WPP appoints Brian Lesser as GroupM global CEO

WPP has appointed Brian Lesser as global CEO of GroupM.

He will take on the role in September.

Christian Juhl, the current CEO, will step down after five years in the position and take on the role of president, corporate development. Juhl was previously CEO of Essence.

Lesser joined WPP through the acquisition of Real Media in 2007. He created the Media Innovation group to build addressable products for GroupM and in 2011 founded programmatic media buying platform Xaxis, which is now part of GroupM Nexus.

In total, he spent 20 years at WPP, most recently as GroupM CEO in North America between 2015 and 2017.

Mark Read, WPP CEO, said: “I would like to thank Christian for his contribution to the success of Essence, GroupM, WPP and our clients over the last nine years. He has built a strong foundation for the ongoing transformation of GroupM, the integration of its offer and accelerated future growth. I look forward to working with him in his new WPP role.

“Brian is one of the industry’s most highly regarded executives with a track record of success in data- and technology-driven marketing. GroupM, its agencies and its brilliant people are in many respects the engine of WPP. Brian not only knows GroupM inside out, but also has a strong vision for the future of the business. We are delighted to welcome him back to WPP.”

Tech experience

Since Lesser left GroupM, he has held several leadership roles at technology companies.

He was mostly recently CEO and chairman at data group InfoSum, which he joined in 2020. Lesser was previously CEO of AT&T Advertising & Analytics, which later became Xandr, a subsidiary of Microsoft.

Lesser’s tech capabilities appear to have been a major factor in his appointment, with WPP describing him as being “at the forefront of technological advancements in the media industry, from the advent of programmatic advertising to the rise of connected TV”.

His appointment follows another significant hire as GroupM attempts to boost its retail media credentials. Sandy Welsch joined in the newly created position of executive director, global partnerships and enablement.