In a notable leadership shift in the global advertising industry, Laurent Ezekiel, Chief Marketing Officer of WPP and CEO of bespoke Coca-Cola agency Open X, has announced his return to Publicis Groupe.
Ezekiel originally joined WPP in 2019 after a successful stint at Publicis, becoming WPP’s first global CMO. He later took on the role of CEO at Open X in 2021, where he led the integration of WPP talent to serve Coca-Cola’s global marketing needs across creative, media, production, and more.
His return to Publicis follows Coca-Cola’s $700 million move of its North American media business from WPP to Publicis, further boosting the latter’s momentum after wins from Mars and Paramount.
Coca-Cola has acknowledged Ezekiel’s instrumental role in shaping Open X’s agile, integrated marketing model. While the brand has renewed its partnership with WPP on key fronts such as StudioX, it is now working with WPP to appoint Ezekiel’s successor.
Ezekiel’s departure adds to recent challenges for WPP, which is navigating client budget pressures and a slowdown in new business.
