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| Cindy Rose |
Cindy Rose, Microsoft COO, global enterprise and WPP board member since 2019, will succeed Mark Read at the helm of the troubled ad/PR company on Sept. 1.
The UK and American citizen will be based in London and New York.
WPP chair Philip Jansen noted that Rose has supported the digital transformation of large companies throughout the world and has embraced AI to create new customer experiences, business models and revenue streams.
“Her expertise in this landscape will be hugely valuable to WPP as the industry navigates fundamental changes and macroeconomic uncertainty,” he said.
Jansen thanked Read for his "tireless commitment during more than 30 years with WPP and in particular the progress he has made to modernize, simplify and transform the company over the last seven years as CEO."
Prior to her nine-year stint at Microsoft, Rose was managing director of the UK consumer business at Vodafone, executive director of digital entertainment and media sales at Virgin Media, and did a 15-year run at Walt Disney Company, where she exited as senior VP and managing director of Disney Interactive Media Group, EMEA.
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