Issue of the week: what next for WPP?

Adland’s Napoleon has apparently met his Waterloo, leaving a trail of unanswered questions behind

I won’t be among those gloating at the “demise” of Sir Martin Sorrell, who has quit the advertising behemoth he created after (still unspecified) allegations of personal misconduct and the misuse of company funds, said Jim Armitage in the London Evening Standard. Sorrell’s “single-minded drive” made him enemies: he was once described as an “odious little twerp” by the late industry legend, David Ogilvy. But his achievement was extraordinary. He took the shell of a Kent-based maker of shopping baskets, Wire and Plastic Products, and magicked it into “the biggest force in global advertising”. Some of the biggest Madison Avenue giants – including J. Walter Thompson, Ogilvy & Mather and Young & Rubicam – fell to Sorrell’s “relentless assault”. In the process, he transformed and “professionalised” an industry notorious for “massive egos and expenses funded by sucker clients”.

Sorrell’s impact on advertising and marketing has been huge, agreed Mark Sweney in The Guardian. As a “master dealmaker”, he invented “the big holding company” combining advertising, marketing and PR services under one roof – and forced big rivals to follow suit. But the Sorrell model has recently been severely tested by intense competition from the internet giants: WPP’S shares have fallen by more than a third in the past year as big clients have defected. His departure leaves a huge question mark over the future of WPP, which has no clear succession plan. But it may also mark “the beginning of the end for an industry”.

The group’s shares fell almost 7% this week as investors contemplated a future without Sorrell. That’s “a compliment of sorts”, said Alistair Osborne in The Times. But it also shows that he leaves a shaky empire behind – many analysts believe break-up is now inevitable. And the farewell award of shares worth £20m seems excessive, given that Sorrell has been paid more than £200m over the past five years. Meanwhile, we’re still none the wiser about what actually caused his ousting. Thanks to a non-disclosure agreement, Sorrell and the board have avoided “awkward questions” about what he allegedly did wrong. What a “shabby exit”. Nonetheless, Sorrell “will be missed”, said Chris Blackhurst in The Independent. He was “that rare phenomenon – a senior business executive who spoke his mind”. Sorrell was always available to opine knowledgeably on any subject on behalf of business. It was easy to satirise him, but his departure removes an “essential voice”. The business world “should recognise the truth – that it needs more bosses like him”.