JSAIY J Sainsbury Plc (QX)

By Nina Trentmann 

WPP PLC hired a successor to longtime finance chief Paul Richardson, a move that comes as the London-based advertising group looks to reignite growth and respond to changing customer demands.

WPP, the world's largest advertising company, on Tuesday named John Rogers its next finance chief. Mr. Rogers is currently the chief executive of Argos, a British electronics and furniture retailer that belongs to supermarket chain J Sainsbury PLC. Before his role at Argos, Mr. Rogers served as Sainsbury's finance chief from 2010 to 2016.

He will be taking over the finances at WPP at the start of 2020, the company said.

Mr. Rogers's appointment marks the end of Mr. Richardson's long tenure as WPP's finance director, which began in 1996. Mr. Richardson was crucial to executing the growth strategy that the company pursued under former chief executive Martin Sorrell, analysts said.

Mr. Sorrell stepped down as WPP chief executive in April 2018 and was succeeded by Mark Read, another longtime executive at the company, the following September.

"Mark [Read] does things differently and wanted a different face [as CFO]," said Tim Nollen, a senior analyst at Macquarie Group Ltd. New CEOs usually name their own finance chiefs, especially when facing a turnaround or significant strategic shift, recruiters said.

Since the change in WPP's leadership, the company has focused on reorganizing its business and has divested some assets, including the sale of 60% of its stake in Kantar Group, a market research firm.

The sale will help WPP reduce its debt to the lower end of a target range of 1.5 times to 1.75 times average net debt to earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, the company said in July. WPP's net debt was GBP4.96 billion ($6.10 billion) in 2018, and the ratio between average net debt and Ebitda was 2.1 times, the company said in its latest annual report.

The company needs to focus on reigniting growth, Mr. Nollen said. Advertising agencies like WPP have struggled with a growing ability among their clients to manage more advertising tasks themselves.

"There is a lot of data and a lot of marketing software out there that did not exist a few years ago," Mr. Nollen said. Advertising firms must show how they remain relevant for their clients, he said.

WPP should respond to this challenge by breaking down some of its internal silos and by responding faster to customers' changing demands, said Ian Whittaker, head of European media research at Liberum Capital Ltd., an investment bank.

Mr. Rogers's experience at Argos could assist with that, said Ali Mogharabi, an analyst at Morningstar Inc. At Argos, Mr. Rogers focused on advancing the retailer's digital transformation, resulting in around 65% of sales coming through its website.

"John is not only an accomplished CFO, but also a leader with extensive experience of business transformation," Mr. Read said in a statement. "His priority will be to lead a finance function that best fosters investment in creativity, technology and talent in support of WPP's new strategy for growth," he said.

As WPP CFO, Mr. Rogers is entitled to an annual salary of GBP740,000 alongside an annual bonus opportunity of up to 225% of his base salary, plus other compensation, WPP said.

Write to Nina Trentmann at Nina.Trentmann@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

October 01, 2019 16:54 ET (20:54 GMT)

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