New leadership team to be announced next week, ensuring continuity as FM Schmidt prepares to step down at the end of 2026
Frank-Michael "FM" Schmidt has decided to step down as CEO of the Scholz & Friends Family at the end of 2026 after 23 years at the agency, 18 of them as CEO. He will also step down as President of WPP Germany, a role he has held alongside his Scholz & Friends position since 2023. Scholz & Friends will announce its succession plan and new leadership team next week, and FM Schmidt will remain in role through the end of 2026 to ensure a smooth transition.
FM Schmidt has shaped Scholz & Friends for longer than any other CEO in its history and the agency enters its next phase from a position of strength. Under FM’s leadership, Scholz & Friends has grown into one of Europe’s largest, most awarded and most effective creative agency groups. It consistently ranks among Germany's leading agencies for creativity and effectiveness and is one of the country's largest creative agency groups by revenue. Its capabilities span strategic brand management, campaigns, consulting, agenda setting, PR, commerce, digital experience, AI solutions, healthcare marketing and sustainability consulting. Throughout his tenure, FM Schmidt has maintained the standards that have defined Scholz & Friends since Jürgen Scholz founded it in 1981: creative excellence, a culture of friendship and orchestration - uniting different disciplines around a client's goal.
"Scholz & Friends is one of the few German agency brands that have emerged stronger from the challenges of the past decade,” said FM Schmidt. “We have stayed true to our brand, our culture and our standards of quality while strengthening our position in the global market. Our success is due to more than professional expertise: a culture of entrepreneurial ownership and a culture of friendship are crucial. A culture in which the quality of an idea is more important than the halo of hierarchy. I want to thank all the Friends who have helped shape Scholz & Friends over the past 23 years. The agency is exceptionally well positioned for the future, and I am confident my successors will combine continuity with new ideas and perspectives. I am equally proud of what we have achieved together at WPP. Over the past four years, we have succeeded in breaking down walls and building bridges in a highly fragmented German market, where WPP was once made up of a multitude of isolated agencies. Today, WPP in Germany is more connected and more capable than ever before."
Germany is WPP’s third-largest market and an important part of its global business. WPP has been bringing its agencies and capabilities in the market closer together, strengthening collaboration and making it easier to bring the best of WPP to clients. As President of WPP Germany, FM Schmidt founded the "CEO Circle" for agency leaders to connect, and launched cross-agency platforms for technology, growth and sustainability.
“For 23 years, FM has been the driving force of Scholz & Friends, building it into one of Europe’s best-known, most awarded and effective creative agencies, and a powerhouse within WPP,” said Cindy Rose, CEO, WPP. “Over the past four years, he has also brought WPP closer together in Germany, our third-largest market and one of great importance to us, combining our capabilities more effectively for clients and creating a strong platform for future growth. FM has given WPP an enormous amount, and I am deeply grateful to him.”
Further information WPP Communications press@wpp.com
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