WPP CEO Mark Read, in an internal email, stated that WPP has hired Laurent Ezekiel, a longtime Publicis Groupe and Digitas veteran, as its first Chief Marketing and Growth Officer.
While reporting directly to Mark Read, Ezekiel in his new role willbe significant to Read’s strategy of focusing on “fewer but stronger companies and also work to “integrate further at a country level”, unveiled on Tuesday in repositioning WPP as a “creative transformation company.”
Ezekiel joined Digitas in 2003, three years before Publicis acquired it for $1.3 billion and 10 years prior to its merger with LBi when it became DigitasLBi. In February, the holding company rebranded the global digital agency back to just Digitas.
He first came aboard Digitas from Grey as a senior account director and continued to move up the ranks over the last nearly 16 years, most recently serving in the dual role of co-president of Digitas North America, alongside Jodi Robinson, as well as president of international.
As part of that strategy, WPP will be streamlining its global structure and reinvesting in tech assets and creative talent while also cutting 3,500 jobs over the next three years. At the same time, WPP said it would hire roughly 1,000 new staffers.
