Former BT boss Philip Jansen to chair troubled advertising giant WPP

WPP has appointed Philip Jansen as its chairman as the advertising giant attempts to regain shareholder confidence.

The former BT chief executive and City grandee will succeed Roberto Quarta, who has been chairman of the advertising giant since replacing Philip Lader in 2015.

Jansen, 57, will join the board in September and formally take up the role in January 2025, receiving a salary of £575,000 a year.

But this comes at a testing time for WPP, which has issued a series of profit warnings, blaming falling spending in the US and China. WPP’s revenues plunged in the first quarter of this year as technology clients cut advertising budgets.

Chief executive Mark Read has said the company, which owns agencies Ogilvy and Group M, will focus on developing artificial intelligence technology to get the business back on track.

WPP shares are unchanged so far this year, but have fallen by more than a fifth over the past five years. They rose 1.2 percent yesterday.

Paolo Pescatore, an analyst at PP Foresight, said Jansen was a “good hire” for the advertising group.

‘Let’s not forget that he led BT through a difficult period and led a major transformation programme.

“This will put WPP in a good position to focus clearly on efficiency and revenue growth,” he said.

During his four-and-a-half-year tenure at BT, Jansen endured a turbulent time in the company’s boardroom.

He was reported to have had a falling out with former chairman Jan du Plessis, although the company denied this.