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| Joanne Wilson |
WPP is losing Joanne Wilson, its highly regarded chief financial officer who is departing for the CFO job at Diageo, which sells spirits and beers in 180 countries.
She will remain as WPP CFO until a successor is named. Wilson has a 12-month “notice period” and a date for her departure will be agreed in due course.
Working with WPP CEO Cindy Rose, Wilson played a key role in the development of WPP’s “Elevate28” comeback plan. That calls for getting rid of non-core businesses to simplify operations.
Rose called Wilson “a valued partner as we have strengthened the business, sharpened our financial discipline and begun to deliver phase one of Elevate28.”
She’s grateful that Wilson will stay on for a while to “ensure continuity, a smooth handover and sustained focus on execution as we deliver on our strategy.”
At Diageo, parent of Guinness, Johnnie Walker and Smirnoff, Wilson will receive an annual salary of $1.2M and a pension contribution (or allowance) equal to 14 percent of base pay.
CEO David Lewis, called Wilson a “very experienced CFO and commercial leader who will ensure we accelerate the turnaround at Diageo, having already delivered extensive transformations in her previous companies.”
Prior to WPP, Wilson held financial jobs at Britvic, drinks company; dunnhumby, customer data outfit; Tesco; and KPMG.
Wilson will join Diageo’s board sometime in 2027. WPP has commenced a search for her replacement.
Trump outdid himself. After hearing president Trump’s 2017 bleak inauguration speech in which he talked about “American carnage,” George W. Bush said, “That was some weird shit.”
What would Dubya have made of Trump’s Sept. 22 United Nations speech, in which a sitting US president threatened a war crime in front of a stunned global audience.
Trump said: “I have a big decision to make. Will a deal be made with Iran that lets them rebuild and create a far greater country than it ever was before, maybe one of the greatest in the Middle East or even the world?
“Or do I annihilate the Islamic Republic and do it quickly, never giving them a chance to kill and destroy people and countries again?”
“Do I drive them into hell with no chance of survival and no hope of future greatness or generations?” Generations!
Trump’s bellicose address targeted every single one of Iran’s 92M people, each of its men, women and children. And what of the aftermath?
The president called the International Criminal Court a “rogue institution” that is “out of control.” He urged ICC member nations to immediately quit the organization.
Does he fear being indicted by the ICC some day?
Kudos to Curtis… Utah Senator John Curtis has called on the Senate Judiciary Committee to investigate the use of presidential family relationships for private financial benefit, preferential treatment, or access by domestic and foreign interests.
The Republican wants the Committee to probe Hunter Biden’s dealings with interests in Ukraine and China, and Donald Trump Jr’s ties with overseas business figures and his acceptance of lavish gifts.
The move comes as Russian oligarch Umar Kremlev picked up the tab for a two-day wedding afterparty on a private island for Junior and Bettina Trump. Prior to the splashy affair, Kremlev traveled as part of Vladimir Putin’s delegation to China.
Don Jr. also is hawking Trump family-backed cryptocurrency ventures, pursuing international real estate deals involving direct meetings with foreign heads of state and investing in defense contractors.
Curtis posted on X: “A toaster is a wedding gift. A private-island party paid for by a Putin-connected oligarch is something else.”
He noted that his Republican colleagues “nearly wore out the subpoena machine investigating Hunter Biden’s foreign relationships. We should not unplug it now. ‘Trust us’ was not enough then, and it is not enough now.”
Curtis noted that only 27 percent of Americans trust the federal government, while 72 percent say it is corrupt, according to the Partnership for Public Service.
He believes one of the reasons trust in government is so low is the perception that those close to political power are showered with opportunities and treatment unavailable to ordinary Americans.
Curtis wants the Committee to determine whether existing ethics, disclosure or anti-corruption laws apply, and identify reforms necessary to prevent the presidency from becoming a vehicle for private enrichment by those closest to it.
It's time to smash the presidential piggy-bank.
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