The WPP turnaround blueprint under the new CEO Cindy Rose

New Delhi: Sixty days into the job, WPP CEO Cindy Rose laid out a four-part plan that she said will guide the company into 2026.

The plan is: 

1. Simplify and integrate the client offer around data and AI
2. Lift execution through a high-performance culture
3. Expand into enterprise and technology solutions, 
4. Strengthen financial foundations through efficiency and disciplined capital allocation.

“Clients want our offer to be simpler, more integrated, powered by media, data and AI, efficiently priced and designed to deliver growth and business outcomes,” she said. Calling the recent performance “not acceptable,” she added that the near-term focus is on execution and speed, not a wholesale reinvention of the tech stack.

At the centre of the strategy is WPP Open, positioned as a single, end-to-end, AI-powered platform that runs across research, creative, production, media and measurement. Its core, Open Intelligence, is described as a large marketing model that connects client brand data with WPP data and more than 350 partners in a privacy-first architecture enabled by InfoSum. Rose said the approach “delivers better business outcomes” and frees people to spend more time “building culturally relevant brands that consumers love.”

Last week, WPP unveiled WPP Open Pro, a new edition of its AI marketing platform that lets brands plan, create and publish campaigns directly without a full-service engagement. Positioned as a self-serve complement to the managed-service version of WPP Open, Open Pro packages strategy, content production and publishing into a single interface.

WPP is also pushing beyond large multinationals. The newly launched WPP Open Pro targets small and mid-sized brands on a self-serve plus managed-services basis. 

Pricing will be by user and by usage, with details to follow as roll-out continues. “We expect revenues to be incremental and to pull through managed services from WPP,” Rose said, framing Open Pro as a way to expand the company’s addressable market without cannibalising existing scopes.

Rose flagged an expanded agreement with Google that provides preferred access to advanced AI models and tools, a framework to co-innovate custom solutions for clients, and upskilling for employees. She underlined that WPP remains model-agnostic and will continue integrating multiple providers, including Anthropic and OpenAI, into its stack.

CFO Joanne Wilson said two large media losses began to ramp down from 1 October and will weigh on the fourth quarter, with the headwind from gross client losses running at 300 to 400 basis points this year and likely at a broadly similar level in 2026. 

She said the recent spending cuts are concentrated in project work and timing delays across CPG, auto and parts of tech, and that they are not being driven by AI substitution. 

Rose called the media turnaround “absolutely critical,” backed GroupM’s privacy-first data and AI plan under Brian Lesser, and pointed to “green shoots” in the form of key retentions and wins this quarter.

Devika Bulchandani has taken on the role of Chief Operating Officer with a brief to drive growth and client experience. Laurent Ezekiel has been appointed Global CEO of Ogilvy. Michael Frohlich has rejoined as Global Chief Marketing and Corporate Affairs Officer. “We need to be a little less holdco and a little more company,” Rose said, summarising the operating posture she wants across markets and agencies.

On new business, management highlighted the retention of Marks & Spencer and wins with TruGreen in the US, Suncorp in Australia, and Maersk and Mastercard globally on the media side, along with expanded creative mandates from Haleon and PwC and design and PR wins with Stellantis, Lipton Teas and Tourism New Zealand. Losses included Bayer. The pipeline, they said, is tilting more towards opportunity than defence.

Sector and regional signals matter for marketers planning 2026 budgets. CPG fell 6.7% in the quarter, auto declined 6.8% and technology was down 4.5%, while healthcare grew 6.7% on new wins and expanded scopes. 

WPP’s revenue less pass-through costs fell 5.9% LFL to £2.46 billion, while reported revenue declined 8.4% to £3.26 billion compared to the same quarter last year. The company attributed the weak results to a slowdown in its media business and recent client assignment losses.

North America declined 6% and the UK fell 8.9%. Western Continental Europe declined 4.4% with Germany weaker and Southern Europe more resilient. China’s decline moderated versus the first half. India was a relative bright spot, returning to growth at 6.7% in the quarter, helped by improved media performance.

Guidance remains cautious. WPP now expects like-for-like revenue less pass-through costs to decline 5.5 to 6% this year and sees headline operating margin at about 13%. 

Adjusted operating cash flow before working capital is unchanged at 1.1 to 1.2 billion pounds. Adjusted net debt was 3.6 billion pounds at the end of September, with total available liquidity of 2.9 billion pounds, including a revolving credit facility maturing in February 2030. 

Working capital is expected to be an outflow this year because of lower fourth-quarter media billings and the timing effect of lower incentives, and leverage is set to finish slightly above about 2x headline EBITDA.

Rose framed the moment as a chance to reset how WPP lands its story with clients. “Have we learned to land it consistently in a way that resonates? No, we haven’t,” she said. “AI will usher in the golden age of modern marketing.”

She closed by saying her ambition for WPP is “sky high,” and that the company is “optimistic, energised and confident” about delivering a simpler, AI-powered, media-led model that is easier for clients to buy and easier for teams to run.