WPP has announced the appointment of Lindsay Pattison as the Global Chief People Officer, responsible for the company’s people strategy and operations. Pattison will succeed Jennifer Remling, who is departing to assume the role of Chief People Officer at Warner Bros. Discovery.
Lindsay Pattison currently serves as WPP’s Global Chief Client Officer, overseeing WPP’s relationships with its major clients, a role she has held since 2018. In this capacity, she is responsible for developing and supporting the Global Client Leaders of the company’s largest clients, representing a substantial portion of WPP’s revenue. Before her current role, she held various leadership positions at WPP, GroupM, and the media agency Maxus.
Pattison has demonstrated a steadfast commitment to talent advocacy throughout her career and will bring her passion for talent development and her extensive business and client experience to her new role as Global Chief People Officer. She is dedicated to nurturing the best talent and implementing measures to enhance diversity at the highest levels of business, with a notable track record of delivering initiatives to improve gender diversity. As the CEO of Maxus, she launched ‘Walk The Talk,’ an initiative aimed at helping senior women reach their full potential. Upon transitioning to her current position, she sponsored the scheme globally for WPP, with over 3,000 female leaders participating to date across the world.
Pattison has also played a pivotal role on WPP’s Diversity & Inclusion Council, sponsored the Elevate program for Black female talent, and, in her capacity as a former President of WACL (Women in Advertising and Communications Leadership), provided mentorship to early-career talent across the industry.
In addition to her corporate roles, Lindsay Pattison serves as an independent non-executive director for Rugby World Cup (England 2025) Limited, which is responsible for delivering the Women’s Rugby World Cup in 2025. She is also a board member (including chair of the compensation committee) of Waldencast, the NASDAQ-listed global beauty and wellness company. Furthermore, she is an advisory board member for Planet First Partners, a fund focused on sustainable products and services, as well as a member of Meta’s Global Client Council and the UK EFFies advisory board, which is dedicated to promoting marketing effectiveness. Lindsay has served two terms on the WEF Global Agenda Council on the Future of Media, including a two-year tenure as co-chair.
Mark Read, CEO, WPP, commented, “Lindsay is extremely highly regarded across the industry as a leader who can identify and develop top talent, and as a trusted partner to global clients. She has a deep understanding of our business, people and culture, and her strong commercial focus will help to drive our future people strategy.”
“Jennifer has been an excellent partner to me, the rest of the executive team and the leaders of our agencies, and I’d like to thank her for everything she’s contributed to WPP and our agencies over the last seven years,” he added.
Lindsay Pattison said, “Our business and our clients succeed when we have the best, most highly motivated talent. Our most valuable assets are our people, and creating the culture and environment where they can do the work of their lives is both what excites me about this new role, and what will deliver results for our clients.”
Pattison and Jennifer Remling will work closely together on the transition until the end of the year, taking up their new positions in January 2024. An announcement regarding Pattison’s successor will be made shortly.
