Advertising Giant WPP Hires New Finance Chief
01 Ottobre 2019 - 11:09PM
Dow Jones News
By Nina Trentmann
WPP PLC hired a successor to longtime finance chief Paul
Richardson, a move that comes as the London-based advertising group
looks to reignite growth and respond to changing customer
demands.
WPP, the world's largest advertising company, on Tuesday named
John Rogers its next finance chief. Mr. Rogers is currently the
chief executive of Argos, a British electronics and furniture
retailer that belongs to supermarket chain J Sainsbury PLC. Before
his role at Argos, Mr. Rogers served as Sainsbury's finance chief
from 2010 to 2016.
He will be taking over the finances at WPP at the start of 2020,
the company said.
Mr. Rogers's appointment marks the end of Mr. Richardson's long
tenure as WPP's finance director, which began in 1996. Mr.
Richardson was crucial to executing the growth strategy that the
company pursued under former chief executive Martin Sorrell,
analysts said.
Mr. Sorrell stepped down as WPP chief executive in April 2018
and was succeeded by Mark Read, another longtime executive at the
company, the following September.
"Mark [Read] does things differently and wanted a different face
[as CFO]," said Tim Nollen, a senior analyst at Macquarie Group
Ltd. New CEOs usually name their own finance chiefs, especially
when facing a turnaround or significant strategic shift, recruiters
said.
Since the change in WPP's leadership, the company has focused on
reorganizing its business and has divested some assets, including
the sale of 60% of its stake in Kantar Group, a market research
firm.
The sale will help WPP reduce its debt to the lower end of a
target range of 1.5 times to 1.75 times average net debt to
earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, the
company said in July. WPP's net debt was GBP4.96 billion ($6.10
billion) in 2018, and the ratio between average net debt and Ebitda
was 2.1 times, the company said in its latest annual report.
The company needs to focus on reigniting growth, Mr. Nollen
said. Advertising agencies like WPP have struggled with a growing
ability among their clients to manage more advertising tasks
themselves.
"There is a lot of data and a lot of marketing software out
there that did not exist a few years ago," Mr. Nollen said.
Advertising firms must show how they remain relevant for their
clients, he said.
WPP should respond to this challenge by breaking down some of
its internal silos and by responding faster to customers' changing
demands, said Ian Whittaker, head of European media research at
Liberum Capital Ltd., an investment bank.
Mr. Rogers's experience at Argos could assist with that, said
Ali Mogharabi, an analyst at Morningstar Inc. At Argos, Mr. Rogers
focused on advancing the retailer's digital transformation,
resulting in around 65% of sales coming through its website.
"John is not only an accomplished CFO, but also a leader with
extensive experience of business transformation," Mr. Read said in
a statement. "His priority will be to lead a finance function that
best fosters investment in creativity, technology and talent in
support of WPP's new strategy for growth," he said.
As WPP CFO, Mr. Rogers is entitled to an annual salary of
GBP740,000 alongside an annual bonus opportunity of up to 225% of
his base salary, plus other compensation, WPP said.
Write to Nina Trentmann at Nina.Trentmann@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
October 01, 2019 16:54 ET (20:54 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2019 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
Grafico Azioni WPP (NYSE:WPP)
Storico
Da Lug 2024 a Ago 2024
Grafico Azioni WPP (NYSE:WPP)
Storico
Da Ago 2023 a Ago 2024