WPP’s chief people officer, Lindsay Pattison, is leaving the group to take a break from the world of advertising and media. She has been a star performer and a huge role model and mentor for women in WPP and across the industry.
Her most recent job title belies her contribution to the group, which she joined as global CSO and subsequently became the first UK CEO of Maxus, which grew into a big global operation under her leadership. Maxus merged with fellow WPP media agency MEC to become Wavemaker in 2017, when Pattison was made WPP’s first worldwide chief transformation officer, before moving into client and then people roles.
Pattison, a former competitive swimmer, gave her reasons for quitting in a memo: “As many of you have experienced first-hand, I tend to do everything at a hundred miles an hour. Although that’s taken me a long way, at some point it’s probably sensible to slow down for a bit and take some time to figure out what’s next.
WPP CEO Mark Read said in a memo: “Thank you, Lindsay, for everything you have done for WPP, your energy, your high expectations of yourself and others, your sheer hard work and your support for me and the rest of the team. I will certainly miss you and want to put on the record my thanks for the support you have given me personally as well as to the company.”
It’s a shame to see another experienced female leader leaving the industry. Annette King recently stepped down from her role as global marketing practice lead at Accenture Song due to health reasons. At the same time, MullenLowe CCO Nicky Bullard exited ahead of an IPG reshuffle that replaced her with Carlos Andrés Rodríguez from Colombia.
