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.

WPP companies, which include some of the most eminent agencies in the business, provide clients with advertising, media investment management, data investment management, public relations and public affairs, branding and identity, healthcare communications, digital, eCommerce and shopper marketing and specialist communications services.

Collectively, WPP employs over 200,000 people (including associates and investments) in over 3,000 offices in 112 countries. The Group’s worldwide companies include Ogilvy, J Walter Thompson, Y&R, Grey, Mindshare, MediaCom, Kantar, Wavemaker, Wunderman, Burson Cohn & Wolfe, Hill+Knowlton Strategies, Landor, Fitch, Superunion, AKQA, WPP Digital and WPP Health & Wellness. Clients include 369 of the Fortune Global 500, all 30 of the Dow Jones 30 and 71 of the NASDAQ 100.  In 2017, WPP had revenues of over $20 billion and billings of $72 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. In the Time 100 “Builders & Titans” he was voted one of the world’s most influential figures in business.  In 2017, Sir Martin was ranked Britain’s best-performing CEO and was named the second best-performing CEO in the world by Harvard Business Review. In May 2017 he was elected to an Honorary Fellowship of Christ’s College Cambridge in recognition of outstanding achievement in the field of commerce.

Sir Martin contributes to many important organisations and charities.  He is on the Executive Committee of the World Economic Forum International Business Council (having been chairman from 2010-2012) and a member of the Business Council in the US.  He is a member of the corporate Advisory Group of the Tate Gallery and on the International Advisory Board of The Russian Museum in St. Petersburg.   In 2010 he was appointed to the Board of Directors of the Bloomberg Family Foundation. He is a member of the Advisory Board of Stanhope Capital and Bowmark Capital Group.

He is chairman of IBAC London, IBAC Rome and IBAC Jerusalem.