New WPP CEO Cindy Rose has made her first big appointments: Ogilvy CEO Devika Bulchandani to COO of the whole company replacing the departing Andrew Scott and Laurent Ezekiel, who was set to jump ship to Publicis, staying on as global CEO of Ogilvy Group and executive sponsor for WPP Open X. Floriane Tripolino is to be CEO of WPP Open X, WPP’s bespoke Coca-Cola agency.
Rose says: “These appointments underscore WPP’s commitment to delivering unparalleled value and innovation. Devika’s deep obsession with helping our clients grow and win, will help us accelerate our growth across the entire WPP landscape. Laurent’s close, successful partnership with The Coca Cola Company and creation of WPP Open X gives him valuable insight and experience to help navigate the needs of our largest clients, many of which are housed in Ogilvy.
“These leaders embody the strategic vision and creative excellence that define WPP. Their collective expertise will play a crucial part in helping me drive WPP to our next phase of growth and ensuring our clients continue to win in a rapidly evolving market.”
Rose has moved rapidly (former CEO Mark Read only left officially on September 1), crucially to shore up the massive Coca-Cola account, formerly headed by Ezekiel. Ezekiel at Publicis, which snatched Coca-Cola’s US media account at the start of the year, would have been Rose’s worst nightmare. Interesting too that Bulchandani from the creative side of WPP has moved into effectively a number two role even though media has been the focus of many recent WPP changes.
It’s actually not surprising Laurent is staying at Ogilvy. Besides more WPP money, he’s realized the Publicis machine can’t get out of gear at Coke – just ask ChatGPT. They’ve spent so much time chasing (and failing) to attract senior talent – they have each of their business units and recruiters chasing… I’d bet they’ve got 15 different VP and SVP open jobs posted (not necessarily funded). The Atlanta-based Coke team thought they would attract the NY 40 under 40 Digerati crowd to move there and it just ain’t happening – and Coke’s CMO is losing patience. What’s really sad is so many folks in Atlanta have been at Coke or on the Coke account, and they all know too well that corporate change at North Avenue is an illusion. Publicis will learn the hard way and bets are that Laurent will win it all back and earn his big ole LTIP bonus.