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The WPP Board
The Board is collectively responsible for promoting the success of WPP by directing and supervising policy and strategy and is responsible to shareholders for the Group’s financial and operational performance and risk management.
Roberto Quarta
Chairman
Appointed: 1 January 2015 (Chairman 9 June 2015)
Nationality: Italian and American
Skills and experience: Roberto has extensive and diverse experience in corporate governance and global commerce having served on the boards of a number of UK and international companies. His career in private equity brings valuable experience to WPP, particularly when evaluating acquisitions and new business opportunities.
He is Chairman of Smith & Nephew plc, a Partner of Clayton, Dubilier & Rice and Chairman of Clayton, Dubilier & Rice Europe. He is an Independent Non-Executive Director of Gulf Capital. Previously he was Chief Executive and then Chairman of BBA Group plc, Chairman of Rexel SA, Chairman of IMI plc and a Non-Executive Director at BAE Systems plc, Equant NV, Foster Wheeler AG and PowerGen plc.
External appointments: Chairman, Smith & Nephew; Partner, Clayton, Dubilier & Rice; Chairman, Clayton, Dubilier & Rice Europe; Independent Non-Executive Director, Gulf Capital.
Mark Read
Chief Executive Officer
Appointed: 3 September 2018
Nationality: British
Skills and experience: Mark has a deep understanding of the industry having held multiple leadership positions at WPP since he joined in 1989. As Head of Strategy and then CEO of WPP Digital he was responsible for WPP’s first moves into technology. In 2015, he became Global CEO of Wunderman, which he transformed into one of the world’s leading creative, data and technology agencies. Earlier in his career, he co-founded internet start-up WebRewards and specialised in media and marketing as a principal at consultancy Booz Allen Hamilton. Mark was voted the industry’s Most Influential Person of 2019 in Econsultancy’s Top 100 Digital Agencies report and was recognised as a HERoes Champion of Women in Business in 2018, 2019, 2020 and 2021. Mark was awarded Fellow of the IPA status for outstanding services to the industry in the IPA's 2021 New Year's Honours.
Mark has an MBA from INSEAD and an Economics degree from Trinity College, University of Cambridge, and was a Henry Fellow at Harvard University.
External appointments: Chairman of the Natural History Museum Digital Council.
John Rogers
Chief Financial Officer
Appointed: 3 February 2020,
Chief Financial Officer from 1 May 2020
Nationality: British
Skills and experience: John has extensive finance, strategy, digital, property and retail experience. He joined WPP from J Sainsbury plc where he was Chief Executive Officer of Sainsbury’s Argos. John was previously the Chief Financial Officer of J Sainsbury plc, responsible for business strategy, new business development, Sainsbury’s Online and Sainsbury’s Bank, in addition to its core finance functions.
John is a member of The Prince’s Advisory Council for Accounting for Sustainability. He also sits on the Retail Sector Council, which acts as a point of liaison between the UK Government and retail sector. John is also an Independent Non-executive Director of Grab Holdings Limited, a technology company listed on NASDAQ.
External appointments: Member, The Prince’s Advisory Council for Accounting for Sustainability; Member, Retail Sector Council; Independent Non-executive Director, Grab Holdings Limited.
Nicole Seligman
Senior Independent Director, Non-Executive Director
Appointed: 1 January 2014
Nationality: American
Skills and experience: Nicole is a global business leader and an internationally recognised lawyer. She brings to the Board analytical skills, in-depth knowledge of public company corporate governance and a comprehensive understanding of media and business issues. Nicole was previously President of Sony Entertainment, Inc. and global General Counsel for Sony Corporation. Prior to that, as a partner at law firm Williams & Connolly, Nicole represented key public figures and major media and other companies in complex litigation.
She is a Magna Cum Laude graduate of both Harvard College and Harvard Law School.
External appointments: Non-Executive Director, ViacomCBS Inc.; Non-Executive Director, MeiraGTx Holdings plc; Non-Executive Director, Far Peak Acquisition Corporation.
Angela Ahrendts DBE
Non-Executive Director
Appointed: 1 July 2020
Nationality: British and American
Skills and experience: Angela brings expertise as a leader of creative and technology-driven global businesses. From 2014 until 2019, she was Senior Vice President, Retail at Apple, Inc., where she integrated and redesigned the physical and digital global consumer experience. Angela was CEO of Burberry from 2006 to 2014, where she repositioned the brand as a luxury high-growth company and created the Burberry Foundation. Prior to Burberry, Angela was Executive Vice President at Liz Claiborne, Inc. and President of Donna Karan International, Inc. Angela was a member of the UK Prime Minister’s Business Advisory Council from 2010 to 2015.
External appointments: Non-Executive Director, Ralph Lauren Corporation and Airbnb, Inc.; Chair of Save the Children International; Non-Executive Director, Charity: Water and The HOW Institute for Society; member of the Global Leadership Council of the Oxford University Saïd Business School and BritishAmerican Business International Advisory Board.
Simon Dingemans
Non-Executive Director
Appointed: 31 January 2022
Nationality: British
Skills and experience: Simon has extensive business, capital markets, corporate finance and governance experience and is currently a Senior Advisor at global investment firm The Carlyle Group and Chairman of Genomics plc.
Prior to joining Carlyle, Simon was Chief Financial Officer of GlaxoSmithKline plc and a member of the main board from 2011 to 2019.
Prior to GSK, Simon worked in investment banking for 25 years at SG Warburg and then Goldman Sachs, where he was Managing Director and Partner for 10 years as a leader of their European M&A business and Head of UK Investment Banking. Simon served as Non-executive Chair of the Financial Reporting Council in 2019/2020 and he previously also served as Chairman of the 100 Group.
