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Martin Sorrell

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Sir Martin Sorrell
Sorrell in 2022
Born
Martin Stuart Sorrell

(1945-02-14) 14 February 1945 (age 79)
London, England
EducationHaberdashers' Boys' School, Elstree
Alma materChrist's College, Cambridge
Harvard University
OccupationBusinessman
Known forSaatchi & Saatchi
WPP Group
S4 Capital
Spouses
Sandra Finestone
​
​
(m. 1970⁠–⁠2005)​
Cristiana Falcone-Sorrell
​
​
(m. 2008)​
Children4, including Jonathan Sorrell

Sir Martin Stuart Sorrell (born 14 February 1945) is a British businessman and the founder of WPP plc, the world's largest advertising and PR group, both by revenue and the number of staff. Upon being ousted in April 2018 following an investigation by WPP's board into personal conduct and use of company money,[1] Sorrell was the longest-serving chief executive of a FTSE 100 company.[2][3]

He is consistently one of the UK's highest-paid corporate executives.[4] According to The Sunday Times Rich List in 2019, Sorrell is worth £368 million.[5] Sorrell has served on boards and advisory bodies of a number of high-profile public, academic and business organisations, including several leading business schools, both in the UK and internationally.

Early life and education

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Martin Stuart Sorrell was born in London on 14 February 1945 to a Jewish family: his father was an electronics retailer,[6][7] whose ancestors came from Ukraine, Poland and Romania.[8] He was educated at the independent Haberdashers' Boys' School, then studied economics at Christ's College, Cambridge,[9] and gained an MBA from Harvard University in 1968.[6][10][11]

Career

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Early career

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Sorrell joined Glendinning Associates, then James Gulliver and then worked for the sports agent Mark McCormack.[12] He joined Saatchi & Saatchi in 1975, and was group finance director from 1977 until 1984. Often referred to as "the third brother",[13] he identified and oversaw many of Saatchi's agency acquisitions.[citation needed] Sorrell undertook this by refining the practice of the ‘earn-out’.[citation needed]

WPP

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In 1985, Sorrell privately invested in Wire and Plastic Products plc, a British wire shopping basket manufacturer, and joined it full-time as chief executive in 1986.[2] He began to acquire "below-the-line" advertising-related companies, purchasing 18 in three years, including in 1987 when he stunned the agency world with a $566 million hostile takeover of J. Walter Thompson.

Sorrell followed this in 1989 with another dramatic hostile $825 million buy of Ogilvy and Mather. Group chairman David Ogilvy publicly referred to Sorrell as an "odious little shit".[14]

Since 2000, WPP also acquired two more integrated, global agency networks, Young & Rubicam and Grey.[15]

In June 2008 WPP drew criticism for the involvement of an agency, 'Imago', in which WPP's Y&R subsidiary held a minority interest, with the ZANU-PF presidential campaign in Zimbabwe. A report by the Financial Times[16] found out that Imago was employed by Robert Mugabe's campaign for reelection to the presidency of Zimbabwe. WPP subsequently divested Y&R's minority interests in Zimbabwe.[17]

In 2012, Sorrell almost sold WPP to Berkshire Hathaway. According to Sorrell, over lunch at the Hyatt Hotel in Washington, Warren Buffett offered 925p per share, or a 20% premium over the then share price.[18]

In 2014, Sorrell received total compensation from WPP of GBP £40 million, his largest annual total since £53 million in 2004.[19]

In August 2017, Sorrel said that "digital disruption" was forcing companies to change their business models and reach customers in different ways when shares in WPP fell by more than 10% at the start of trading after the advertising giant reported slowing sales and warned about future growth.[20]

In September 2017, Sorrell criticised the marketing industry, arguing it is "too competitive" and that agencies value winning contracts, whether they are profitable or not, over content since making the headlines in a trade magazine is more important.[21]

In 2017, Sorrell became the longest-serving CEO of any company featured in the U.K.'s benchmark FTSE 100 Index – having stewarded WPP since 1985. Sorrell left WPP in 2018.

