The world’s largest advertising agency has a new chief financial officer. 

WPP has appointed Joanne Wilson, a seasoned executive with experience in retail and consulting, as its new CFO. Wilson is taking over from outgoing CFO John Rogers, who took up the role three years ago.

Rogers will continue to lead WPP’s finance team until the company closes its 2022 fiscal year and finalizes the year’s earnings report. Afterwards, he will depart to “pursue broader executive opportunities outside the company,” WPP said. 

WPP got its start in the 1970s as a U.K.-based manufacturer of shopping baskets. The company expanded into the teapot market a few years later before pivoting to the marketing industry under a new leadership team.

In subsequent years, WPP acquired hundreds of marketing companies all over the world as part of an ambitious revenue growth strategy. The strategy paid off:  the company over time grew into the world’s largest ad agency with revenues of more than £13 billion in 2021.

Joanne Wilson is joining WPP as CFO after holding the same role at Britvic, a publicly traded consumer goods company based in the U.K. Britvic posted sales of more than £1 billion in 2021. 

Earlier, Wilson held senior leadership roles at Tesco, another major consumer brand best known for its supermarkets. 

Wilson was at one point the CFO of Tesco’s Dunnhumby retail consulting subsidiary. Retailers hire Dunnhumby to identify ways they can increase sales and improve the customer experience for shoppers. 

Wilson also brings Big Four experience to her new role at the head of WPP’s finance department. The executive started her career at Big Four member KPMG, where she qualified as a chartered accountant.

“Joanne is a highly regarded CFO and leader. Beyond her financial credentials, her extensive experience in data, retail and ESG is especially valuable given their importance to our business and our client base,” commented WPP CEO Mark Read. 

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