Sir Martin Sorrell

CEO, WPP plc Business Circle

Sir Martin Sorrell founded WPP, the world’s largest advertising and marketing services group in 1985 and has been chief executive throughout.

Collectively, WPP employs over 205,000 people (including associates and investments) in over 3,000 offices in 112 countries.  The Group’s worldwide companies include J Walter Thompson, Ogilvy & Mather, Y&R, Grey, Mindshare, MEC, MediaCom, Kantar, Wunderman, Burson-Marsteller, Hill+Knowlton Strategies, Landor, Brand Union, FITCH, The Partners, AKQA, WPP Digital and WPP Health & Wellness. Clients include 360 of the Fortune Global 500, all 30 of the Dow Jones 30 and 78 of the NASDAQ 100.  In 2016, WPP had revenues of over $19 billion and billings of $74 billion.

Sir Martin actively supports the advancement of international business schools – advising Harvard, IESE, the Indian School of Business, the China Europe International Business School and Fundação Dom Cabral Business School in Brazil.  He has been publicly recognised with a number of awards, including the Harvard Business School Alumni Achievement Award and 2014 Hugo Shong Lifetime Achievement Award in Communication by Boston University’s College of Communications. He was featured in the Time 100 “Builders & Titans” and CNBC’s First 25 List (“Rebels, Icons and Leaders”). He received a knighthood in January 2000. In 2016, Sir Martin was ranked Britain’s best-performing CEO and second best-performing CEO globally by Harvard Business Review.

Sir Martin is on the Executive Committee of the World Economic Forum International Business Council (and chairman from 2010-2012), the Board of Directors of the Bloomberg Family Foundation and is a member of the Business Council in the US. He advises both the Tate Gallery and The Russian Museum in St. Petersburg, as well as Stanhope Capital and Bowmark Capital Group. He served as chairman of IBLAC Shanghai (2015-2016) and is chairman of IBAC London, IBAC Rome and IBAC Jerusalem.