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| Mark Read |
WPP pushes panic button. The troubled ad/PR giant claims that it conducted a thorough selection process to find the successor to Mark Read, who in June announced that he would be stepping down on December 31.
Back then, WPP chair Philip Jansen expressed gratitude to Read for agreeing to stick around until yearend to support a smooth transition to his successor.
He praised Read for “playing a central role in transforming the company into a world leader in modern marketing services, with deep AI, data and technology capabilities, global presence and unrivaled creative talent, setting WPP up well for longer-term success.”
So what happened?
Jansen abrupty shifted gears. On July 10, he announced that Microsoft executive Cindy Rose, who has been a director at WPP for the past six years, is the new CEO as of Sept. 1.
What about that smooth succession scenario? Jansen said Rose as an existing board member understands the business and the needs of clients. She will hit the ground running.
That is part of the problem. Rose has been around WPP for the bulk of Read’s seven-year stint at the helm. She has a front row seat to WPP's restructuring, overall decline of the company, and the loss of marquee clients such as Mars, Coca-Cola and Paramount.
While technology-savvy Rose is undoubtedly equipped with the digital expertise required for a modern communications firm, she is not the outsider that WPP needs for revitalization. It requires fresh eyes.
One gets the notion that WPP’s blockbuster July 9 announcement that it was slashing profit and revenue guidance for the year, forced Jansen’s hand to name Read’s replacement. It smacks of a desperation move to salvage a sinking ship.
Good luck to Rose and Read, who had his work cut out when he assumed the top job following the dramatic departure of WPP mastermind Martin Sorrell.
PR play of the week goes to Israel prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu for his high-profile White House announcement that he nominated Donald Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize.
The nomination is a payoff to Trump for doing Israel’s bidding: the “obliteration” of Iran’s nuclear capabilities.
Think of Bibi’s gesture as more of an appreciation award because when it comes to peace deals, Trump is a bust.
Netanyahu has first-hand knowledge of Trump’s peace-maker incompetence, due his failure of ironing out a ceasefire in Gaza.
Trump prefers to focus on booting the Palestinians from their homeland and transforming it into the Riviera of the Mediterranean.
That’s just fine with Netanyahu, who has been charged with committing war crimes and triggering mass starvation in Gaza.
And forget about Trump’s pledge to end the war in Ukraine on Day 1.
After groveling before his buddy Vladimir Putin since the early days of his first administration, Trump has finally shown some spunk.
He accused Vlad on July 9 of throwing BS over peace talks. “He’s very nice all of the time, but it turns out to be meaningless.” What a revelation.
Putin responded to Trump's BS remark by launching a record aerial strike (728 drones and 13 missiles) on Ukraine on July 9. That’s a powerful reaction to Trump.
The Russian boss is as skilled as Netanyahu in playing Trump like a fiddle.
Move over US Steel as another American corporate icon gets gobbled up by a foreign company.
WK Kellogg, which was launched by Will Keith Kellogg in 1906, is being acquired Italy’s Ferrero food company.
The “Battle Creek Toasted Corn Flake Company,” which become the Kellogg Co., popularized the idea of cereal as breakfast. I
His brother John, who was a world class physician, served the corn flakes at his sanitarium, where a guest, CW Post, observed the flaking process and launched his own company. Post Cereals, which became General Foods, ranked as Kellogg’s biggest rival.
Kellogg Co.’s passion for healthy products headed southward over the years as its products such as Bran Flakes and Rice Krispies were joined by Corn Pops, Frosted Mini Wheats, Frosted Flakes, Froot Loops and Apple Jacks.
A key question for Ferrero: Will Tony the Tiger be revamped as Antonio the Tiger.
Who will be the first Cabinet member to exit? Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth survived “SignalGate” but his decision to unilaterally cut off arms shipments to Ukraine may do him in.
Trump countermanded Hegseth’s order, and the Pentagon confirmed hours later that arms shipments would be on the way.
The president overruled Hegseth, while the two sat next to each other at the White House dinner for Netanyahu. The Economist reported that Trump’s decision is a victory for common sense and an embarrassment for the Pentagon.
Attorney General Pam Bondi also is going through a rough patch for failing to deliver on her promise to make public “a truckload” of FBI documents abut convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
In February, Bondi, the one-time pride of Ballard Partners, told Fox News that she would release a list of Epstein’s clients. That was huge news in MagaLand.
The Justice Dept. on July 9 reported that no such list existed, and that Epstein committed suicide while in jail, dispiriting right-wingers who claimed that he was murdered.
MAGA influencers Laura Loomer, Glenn Beck and Benny Johnson railed against Bondi. Loomer wants to know when will Bondi be fired for her many screw-ups. Good question.
Dept of Homeland Security Secretary and Instagram queen Kristi Noem has been in the news for failing to authorize the pre-positioning of Urban Search and Rescue teams as the waters rose before the tragic flooding in Texas.
CNN reported that Noem didn’t okay the deployment until more than 72 hours after the flooding began. She went on Fox & Friends to blast the CNN story as “fake news” and “absolutely trash.”
Oregon Senator Ron Wyden posted that Noem should be removed from office “before her incompetence gets Oregonians killed in a wildfire.”
And then there is Tulsi Gabbard who has been lying low since Trump famously dismissed her by saying that he doesn’t care what his intelligence director thinks.
She had testified that Iran wasn’t building a nuclear bomb. Trump opted for Israeli reports over his own intelligence network.
Doesn’t anybody do the honorable thing and resign these days?
The North American 'united bid' for the World Cup doesn't look so united these days... State Dept muzzles political speech as it investigates deporting an influential opponent of Iranian war... Wall Street Journal 'discovers' corporate communications.
Momentum is building for nuclear power but public support is not guaranteed, according to a survey conducted by Ruder Finn... America First PR founder admits to assaulting a woman in a London tube station... If they knew their presence would disrupt the lives of thousands of people, neither Barack Obama nor George W. Bush would have attended the NBA Finals. They were not narcissists-in-chief. 
Ukraine struck PR gold as its launches drone attack on St. Petersburg oil depot ahead of 'Putin's Davos' designed to put a positive spin on Russia's economy that is reeling under the 'special military operation' that has cost the lives of more than 500K soldiers... Defense Secretary Hegseth ups war against reporters... Extremist government ministers marching in NYC Israel Day Parade further hurts the country's image. 
Cuba will make or break Secretary of State Marco Rubio's bid for the 2028 Republican presidential nomination... Ballard Partners and BGR Group push for justice for the family of Robert Levinson, who was abducted and vanished in Iran 19 years ago... Robert Daley, the pistol-packing larger-than-life PR guy who was PA chief for the NYPD, dies at 96.
Pope Leo's encyclical on dangers of AI has JD Vance rethinking his justification for Trump's war with Iran... Software tools remove guardrails on Google, Meta AI models that aim to protect against biological war, child sex abuse, stealing credit card info, reports the Financial Times... US tech sector drops nearly 100K jobs during first four months of the year.
