{"id":15314,"date":"2018-04-15T13:43:14","date_gmt":"2018-04-15T21:43:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/associatednews.info\/content\/martin-sorrell-steps-down-as-ceo-of-worlds-largest-ad-company\/"},"modified":"2018-04-15T13:43:14","modified_gmt":"2018-04-15T21:43:14","slug":"martin-sorrell-steps-down-as-ceo-of-worlds-largest-ad-company","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/associatednews.info\/content\/martin-sorrell-steps-down-as-ceo-of-worlds-largest-ad-company\/","title":{"rendered":"Martin Sorrell Steps Down As CEO Of World's Largest Ad Company"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Camila Domonoske<\/a><\/span> <\/p>\n

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\n Martin Sorrell, the longtime CEO of WPP, attends a summit in June 2016, in London. He has stepped down after an investigation into alleged misconduct.<\/p>\n

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Neil Hall\/WPA Pool\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

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Neil Hall\/WPA Pool\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

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Martin Sorrell, the powerful CEO who turned WPP into the world’s largest advertising and PR firm, has resigned after allegations of misconduct.<\/p>\n

The misconduct reportedly involved misuse of company funds \u2014 though not at a level “material” to the massive organization \u2014 as well as “personal misconduct.”<\/p>\n

WPP has completed its investigation into the allegations, but has not released any public details about what the allegations were, or whether they were substantiated. Sorrell has denied that the allegations have merit.<\/p>\n

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Sorrell “will be treated as having retired,” WPP says in a statement. The Guardian reports<\/a> that Sorrell, 73, is due to receive in the neighborhood of £20 million ($28 million) as part of his exit.<\/p>\n

As NPR previously reported<\/a>:<\/p>\n

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“Sorrell is a giant in the global advertising industry, and one of Britain’s most prominent businessmen. He’s famously well-compensated, earning £210 million (nearly $300 million) over the course of 5 years in a controversial pay package that some shareholders resisted<\/a>.<\/p>\n

“Within the last year, he’s come under pressure because of his company’s performance \u2014 WPP has seen poorer-than-expected growth<\/a> and slumping stocks.<\/a><\/p>\n

“Sorrell, formerly the finance director at Saatchi & Saatchi, created WPP in the mid-’80s<\/a>. He invested in a manufacturing company called Wire and Plastic Products Plc, took over as chief executive and converted the company into a marketing firm. Through acquisition after acquisition, the renamed WPP Group grew from a small operation into a behemoth.<\/p>\n

“Today, it is the world’s largest advertising company, and Sorrell has been called<\/a> the world’s ‘most important advertising executive.’ “<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n

In a statement to employees at WPP \u2014 more than 200,000 of them \u2014 Sorrell described the company as a “family” and praised its growth over the last three decades.<\/p>\n