this week (16 to 20 July 2018). The chances of an interest rate rise at the Bank of England’s August meeting appeared to recede this week after inflation data was more subdued than expected and retail sales data [...]
Sir Martin Sorrell sweetens MediaMonks bid with shares in S4 Capital July 8, 2018 Ad guru Sir Martin Sorrell is sweetening his bid for Dutch digital agency MediaMonks by offering its executives a large amount of equity in his new business, S4 Capital, City A.M. understands. Over half (55 per cent) of MediaMonks is owned by private equity firm Bencis, while the rest is in the hands of a [...]
WPP row with former boss Sir Martin Sorrell heats up as company claims it has been considering a move for MediaMonks ‘since November’ July 5, 2018 FTSE ad giant WPP today claimed it has been considering a takeover of Dutch agency MediaMonks since November 2017, as it described a rival bid from former boss Sir Martin Sorrell as “unlawful”. A letter sent by WPP's lawyers to Sorrell suggested the competing bid from his new marketing venture S4 was a "diversion of [...]