London: In a significant realignment within its creative portfolio, global advertising and marketing giant WPP has moved its agency Grey under the leadership of Ogilvy. This shift ends Grey’s previous reporting alignment with AKQA Group, a structure in place since the two agencies were brought together in 2020.
While the change marks a reorganization of leadership lines, company executives emphasized that it does not signal a merger. Grey will continue to operate as an independent agency brand within the WPP network, maintaining its leadership team and client relationships. Laura Maness, Grey’s Global CEO, will now report to Devika Bulchandani, Global CEO of Ogilvy.
In a memo to staff, Bulchandani clarified, “This is not a consolidation, but rather a realignment to better reflect how our agencies operate in practice. Grey will remain a standalone agency brand that will continue independently serving its clients with the same dedication and expertise they’ve come to expect.”
WPP has not confirmed whether the restructuring will result in any workforce reductions.
The move coincides with broader structural changes at WPP, including an ongoing leadership transition at AKQA following the exit of its CEO, Ajaz Ahmed, who recently launched a new independent venture. At the same time, GroupM—WPP’s media investment division—is undergoing an operational overhaul that may impact up to 45% of its U.S. workforce as it transitions to a more unified model.
Despite being grouped together since 2020, Grey and AKQA never fully integrated and will continue to collaborate on joint clients while pursuing separate focuses: Grey on brand-building creative and AKQA on design and technology.
The realignment is seen as part of WPP CEO Mark Read’s broader strategy to simplify the company’s structure and foster greater integration across its agencies. Company leaders expect the new alignment to create closer collaboration opportunities between Grey and Ogilvy, especially in strategy, PR, and customer experience.
