WPP boss Martin Sorrell under investigation of ‘personal misconduct’ allegation
The world’s best known advertising executive Sir Martin Sorrell is facing an investigation into an allegation of “personal misconduct”. However, the specifics of the allegation, first reported by the Wall Street Journal, are unclear.
In a statement provided to Mumbrella, a WPP spokesperson, said: “The Board of WPP has appointed independent counsel to conduct an investigation in response to an allegation of personal misconduct against Sir Martin Sorrell, Chief Executive Officer of WPP. The investigation is ongoing.
WPP is investigating Sorrell for alleged “personal misconduct”
“The allegations do not involve amounts which are material to WPP.”
According to The Wall Street Journal, WPP will be looking into whether the CEO of 33 years misused company assets and conducted “improper personal behaviour”.
Sorrell runs the company from London.
The Australian arm of the holding group, which includes agencies such as AKQA, Ogilvy, JWT, WhiteGREY, Y&R, Spinach, Wavemaker, Mediacom, Ikon, PPR, Ogilvy PR, Pulse Communications, Kantar and Mindshare, has been through a series of changes locally in the past year.
In February, WPP AUNZ saw a decline in its public relations, data investment and PR arms, which include agencies such as Ogilvy, Cannings Purple, Hill + Knowlton Strategies, PPR, Pulse Communications and Kantar.
The company has also recently merged a number of agencies including the consolidation of The White Agency and Grey Group Australia, forming WhiteGREY, and GroupM and MEC, to create Wavemaker.
Meanwhile, the joint-CEO of WhiteGREY Paul Worboys resigned in February earlier this year as his counterpart Miles Joyce exited just weeks later.
WPP saw another CEO departure as Tania Kullmann resigned from Kantar.
Just one month later, in March, the holding group saw yet another CEO depart as Phil McDonald exited Y&R. Shortly after, the former CEO of Leo Burnett, Pete Bosilkovski was announced as McDonald’s replacement.
The allegations come after WPP reported flat revenues and sales in November last year.
Abigail Dawson was Mumbrella's senior content journalist covering event content. She left Mumbrella to move into an agency role in 2020.
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WPP has never been clear on a transition plan or successor – shareholders have been pushing to hear one for years. I can’t see the board ousting Sorrell if it’s immaterial.
Should an investigation find wrong doing they’d probably censure him and impose penalties on his hefty remuneration package. At worst, they’ll come to an agreement he should retirem so an orderly transition can occur.
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I’m surprised to see this actually was about Martin Sorrell!
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Abalone is a common name for any of a group of small to very large sea snails, marine gastropod molluscs in the family Haliotidae.
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@scotch…
So let me get this right.
WPP don’t really have a clear transition plan.
So they should sweep it under the carpet.
Just come to an agreement with penalties on a multi-million dollar remunerating package. Or at worst retire him. I get this is your observation and perhaps not your pov – but that’s the sort of thinking that has kept that sort of (alleged) behaviour going. No hard implications for him. No accountability.
(edited by Mumbrella for legal reasons)
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