WPP Hires Argos Chief as New CFO

UK-based marcoms giant WPP has appointed Argos CEO John Rogers as Chief Financial Officer, replacing Paul Richardson who is retiring from the company. Rogers will join the group and its Board in early 2020.

Richardson announced his retirement a year ago, after 22 years with WPP. Rogers (pictured) will take over on an annual salary of £740k, after overseeing Sainsbury's retailer Argos, and having previously been CFO of J Sainsbury. He has also held several other senior roles at J Sainsbury, before which he was Group Finance Director of Hanover Acceptances Ltd, and held senior positions with Monitor Company (now part of Deloitte) and Arthur Andersen. In addition, Rogers is a member of the Sainsbury's Bank plc Board, a Non-Executive Director of Travis Perkins plc and a member of The Prince's Accounting for Sustainability Advisory Council. He also sits on the Retail Sector Council, which acts as a point of liaison between the UK Government and retail sector.

In his new role, Rogers will enjoy perks such as an annual bonus of up to 225% of salary; a cash allowance of 10% of salary in lieu of pension; and a benefits allowance of £30k per annum to cover health, risk and other benefits. Commenting on the appointment, WPP CEO Mark Read, said: 'John's 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. I would like to thank Paul for his tremendous contribution over more than two decades with the company, and for his part in making WPP the world leader it is today'.

Read is currently driving a turnaround strategy and in March announced a formal process to sell a majority stake in Kantar - home to the agencies formerly known as TNS, Millward Brown and Lightspeed. This culminated in July with the announcement that Bain Capital would take 60% of the company, in a deal Valuing the whole of Kantar at around £3.2bn ($4.0bn).

Web site: www.wpp.com .

All articles 2006-23 written and edited by Mel Crowther and/or Nick Thomas, 2024- by Nick Thomas, unless otherwise stated.