Chris Wade, WPP’s director of communications and corporate affairs, has departed the holdco after 13 “wonderful, eventful years”.
Posting on LinkedIn, Wade said that the move was voluntary but aligned with broader changes at the business.
“After 13 wonderful, eventful years at WPP, I’ve decided it’s time for a change. I’ve been considering what’s next and, as WPP prepares for a change of its own, it felt like a good moment to do something new,” he wrote.
Wade said he’ll “miss being part of the (largely) organised chaos” as well as the views from its London office at Sea Containers and New York HQ at 3 World Trade Centre.
He also reflected on some of the significant steps for the business since 2012, including the NotPetya cyber attack, navigating the CEO transition in 2018 and its decision to stop doing business in Russia following its invasion of Ukraine. It was the first holdco to take such a step.
“I am so proud of how the team has stepped up and delivered every single time – and always with skill, patience, good humour and total commitment. They really are the best and I can’t thank them enough,” Wade continued.
“I also want to thank the extended WPP comms family – the fantastic pros in our agencies who put everything into driving reputational and commercial success for their brands, and by extension WPP. Thanks as well to the journalists who’ve covered our business not only with rigour but with care. And thank you to Mark [Read, WPP CEO] and the rest of the leadership team for being such great partners and friends for so many years.”
Wade will be succeeded by Michael Frolich, currently global chief client and transformation officer and EMEA CEO of IPG-owned comms agency Weber Shandwick.
“Frolich already knows WPP really well from his time at Ogilvy, he inherits a great team and I’ll be cheering everyone on from the sidelines. After handing over the reins I’m going to take some proper time out with my family before starting a new chapter,” Wade wrote.
In an email to staff, Read praised Wade, saying the company had “benefited enormously” from his “deep experience, astute judgement and steadfast support for his colleagues” during the testing periods the world has been through.
Wade’s departure follows a series of changes during a tumultuous time for WPP. It has lost a handful of significant accounts, including Coca-Cola’s US media business and Mars’ multi-billion dollar media business, both to Publicis.
The holdco has also struggled to keep a lid on staffers disgruntled about the return to office mandate laid down by CEO Mark Read. Read himself announced he will be departing at the end of the year. WPP’s chief people officer, Lindsay Patterson, also departed in May.
WPP did retain its Creative Company of the Year title at this year’s Cannes Lions, something global creative chief Rob Reilly told B&T would be a deserving honour for Read.
Read’s full note to staff on Wade’s departure is below:
To CEOs and Leaders; WPP HQ
After 13 successful years with WPP, Chris Wade has decided to step down as our Director of Communications and Corporate Affairs.
Having achieved so much at WPP, Chris has been considering what’s next for him for some time and – with the wider changes happening in the business and following much discussion between us – he felt now was the right moment to move on to something new.
Throughout his time at WPP, and not least during periods of turbulence and global uncertainty, the company has benefited enormously from his deep experience, astute judgement and steadfast support for his colleagues.
Chris worked very closely with me on creating the “new WPP” – helping to rebrand the company and to establish a new voice and culture at the heart of the business rooted in respect and inclusion. His contribution was invaluable to me and to the company. He has also helped us navigate the pandemic, the invasion of Ukraine and the increasingly challenged social and political environment in which we operate.
Over the last seven years Chris has built a modern communications and corporate affairs function for WPP while tirelessly promoting and defending our reputation. Our leadership position in the application of creativity and technology to marketing owes a great deal to Chris and his team, who have also transformed WPP’s own online and social presence – most recently driving mass engagement with our new brand campaign. He has also established a highly effective public affairs operation which has significantly advanced our interests and reputation with policy-makers, regulators and industry bodies.
Chris is a trusted partner and friend to countless people in every part of WPP, and he is admired and respected across the business. I’m personally very grateful for the support he has given me in the years before and during my time as CEO, and I know many others feel the same. We will all miss his wise counsel, his sense of humour and his unfailing dedication to the interests of WPP and its people.
I am pleased to announce that Chris will be succeeded by Michael Frohlich who joins us from The Weber Shandwick Collective, where he has held the position of Global Chief Client Transformation Officer and EMEA CEO for the last four years. Many of you will know Michael from his prior roles with WPP which include leading Ogilvy PR in the UK and EMEA, and subsequently the wider Ogilvy Group in the UK, where as CEO he drove the integration of the agency’s different marketing disciplines. During that time, he was also a WPP client leader for IAG and British Airways.
I’m sure you will give Michael a warm welcome (back) to WPP and I will be in touch when he starts to introduce him and his role more fully.
I know you will join me in thanking Chris for his huge contribution to WPP. I want to reiterate my thanks to him for all his advice and help to me over the last seven years and to wish him all the very best for the future.
Mark
