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Mark Read’s decision to step down as CEO of WPP has reignited conversation across the global advertising industry.
For Ashish Bhasin, founder of The Bhasin Consulting who spearheaded 24 mergers globally, the moment offers perspective—not just on Read’s leadership, but also on the larger forces reshaping legacy networks.
“He had very large shoes to fill when he took over WPP after Martin Sorrell’s exit”, Bhasin says, “and that too at a time when the industry itself was going through a period of rapid transformation.” Though he adds that he doesn’t know Read personally, and his views are purely as an outsider, Bhasin reflects on the enormous challenges that come with steering a giant like WPP in today’s dynamic environment.
Bhasin points to a core challenge facing large global groups—the temptation to make global consolidation decisions that look good on paper but don’t always account for local market realities. “Many global agencies—not just WPP—have made decisions based on synergies and false economies. It may make sense at a global level to merge brands, but that doesn’t necessarily translate well in local markets,” he says.
He offers examples. “Take Lintas. It was one of the strongest brands in India, Thailand, the Philippines, Indonesia. Hugely respected and associated with growth and innovation. But globally, it wasn’t as relevant, so they retired it. And with that, a lot of local equity was lost.” He says the same happened with JWT, once a marquee name in Indian advertising. “You rebrand it as VML. That may work globally, but in India, these new names are relatively unknown. That affects market presence.”
For Bhasin, one area agencies need to pay more attention to is profitability—not as a taboo, but as a strategic necessity. “In advertising, we feel shy to say we’re making money. Clients go on CNBC every quarter to announce how their margins are improving. But agencies? We stay defensive,” he says. “If you’re not making enough profits, you can’t invest in good people or in technology. And that’s why we’ve seen a decline in the quality of talent entering advertising over the last 10–15 years.”
He believes Read had a real opportunity to shift this narrative. “As the leader of one of the largest groups, he could have driven profitability and told clients—if you want quality service, you need to pay for it,” Bhasin says. “That would have allowed WPP to attract better talent, invest more in AI, in tools, in the future.”
Tech giants & consulting firms emerged as disruptor
Mark Read’s exit from WPP isn’t entirely surprising. He managed to reduce debt and restructure media assets, but the pandemic and the surge of digital giants changed the game, says Lloyd Mathias, marketing expert and angel investor.
“WPP’s share price dropped 53% under his watch, and it lost its position as the world’s largest ad network to Publicis Groupe. To be fair, this isn’t just about Read—the rise of Google, Meta, and Amazon has fundamentally altered global ad spends. At the same time, consulting firms are chipping away at traditional agency roles, and AI is commoditizing creativity,” he noted.
In India too, WPP’s strength has diminished—with the exception of Ogilvy—mainly because it missed the shift towards data and tech, ceding ground to more agile players, Mathias shared.
What next?
Nisha Singhania, Co-founder and Director of Infectious Advertising, shares, “Mark Read brought stability when WPP needed it most and set the stage for transformation. Read’s exit now reflects the urgency for network creative giants to rewire themselves. The next WPP leader will need to balance creativity, agility, and tech-native thinking to stay ahead,” Singhania adds.
Bhasin says, “WPP is a large, resilient group. Like any big organisation, it will go through its own learning curve and come back stronger. With the right leadership, they can certainly regain the position they once held,” he says. “The future will belong to those who invest in people, stay profitable, and adapt fast. That’s the real opportunity for whoever takes charge next.”
Advertising is at a critical inflection point. WPP will now need a bold and disruptive leader who can re-energize talent, restore client confidence, and lead a reinvention of the network, quips Mathias.
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