Simon has a master’s degree in Geography from Oxford University.
External appointments: Chairman, Genomics plc.
Sandrine Dufour
Non-Executive Director
Appointed: 3 February 2020
Nationality: French
Skills and experience: Sandrine brings substantial financial expertise gained in global companies and strong strategic capability to the Board. She has executive leadership experience in the telecommunications, entertainment and media industries and an enthusiasm for cultural, technological and business transformation. Sandrine is currently Chief Financial Officer of UCB, a global pharmaceutical company. Previously she was CFO of Proximus. She held a number of leadership roles at Vivendi, in France and in the United States, across its entertainment and telecommunications business.
Sandrine began her career as a financial analyst at BNP and then Credit Agricole in the telecoms sector. She has held other non-executive director roles, most recently at Solocal Group.
External appointments: Chief Financial Officer, UCB.
Tarek Farahat
Non-Executive Director
Appointed: 11 October 2016
Nationality: Brazilian and Egyptian
Skills and experience: Tarek has extensive leadership and brand-building experience gained in leading businesses in the Americas, Europe, Middle East and Africa. He worked for Procter & Gamble for over 26 years, his last position as President of Procter & Gamble Latin America and member of the Global Leadership Council. Tarek was previously Chairman of the board of JBS S.A. and a board member of Pilgrim’s Pride Corporation and Alpargatas. Tarek is currently a strategic advisor, consultant and partner for companies in the consumer goods, Fintech and healthcare sectors.
Tarek is a graduate of the American University in Cairo, Faculty of Commerce and Finance.
External appointments: Chairman and Co-Founder, GoPublic and Ponto-e.
Tom Ilube CBE
Non-Executive Director
Appointed: 5 October 2020
Nationality: British
Skills and experience: Tom brings a wealth of expertise as a technology entrepreneur. He is Chair of the Rugby Football Union (RFU) and CEO of Crossword Cybersecurity Plc. From 2010 to 2014, Tom was Managing Director of Consumer Markets at Callcredit Information Group. Prior to Callcredit, Tom founded and was CEO of Garlik, a venture capitalbacked identity protection company. His 30-year career in the UK technology sector includes roles at Egg Banking plc, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Goldman Sachs and the London Stock Exchange.
He was made a Doctor of Science (Honoris Causa) by City, University of London, an Honorary Doctor of Technology by the University of Wolverhampton, an Honorary Fellow of Jesus College, Oxford and St Anne’s College. In 2017 Tom topped the Powerlist ranking of the most influential people of African or African Caribbean heritage in the UK.
External appointments: Founder and CEO, Crossword Cybersecurity plc; Chair, Iternal Limited; Founder and Chair, African Gifted Foundation. Chair, The Rugby Football Union (RFU).
Cindy Rose OBE
Non-Executive Director
Appointed: 1 April 2019
Nationality: British and American
Skills and experience: Cindy has extensive experience as a leader in the technology and media sectors and a deep understanding of the role of technology in business transformation. She was appointed President of Microsoft Western Europe in October 2020, prior to which she was Microsoft UK CEO from 2016. She previously held roles as Managing Director of the UK consumer division at Vodafone and as Executive Director of Digital Entertainment at Virgin Media. She also spent 15 years at The Walt Disney Company, ultimately as Senior Vice President & Managing Director of Disney Interactive Media Group.
Cindy is a graduate of Columbia University and New York Law School.
External appointments: President, Microsoft Western Europe; Member of the advisory board of Imperial College Business School in London; Member of the advisory board of McLaren.
Keith Weed CBE
Non-Executive Director
Appointed: 1 November 2019
Nationality: British
Skills and experience: Keith has a wealth of experience as a marketing and digital leader and an understanding of the ways in which technology is transforming businesses. From 2010 to 2019, Keith was Chief Marketing and Communications Officer at Unilever, a role that included creating and leading Unilever’s sustainability programme. Keith was named the World’s Most Influential Chief Marketing Officer by Forbes in 2017, 2018 and 2019, and Global Marketer of the Year 2017 by the World Federation of Advertisers.
He received The Drum’s Lifetime Achievement Award in 2018 and was inducted into the Marketing Hall of Fame in 2019. Keith is a Non-Executive Director of J Sainsbury plc.
External appointments: Non-Executive Director, J Sainsbury plc; Trustee Director of Business in the Community; Board Trustee Grange Park Opera; President of the Royal Horticultural Society; Board Trustee, Leverhulme Trust.
Jasmine Whitbread
Non-Executive Director
Appointed: 1 September 2019
Nationality: British and Swiss
Skills and experience: Jasmine’s experience spans marketing, technology, finance, media, telecommunications, and not-for-profit organisations, and she brings this breadth of perspective and knowledge of many of WPP’s client sectors.
Jasmine began her career in marketing in the technology sector, including with Thomson Financial in the US. After completing the Stanford Executive Program, Jasmine went on to hold leadership roles with Oxfam and Save the Children, starting in 1999 in West Africa and, from 2010 to 2015, as the first Chief Executive of Save the Children International.
Jasmine was a Non-Executive Director of BT Group plc from 2011 to 2019 and Chief Executive Officer of London First from 2016 until March 2021.
External appointments: Chair of the Board, Travis Perkins plc; Non-Executive Director, Standard Chartered plc; Non-Executive Director, Compagnie Financière Richemont SA; Visiting Fellow, Oxford University.
