WPP has appointed Stephanie Ricke as Executive Vice President, Global Head of Marketing, marking a new chapter for a marketing leader whose career has been closely connected with Ogilvy for nearly two decades.

Stephanie announced the move after almost 19 years within the Ogilvy network, describing the experience as a formative period spanning marketing, client partnerships, leadership and work across businesses, disciplines and geographies.

She now moves into a group-level role at WPP, where she will work across agencies, regions and markets to strengthen the company's brand and bring greater visibility to the work and capabilities across its network.

From The Lacek Group to Ogilvy

Stephanie's career at Ogilvy began with The Lacek Group, where she spent her first decade in the agency business. Her early experience included work with Starwood on SPG, giving her a foundation in loyalty and customer relationship marketing, brand building and client partnerships.

She subsequently moved into the broader Ogilvy organization in New York, where her responsibilities expanded across businesses, disciplines, geographies and clients.

Her LinkedIn profile reflects a long career within Ogilvy, including senior leadership and client-facing work across major brands.

A new vantage point within WPP

In her new role, Stephanie will bring that agency experience to WPP at a time when the group is reshaping how its global capabilities are organized and presented to clients.

WPP announced a multi-year strategy in 2026 focused on simplifying and integrating its client proposition, with the company organized around four operating units and its WPP Open platform. The strategy is designed to make WPP easier to work with while combining creativity, media, production, technology, data and AI.

Stephanie's mandate aligns closely with that direction. She will partner with leaders across WPP's agencies, regions and markets to harness the company's collective capabilities, strengthen WPP as a customer-facing brand and elevate the work being produced across the network.

Building the WPP brand

A central part of Stephanie's new role will be making the breadth of WPP more visible and coherent to customers.

Her mandate includes helping position WPP as a distinctive brand, showcasing the thinking and work coming from its agencies, and supporting growth across the wider organization.

That places her experience in brand building and client partnerships at the center of a broader group-level responsibility.

Carrying the Ogilvy experience forward

Stephanie's move also represents a transition from building brands and client relationships within an agency network to helping shape the identity of the wider group.

Reflecting on her time at Ogilvy, she credited the leaders, colleagues, teams and clients who shaped her approach to marketing and leadership. Her next role gives her an opportunity to apply those lessons across a much broader WPP ecosystem.

For WPP, the appointment adds a marketing leader with extensive experience across agency disciplines and client relationships as the company continues its transformation around integrated capabilities, AI and its WPP Open platform.

About WPP

WPP is a global marketing and transformation company bringing together capabilities across media, creativity, production and enterprise solutions. The company is increasingly focused on integrating these capabilities through WPP Open, its agentic marketing platform, as it positions itself as a growth partner for global brands navigating AI and changing consumer behavior.