WPP has tapped Mark Taylor as its new chief people officer (CPO), ADWEEK has learned.
The exec was most recently chief people advisor at Lego, where he worked from 2017 until 2024 before becoming an independent people consultant to brands.
In an internal memo viewed by ADWEEK, WPP chief executive (CEO) Cindy Rose said Taylor would help WPP build the talent strategy and capabilities to deliver on its three-year “Elevate 28” turnaround plan.
“[Mark] has deep expertise in enterprise-wide transformation and understands how to drive the cultural shifts required to win,” Rose wrote to employees.
He will sit on WPP’s executive committee, bringing with him decades of experience working in the pharmaceutical, CPG, retail, and digital entertainment sectors. He was the CPO at British fashion giant Burberry for nine years and steered the people division of Candy Crush maker King from 2015 to 2017, before joining Lego.
As part of his appointment, Marie-Claire Barker, who took on the CPO remit for WPP in May 2025 before Rose joined, will now report into Taylor in a more specialist role as CPO, performance and culture.
“In this role, she will focus on shaping our evolving culture, elevating our employee experience, and embedding the high-performance mindset that winning teams embrace,” said Rose in her memo.
She added: “This powerful leadership combination gives me incredible confidence in our ability to modernize our People function at pace and make WPP the best place to build a career in our industry.”
At the time of writing, WPP did not respond to ADWEEK’s request for comment on the reshuffle.
Another brand-side hire from WPP
Taylor’s hire marks the second big leadership announcement from former Microsoft exec Rose in the space of a week.
On April 10, the business revealed that Anne-Isabelle Choueiri would be joining from The Estée Lauder Companies as chief transformation officer (CTO).
Both appointments come as WPP orchestrates a turnaround strategy designed to return it to growth following an 8.1% year-on-year revenue decline in Q4.
The reset plan includes a commitment to deliver annual cost savings of $676 million (£500 million), and intends to stabilize WPP in 2026, build momentum in 2027, and return it to growth from 2028 onwards.
Having joined just as WPP’s share price hit a 16-year low in September 2025, Rose has already started gaining some new business momentum.
Since her arrival, wins have included Jaguar Land Rover, The Estée Lauder Cos., SC Johnson, and Kenvue. In Q1 2026, WPP topped JP Morgan’s new business rankings, pulling in an estimated $820 million in deals, followed by Publicis’ at $700m.
