Executive Director, WPP Network Growth

Who We Are WPP Enterprise Solutions designs, builds, and operates the growth systems that competitive businesses rely on. In a world where Al is reshaping how companies drive growth, we lead clients in business transformation and marketing modernization, connecting strategy directly to execution. Our 12,000 experts in engineering and platforms, commerce, consulting, content transformation, CRM, and CX work within a unified global operating unit across 40+ markets. WPP Enterprise Solutions works alongside best-in-class partners including Adobe, AWS, Braze, Google, Microsoft, Salesforce, and Shopify, as well as innovators in AI, to deliver growth solutions tailored to the needs of our clients’ businesses. VML, part of WPP, supports WPP Enterprise Solutions by helping brands activate transformation through creativity and experience.

Executive Director, WPP Network Growth Reports to Head of WPP Network Growth

Level Executive Director

Location / hub New York, Chicago or London preferred

Remit Global remit, hub-based. Senior deputy role beneath the Head of WPP Network Growth.

ROLE MANDATE Act as senior deputy to the Head of WPP Network Growth, leading high-priority ES opportunity activation across WPP Creative, WPP Media, WPP Open, agencies and priority client-team relationships.

WHY THIS ROLE EXISTS WPP Network Growth needs a senior operator who can move across the WPP ecosystem, translate opportunity signals into qualified ES pursuits, and create visible momentum while the broader ES operating model matures.

Core Responsibilities

• Own a portfolio of priority WPP-sourced ES opportunities and ensure every opportunity has a clear owner, route, value case and next action.
• Engage senior agency leaders, GCLs and client-team leads to identify where ES can expand or accelerate existing WPP relationships.
• Convert early signals into qualified ES pursuits, including opportunity briefs, client problem framing, potential solution path and support requirements.
• Define the ES activation support required for each opportunity and route requests into the appropriate ES leaders.
• Coordinate closely with Growth Architecture when a WPP-sourced opportunity is complex, multi-pillar, technical or commercially ambiguous.
• Maintain visibility of active pursuits, blockers, conversion status and escalation needs for the Head of WPP Network Growth.
• Model the expected working standard for the Network Growth team: commercial, low-ego, fast, precise and collaborative.

CANDIDATE PROFILE

• Senior agency, consulting or enterprise growth leader with proven experience operating across complex matrix organizations.
• Credible with agency leadership, GCLs, client-team leads and senior client stakeholders.
• Strong commercial judgment; can distinguish real ES opportunities from general interest or internal noise.
• Multi-disciplinary literacy across creative, media, CRM, data, AI, commerce, martech, content and platform transformation.
• Excellent writer and briefer; able to turn ambiguity into a focused opportunity narrative quickly.
• AI-enabled working style, using modern tools to accelerate research, synthesis, briefs, POVs and follow-up.
• Low-ego orchestration style; able to influence through the network without creating ownership tension.

KEY RELATIONSHIPS

• Head of WPP Network Growth and wider Growth leadership.
• WPP Creative, WPP Media, WPP Open and agency client teams.
• GCLs and priority account teams where ES opportunities are present.
• Growth Architecture & Enterprise Sales for complex or ambiguous opportunities.
• ES Pillar Leads, Consulting / Advisory, Alliances, Pursuit Excellence and Growth Operations.

SUCCESS MEASURES

• Qualified ES pipeline sourced through WPP relationships.
• Conversion from WPP signal to qualified ES opportunity.
• Speed from signal to next action / routed activation request.
• Senior stakeholder confidence from agencies, GCLs, ES leadership and Growth leadership.
• Visible reduction in stalled or unclear WPP-sourced ES opportunities.

FIRST 90-DAY FOCUS

• Create an initial priority opportunity map across WPP Creative, WPP Media, WPP Open, agencies and GCL / client-team relationships.
• Establish weekly operating rhythm with the Head of WPP Network Growth and Growth Operations.
• Take ownership of the highest-priority live WPP-sourced ES opportunities.
• Define a repeatable standard for opportunity briefs, …