WPP Appoints Baiju Shah as Chief Strategy Officer

Baiju Shah has been appointed WPP’s group Chief Strategy Officer, replacing Damian Blackden.

In this role, WPP has said Baiju responsibilities will include accelerating the delivery of its Elevate 28 strategy, while unlocking further corporate development opportunities across the company. To achieve this, he will be working closely with its management team and Board to help shape investments and operations in order to create long-term competitive advantages.

“Few leaders combine strategic thinking, technology expertise and a deep understanding of where client needs are heading as effectively as Baiju,” says Cindy Rose, CEO of WPP. “As WPP’s group Chief Strategy Officer, he will play a critical role in accelerating our Elevate28 strategy, helping to shape our investment priorities, anticipate the future needs of our clients and position WPP for the next wave of growth.”

Leading across WPP

Baiju has more than 25 years of experience – spanning strategy, creativity, technology and AI.

He has most recently been serving as the CEO of AKQA, a design, development and communications agency that was acquired by WPP in 2012. Baiju has said he will continue on in his CEO role alongside his new responsibilities as group Chief Strategy Officer

Before becoming CEO of AKQA, he spent roughly 17 years at Accenture Song – formerly known as Accenture Interactive – first as a Managing Director, before progressing to the Global Chief Strategy Officer and Global Gen AI Lead role. 

“The pace of change across technology, culture and business is creating entirely new opportunities for growth,” says Baiju. “As our clients look to adapt and compete in this new environment, WPP is uniquely positioned to help them create advantage. I'm excited to bring AKQA’s frontier perspective to a broader role and help WPP build what will matter most for our clients in the years ahead.”

Elevate 28

Baiju will play a key role in the deployment of the company’s Elevate 28 strategy, which was announced in February. 

This is a multi-year strategic plan designed to simplify WPP’s client proposition and restore growth following a 6.7% revenue decline in Q1 2026. This has involved the transition from a holding company structure to a single company, as WPP simplifies its business by offering solutions through four core operating units: WPP Media, WPP Creative, WPP Production and WPP Enterprise Solutions. 

This newly developed strategy also comes with a newly developed mission: to be the trusted growth partner for the world’s leading brands to help them navigate change, capture opportunity and deliver growth. 

WPP has said it will focus on stabilising the business in 2026, building momentum in 2027 and delivering accelerated growth from 2028. 

“Our recent underperformance has been driven by excessive organisational complexity, a lack of an integrated operating model and inconsistent strategic execution,” says Cindy. “While disappointing, I see huge potential as these issues are all within our power to fix and we’re already making great progress.

“We have everything we need to succeed: exceptional talent, world-class capabilities, trusted data and technology solutions and groundbreaking partnerships, as well as the scale and reach to service the most complex multi-national, multi-brand clients in the world. 

“The momentum we are seeing from the decisive action we’ve already taken gives me the confidence that we’re on the right path to creating a WPP that is fit for the future and built to win.”