In 2005 his pay was £2.42 million including cash and bonuses.[22] Further he exercised £52 million in share options, was entitled to a further £5.8million in stock, and deferred further options on another 2.65 million shares valued at £15 million until 2008.[23] In 2011 Sorrell's pay package increased by 70% to £4.5 million after WPP's pre-tax profits rose 28%.[24] In October 2011 Sorrell went on the BBC to defend large increases in his and other CEO pay packages[25] at a time when real average wages in the Western world were declining.[26][27]

S4 Capital

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In May 2018, Sorrell acquired Derriston Capital, a cash shell listed on the London Stock Exchange, with plans to create a marketing company called S4 Capital. Sorrell invested $53 million of his money, and raised $15 million more from investors.[28] In July 2018, S4 Capital purchased MediaMonks (now known as Monks) for $350 million, using a share issue to fund the purchase.[29] Sorrell's previous employer, WPP, claimed that he was using confidential information by pursuing the deal.[30] In December 2018, S4 Capital purchased MightyHive for $150 million.[31] In June 2019, S4 Capital acquired the Melbourne company BizTech.[32] By this point, the company had 1,300 employees,[33] including a number of ex-WPP employees.[34] In October 2019, MightyHive announced that it was merging with ConversionWorks, a company which works with Boots, Diageo and Giffgaff.[35][36] Other mergers include TheoremOne,[37] and XX Artists, both in 2022.[38]

Controversies

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In 2017, following criticism about his pay from investors, Sorrell agreed to a pay cut that would have reduced his salary from £46 million in 2016 to £13 million by 2021.[39]

In April 2018, Sorrell left WPP after 33 years, following allegations of personal misconduct and misuse of company assets. Sorrell has denied the allegations.[40]

The Financial Times in an investigation around the circumstances of his departure from WPP has commented that what “emerged is a picture of routine verbal abuse of underlings and a blending of Sir Martin’s corporate and private life that jarred with some colleagues — particularly over his company expenditure, some of which was also extended to his wife”. This included allegations that Sorrell visited a brothel paid for with company funds. Sorrell has denied these allegations.[41][42][43][44]

As of April 2021, WPP and Martin Sorrell remain entangled in a legal battle over a disputed payout over allegedly leaked information to media following Martin Sorrell's resignation.[45]

Other interests

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Martin Sorrell in 2008

In 1997, he was appointed an ambassador for British business by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and subsequently appointed to the Office's Panel 2000 aimed at rebranding Britain abroad. In 1999 he was appointed by the secretary of state for education and employment to serve on the Council for Excellence in Management and Leadership.

He is chairman of the Global Advisory Board of the Centre for International Business and Management (CIBAM), at the University of Cambridge, UK.[46] In 1998, he was appointed to the board of directors of associates of Harvard Business School and to the board of the Indian School of Business.[15]

On behalf of New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, he chaired Media.NYC.2020,[47] which reviewed the future of the global media industry, the implications for NYC, and suggested actionable next steps for the NYC government.

Sorrell was a "Remainer" in the run up to the Brexit referendum,[48] and has expressed support for a second referendum on EU membership once the Brexit terms have been finalized, stating that when "we finally see what the terms are of Brexit, then the electorate can be asked to reconfirm in whichever way possible, referendum or general election platform, that they still want to go ahead.”[49] He also justified new investments in France, Germany, Italy and Spain as a means to protect WPP against immigration caps following Brexit, emphasising the importance of freedom of movement of WPP's work force, 17 per cent of which are from EU countries other than the UK.[50]

Personal life

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Sorrell was first married to Sandra Finestone, with whom he has three sons, but the marriage broke down in 2003. In October 2005, he cashed in £12 million of WPP shares to fund the divorce settlement,[51] in which Ms. Finestone, represented by Nicholas Mostyn QC, was awarded £30 million including: a £3.25m four-storey Georgian townhouse; two Harrods underground car parking spaces worth around £90,000 each; £23.5m in cash; £2m in bank deposits; and other assets including stocks and shares.[51][52] Despite the divorce settlement, Sorrell still had 13 million shares in WPP, an estimated £80m stake, following the divorce, representing around 1% of the company, plus his 2005 pay settlement award.[51]

The divorce settlement was unusual in being a 60/40 split in favour of Sorrell — a break from the previously established policy of a 50/50 split even in big-money divorces since an influential ruling by Appeal Court Justice Mathew Thorpe in the 2002 divorce between Harry and Shan Lambert established that the contribution to the household of non-working wives should be considered equal to their husbands'.[52] In the Lambert judgement, Lord Justice Thorpe stated that "special contribution remains a legitimate possibility but only in exceptional circumstances"; Sorrell was the first husband deemed to have met that criterion in a subsequent divorce settlement, with Mr Justice Bennett citing Sorrell's "special contribution" to the family's wealth in justification.[52]

Sorrell's three sons, Mark, Jonathan, and Robert, all followed him to Cambridge and later joined Goldman Sachs.[53] Jonathan Sorrell is president of the hedge fund Man Group.[54]

Sorrell next married Cristiana Falcone, director of media and entertainment industries at the World Economic Forum.[55] In February 2020 Falcone announced she was divorcing Sorrell, after twelve years of marriage, and he has described the process as sad and unpleasant.[56]

In April 2021, Sorrell was dating Caroline Michel, a literary agent whose clients include Bear Grylls.[57]

