WPP's new CEO Mark Read steps out of founder Martin Sorrell shadow

Read has been helping to run WPP as interim co-chief operating officer since Sorrell's sudden April departure.

Mark Read (pictured) is stepping out from the shadow of WPP founder Martin Sorrell as the advertising giant’s new chief executive officer, and he has a clear message: change is coming.

“There are no sacred cows,” Read said in an interview, shortly after WPP confirmed his appointment on Monday. In an unusually lengthy statement, Read promised renewal and a different style that would be “inclusive, respectful, collaborative, diverse” — a thinly-veiled criticism of the approach of his former boss, who earned a reputation as abrasive to downright bullying.

Read, who takes over with immediate effect, has no time to waste. The industry