Former WPP Boss Mark Read to Chair Kantar Media

Kantar Media has appointed former WPP Chief Exec Mark Read as Chairman of its new Board of Directors.

Kantar Media operates in more than 60 markets and offers audience measurement, cross-media analytics and media validation tools. Its sale to London-based investment firm H.I.G. Capital was announced in January and completed in August, with the divestment reducing Kantar's total revenue by around 15%. The newly formed Board is the first, fully independent Board for the company, which also appointed Rainer Fuchs as CFO in September.

Read announced in June that he would be stepping down as CEO of WPP after more than 30 years with the group - he remains on its Board until December 31st. The global marcoms group has since found a new CEO in Cindy Rose. Read (pictured) co-founded and developed start-up company WebRewards and was a principal at consultancy Booz Allen & Hamilton, before joining WPP. Here he was Head of Strategy for WPP Digital, then its CEO for a dozen years, before taking over as Global CEO of Wunderman from 2015. He was made WPP Group COO in April 2018 and with the departure of Sir Martin Sorrell was appointed to the Group CEO job shortly after.

'We are honoured that Mark has chosen to join Kantar Media's Board at a pivotal moment in our company's journey,' says Kantar Media CEO Patrick Béhar. 'Mark combines deep strategic thinking with practical experience in transformation, data and AI, and most importantly he shares our ambition to transform the industry by bringing clarity to a complex landscape.'

H.I.G. Capital MD Nishant Nayyar says the appointment underscores his firm's commitment to backing Kantar Media with exceptional leadership. He adds that Read's 'deep industry knowledge and proven track record in driving transformation and innovation will be invaluable as Patrick and his team take the company into its next phase of growth.'

Home page: www.kantarmedia.com .

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