Recognition

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He was knighted in the 2000 New Year Honours.[58] On 27 September 2007, Sorrell was awarded the Harvard Business School’s highest honour, the Alumni Achievement Award, by Dean Jay O. Light. The award was also given to: Ayala Corp. chair Jaime Augusto Zobel de Ayala, A. Malachi Mixon of Invacare, Donna Dubinsky and Hansjörg Wyss of Synthes.[59] In 2015 he was a Trustee of the British Museum.[60]

References

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  1. ^ "Subscribe to read". www.ft.com. Retrieved 29 October 2024. {{cite web}}: Cite uses generic title (help)
  2. ^ a b "Who is Martin Sorrell, the UK's longest serving chief executive of a FTSE 100 company?". The Independent. 15 April 2018. Retrieved 9 May 2018.
  3. ^ "Martin Sorrell's S4 Capital boosts profits". 4 May 2021.
  4. ^ "WPP to cut Sir Martin Sorrell's pay in bid to calm investors". The Guardian. 28 April 2017. Retrieved 11 June 2018.
  5. ^ Times, The Sunday (12 May 2019). "Rich List 2019: profiles 351-399=, featuring the Queen, Elton John and David Beckham". The Times. ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved 12 November 2019.
  6. ^ a b William D. Rubinstein; Michael Jolles; Hilary L. Rubinstein (22 February 2011). The Palgrave Dictionary of Anglo-Jewish History. Palgrave Macmillan. pp. 939–940. ISBN 978-1-4039-3910-4. Retrieved 20 April 2016.
  7. ^ "Top Jewish earners". Somethingjewish.co.uk. Archived from the original on 14 June 2009. Retrieved 19 April 2011.
  8. ^ "The other side of Sir Martin Sorrell". Campaign India. 10 November 2009. Retrieved 26 April 2010.
  9. ^ "Martin Sorrell". Christ's College Cambridge. Retrieved 14 April 2018.
  10. ^ Benjamin, Todd (16 December 2005). "Martin Sorrell: Persistence and determination". CNN International. Retrieved 26 October 2010.
  11. ^ "Sir Martin S. Sorrell, MBA 1968". Harvard Business School. January 2007. Retrieved 14 April 2018.
  12. ^ Reece, Damian (26 March 2005). "The Interview: Celebrating 60 and two decades of worldwide growth – Business Analysis & Features". The Independent. UK. Archived from the original on 21 January 2008. Retrieved 19 April 2011.
  13. ^ "Ad Age Advertising Century: People: Martin Sorrell". Advertising Age. Archived from the original on 19 May 2011. Retrieved 19 April 2011.
  14. ^ Roman, Kenneth (2010). The King of Madison Avenue: David Ogilvy and the Making of Modern Advertising. St. Martin's Publishing Group. p. 186. ISBN 978-0-230-61834-3.
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  16. ^ "/ UK – Campaign link forces WPP sale". Financial Times. 20 June 2008. Archived from the original on 11 December 2022. Retrieved 19 April 2011.
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  19. ^ Farrell, Sean (17 March 2015). "WPP's Martin Sorrell gets £36m payout for 2014 under contentious share plan". The Guardian. Retrieved 22 April 2015.
  20. ^ "WPP cuts growth forecast as second quarter sales slow - BBC News". BBC. Retrieved 23 August 2017.
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  23. ^ Snoddy, Raymond (2 January 2006). "Sir Martin Sorrell: Full of Eastern promise". The Independent. UK. Archived from the original on 6 September 2008. Retrieved 19 April 2011.
  24. ^ Sweney, Mark (28 April 2011). "Sir Martin Sorrell's pay rises to £4.5m". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 28 October 2011.
  25. ^ Martin Sorrell (28 October 2011). Sir Martin Sorrell defends top pay. British Broadcasting Corporation.
  26. ^ "Week 42, 2011: UK Real Average Wage". Economic Research Council. 21 October 2011. Archived from the original on 25 April 2012. Retrieved 28 October 2011.
  27. ^ Mandel, Michael (3 November 2008). "Real Wages Continue to Fall". Business Week. Archived from the original on 25 December 2008. Retrieved 28 October 2011.
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  29. ^ "WPP vs. S4: Sorrell's Approach To Building An Empire, Then And Now". 12 September 2018. Retrieved 5 December 2018.
  30. ^ "Sir Martin Sorrell beats WPP in the race to buy MediaMonks — but is losing a £20 million payout in the process". 10 July 2018. Retrieved 5 December 2018.
