The race to succeed Mark Read is the topic on everyone’s lips. And after teaming up with Paddy Power, we can now tell you who the bookies are backing.
From Cannes to Kansas, everyone in advertising is trying to guess who will be the next CEO of WPP. But what do the bookies think?
The Drum invited Paddy Power to give us odds on the runners and riders to succeed Mark Read, and the betting giant has now opened a book on who will be taking over at the top of the holding company.
Media supremo Brian Lesser is Paddy Power’s hot favorite.
Lesser, who has been leading GroupM’s relaunch as WPP Media, would become the first American to head up the London-based ad giant.
The heavy 9/4 favorite is way out in front of a pack mostly comprised of fellow WPP insiders, though free agent Matt Brittin, who was most recently running Google in EMEA, is second in the betting at 6/1.
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Paddy Power himself said: “Given the mega salary that’s on the table, I’ve been writing my own casual humble-brags ready to post on LinkedIn with a view to getting this one myself. Problem is, I’ve lost my bloody password.
“Our traders have had a good look at this and reckon it’s most likely this one is going stateside. We make Brian Lesser the hot favorite at 9/4, which effectively means he’s a 30% chance of getting the gig.
“Matt Brittin (6/1), Jon Cook (7/1) and Laurent Ezekiel (9/1) aren’t a million miles off in the betting, but we think it’ll be a case of Lesser’s more at WPP.”
Next WPP CEO – Paddy Power’s odds
- Brian Lesser – 9/4
- Matt Brittin – 6/1
- Jon Cook – 7/1
- Laurent Ezekiel – 9/1
- Devika Bulchandani – 10/1
- Philip jansen – 10/1
- Stephan Pretorius – 12/1
- Andrew Scott – 14/1
- Jacki Kelley – 18/1
- Mel Edwards – 20/1
- Emily Del Greco – 22/1
- James Murphy – 22/1
- Johnny Hornby – 22/1
- David drugs – 22/1
Lesser’s fellow American Jon Cook, the Kansas-based boss of VML, is the next closest internal candidate, ahead of client chief Laurent Ezekiel, Ogilvy CEO Devika Bulchandani and recently appointed chair Philip Jansen.
Jacki Kelley of IPG and outgoing Accenture Song CEO David Droga are the outsiders in every sense, priced at 18/1 and 22/1, respectively.
It all points to WPP sticking to tradition and appointing from within, as it did when Mark Read succeeded Sir Martin Sorrell to become only the second permanent boss of the business seven years ago.
While WPP has faced its high-profile challenges during that time, the CEO job remains one of the most coveted in advertising, earning the incumbent close to £4m a year. Read will step down at the end of 2025.
You can have a flutter on the next WPP boss on the Paddy Power website.
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