WPP appoints ex BT boss Philip Jansen as new chair

Advertising firm WPP said on Tuesday that it has appointed Philip Jansen - the former chief executive of BT Group - as its new chairman.

Jansen, who was CEO of BT from 2019 to February 2024, will join the board on 16 September and will succeed Roberto Quarta as non-executive from 1 January 2025.

Prior to being at BT, Jansen was CEO of Worldpay, the technology-led global payments services group. Previous roles include CEO and then chairman of Brakes Group, and a variety of senior positions in Sodexo Group.

He began his career at Procter & Gamble, going on to hold marketing director roles at Dunlop Slazenger and Telewest before moving into general management first at Telewest and then MyTravel. He was a non-executive director of Travis Perkins for four years.

WPP CEO Mark Read said: "On behalf of the board I would like to thank Roberto for his support for the leadership team and his exceptional contribution during more than nine years with WPP. He has helped to steer the company through significant challenges including the Covid-19 pandemic, overseen the restructuring of our portfolio to return WPP to financial stability, and guided the fundamental reshaping of our offer to meet the needs of modern marketing.

"Philip has deep insight into our industry from his marketing background and roles with technology and consumer goods companies, and I am very happy to welcome him to WPP."