  31. ^ "Martin Sorrell's S4 buys ad firm MightyHive in $150m deal". TheGuardian.com. 4 December 2018. Retrieved 5 December 2018.
  32. ^ "Deal-maker Sir Martin Sorrell snaps up BizTech as S4 Capital goes global". 21 June 2019. Retrieved 26 June 2019.
  33. ^ "Sorrell's S4 Capital has doubled its headcount in under a year". 29 May 2019. Retrieved 26 June 2019.
  34. ^ "S4 Capital hires more ex-WPP execs to bolster international growth". 12 June 2019. Retrieved 26 June 2019.
  35. ^ insider.co.uk (28 October 2019). "Advertising tycoon makes a new Korea move". businessInsider. Retrieved 31 October 2019.
  36. ^ "Sir Martin Sorrell takes swipe at WPP". uk.finance.yahoo.com. Retrieved 3 February 2020.
  37. ^ "S4 Capital confirms TheoremOne and Media.Monks merger". TheDrum. 16 May 2022. Retrieved 6 February 2023.
  38. ^ Ralph, Alex. "S4 Capital merges Media.Monks with XX Artists". TheTimes. Retrieved 6 February 2023.
  39. ^ Sweney, Mark (29 April 2017). "Martin Sorrell and the sunset of the superstar chief executives". The Observer. ISSN 0029-7712. Retrieved 24 October 2017.
  40. ^ "WPP CEO Sorrell Quits After Three Decades at Top of Ad World". Bloomberg.com. 14 April 2018. Retrieved 14 April 2018.
  41. ^ Auletta, Ken (17 April 2018). "The Rise, Reign, and Fall of W.P.P.'s Martin Sorrell". The New Yorker. Retrieved 3 February 2020.
  42. ^ "Martin Sorrell's downfall: why the ad king left WPP". Financial Times. June 2018. Archived from the original on 11 December 2022. Retrieved 30 March 2019.
  43. ^ Davies, Rob (12 June 2018). "The allegations against WPP's former chief, Martin Sorrell, pile up". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 30 March 2019.
  44. ^ Kostov, Nick; Vranica, Suzanne (9 June 2018). "WPP Probed Whether Former CEO Martin Sorrell Used Company Money for a Prostitute". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved 30 March 2019.
  45. ^ Sweney, Mark (30 April 2021). "Martin Sorrell in legal battle with former employer WPP over payout". The Guardian. Retrieved 3 May 2021.
  46. ^ "Judge Business School: Faculty & Research - Centre for International Business & Management (CIBAM)". Archived from the original on 28 June 2008. Retrieved 9 July 2008.
  47. ^ Strauss, Steven; Kristy Sundjaja; Peter Robinson; Andrew Chen (2012). Media.NYC.2020 (PDF). NYCEDC. Archived from the original (PDF) on 3 April 2014. Retrieved 7 July 2013.
  48. ^ CNBC (17 January 2017). "CNBC Transcript: Interview with Sir Martin Sorrell". CNBC. Retrieved 24 October 2017.
  49. ^ Turvill, William (24 August 2016). "WPP chief and Remain campaigner Martin Sorrell wants second EU vote". Retrieved 24 October 2017.
  50. ^ "Sir Martin Sorrell: WPP is investing in Europe to protect against Brexit immigration curbs". Business Insider France (in French). Retrieved 24 October 2017.
  51. ^ a b c "Divorce forces Sorrell to cash in £12m of WPP shares". Brand Republic. 21 December 2005. Archived from the original on 9 July 2008.
  52. ^ a b c Sherwood, Bob (25 October 2005). "Sorrell breaks trend in divorce settlement". Financial Times. Archived from the original on 11 December 2022. Retrieved 21 December 2015.
  53. ^ "WPP's Sir Martin Sorrell is Britain's Most Admired Leader 2012". Managementtoday.co.uk. 3 December 2012. Retrieved 22 April 2016.
  54. ^ "Jonathan Sorrell - Man Group". www.man.com.[permanent dead link]
  55. ^ Gwyther, Matthew (3 December 2012). "Sir Martin Sorrell: 'Losing something still gets to me'". Management Today.
  56. ^ Oliver Shah, “Martin Sorrell interview: WPP is no longer fit for purpose — and we’re here to disrupt it” in The Sunday Times, 6 September 2020, accessed 6 September 2020 (subscription required)
  57. ^ Jamie Nimmo, Nothing’s impossible for romantic Sorrell, The Sunday Times, 18 April 2021, accessed 19 April 2021
  58. ^ "13. Sir Martin Sorrell | Media". The Guardian. Retrieved 22 April 2016.
  59. ^ Abs-Cbn Interactive, JAZA receives Harvard alumni award[dead link]
  60. ^ The British Museum Trustees, British Museum, accessed 31 March 2015
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