Hasta La Creative!

At WPP’s Annual General Meeting last week, chairman Roberto Quarta faced increasing pressure from shareholders to provide more clarity and disclosure in the holding company’s succession plan for CEO Martin Sorrell, Campaign reports. That meeting, of course, also saw 33.5% of investors vote against Sorrell’s colossal pay package for 2015, approximately equivalent to the New York Mets’ payroll for its 25-man roster. 

As you may recall, back in April WPP announced that it had begun an internal and external search for Sorrell’s successor, with Quarta stating that WPP has “already begun to identify internal and external candidates who should be considered” for the position after Sorrell’s eventual departure, “Whether…that happens tomorrow, in one, two, three, four or five years, or even over a longer period.”

That nebulous statement was apparently not satisfactory to some WPP investors.

Hans-Christoph Hirt, executive director of Hermes EOS and a top shareholder, said he appreciated how “succession risk has risen up the company’s agenda” over the past year and a half but requested that Quarta “enhance” disclosure.

Standard Life head of stewardship Euan Stirling, meanwhile, suggested that clearer succession planning would “improve the risk profile” of the holding company and that if WPP wasn’t so reliant on Sorrell they could afford to pay its CEO less. 

Quarta responded by promising “further dialogue over the coming months” and assuring investors that WPP carries out “a continuous and constant assessment of individuals both internally and externally” for over 100 senior positions, including CEO.

Sorrell himself said “The fact that it’s not played out in the pages of Campaign doesn’t mean that something doesn’t happen.” Ouch.

As to when we can expect Sorrell to step down, Quarta said, “There is no set timeframe for CEO succession.”

“I’ve said I’ll carry on until they cart me out to the glue factory,” Sorrell added.

With Daniel Morel stepping down after leading the agency for 14 years, Wunderman has appointed Mark Read as its global CEO, effective next week. Read, who arrives from WPP, will retain his role as CEO of WPP Digital. Morel, meanwhile, will move into a non-executive chairman role with Wunderman.

Morel has served as chairman and global CEO since 2000, when the agency was known as Impiric. He was responsible for restoring the Wunderman name the following year.

Read has served as a chairman and CEO for WPP Digital for over eight years, following over ten years as director of strategy. Prior to that role, he was a founder and joint CEO of WebRewards, but his time at WPP dates back to a stint as corporate development manager that began in 1989.

WPP CEO Martin Sorrell said in a statement that Read “brings a wealth of knowledge in digital technology and its application to marketing services, as well as strong links to our new media partners.”

If you’re a gambling man, you might want to bet against the pending mega-merger and the double-headed hydra it would create.

Earlier this week, WPP‘s Martin Sorrell gleefully told Reuters–via a little birdie–that chances of the deal going through were less than even. Yesterday, The Wall Street Journal reported that analysts at Albert Fried had lowered the official odds to 40% (the previous number was 66%) while downgrading  the theoretical stock price from $70 to $56.

The fact that Publicis recently lost Microsoft, Samsung and Miller Lite didn’t help; the defections have compounded risks created by a clashing of egos over the contested CFO role.

All involved parties still say the deal will go through, primarily because “there’s a $500 million break-up fee at stake”, so we expect to see a few more upbeat press releases in the days ahead.

As principals at both companies sweat a bit more heavily this week than last, WPP may have already begun planning its victory lap.

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

As one might imagine, the announcement (and Vine video) of the biggest merger in advertising history is causing quite a reaction from those in the industry. Above, Keith Hunt, managing partner of M&A consulting firm Results International, hypothesizes about the implications the newly formed Publicis Omnicom Group will have.

As Hunt notes, the merger means the company will be able to buy media very cheaply, leapfrogging WPP in the process. But, Hunt wonders, how far can you push down prices? At one point do vendors draw the line?

Also, Hunt says, there’s the issue of who’s in charge. Co-chief execs, John Wren (Omnicom) and Maurice Levy (Publicis)  are elder statesmen. Levy, the older of the two at 71, is now on the hot seat in terms of naming a successor, that is, if the balance of power between Publicis and Omnicom remains a priority. As WPP’s Martin Sorrell said in an interview today, “It’s a nil-premium merger — effectively a takeover of Publicis by Omnicom [without exchange of money].”

Finally, says Hunt, there’s the matter of positioning. It benefits the new company to frame the merger as one that hinges around new technologies and emerging markets, allowing Publicis Omnicom Group to compete against tech companies outside advertising agencies like Adobe. “Exciting times,” he adds before staring into the camera wistfully. It’s only the beginning.

Check out Wren and Levy bonding after the jump.

continued…

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

You may have heard the word (shout out to the Toronto Egotist for the tip), but yes, Toronto-based john st. is the latest shop to be swooped up by Sir Martin Sorrell & Co. at WPP. As of now, though, neither john st,’s name/structure nor location will be affected by the WPP purchase, which comes just over two years after the holding company added fellow notable Canadian agency TAXI to its roster.

In a statement, Arthur Flesichmann, president/CEO of 12-year-old john st.,  known for quirkier efforts like the Granny-starring National Sweater day work and “Buyral, says the agency “…will continue to do the kind of work that has made our clients and us unignorable for the past 12 years. But now we will be able to offer services in areas that clients are asking for such as media, direct and public relations.”

Financial details of the WPP/john st. deal have not been disclosed. Current staff count at the newly acquired agency is approximately 100 and notable current clients include Mitsubishi, ING Direct, TJX (Winners, Marshalls), Kobo and AstraZeneca. Marketing fills in more of the blanks on this news here.

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.