W

WPP Media

AI-native global media services network

Vice President Media Solutions - Development

Full-Time
No salary listed
Expert
London, UK
HybridFour days in the office per week are generally required.
Engineering ManagementEngineering Leadership

About the job

Requirements
  • Experience in martech technology delivery with a proven track record of developing and delivering commercially driven data and technology solutions.
  • Proven technical and user product management leadership focused on end-user experience and stable, robust platform development.
  • Experience leading the end-to-end software development cycle across large, complex, multidisciplinary media ecosystems for commercial benefit.
  • Experience with agentic capabilities and setting quality, agile development principles and best practices for solutions development.
  • A track record of translating high-level strategy into operational plans and delivering against them at scale.
  • Experience leading large, cross-functional departments and developing senior leaders.
  • Strategic understanding of the media planning and technology landscape, including programmatic, addressable, and data-driven media.
  • Experience operating in a complex, matrixed organisation and adapting global frameworks for local market needs.
Responsibilities
  • Translate the vision and strategy for Media Solutions in the UK into roadmap deliverables that reflect innovative media planning practices and drive client growth.
  • Translate the wider commercial strategy into actionable plans for the Solutions function and maintain alignment between organisational strategy and day-to-day delivery.
  • Set standards for product development and platform operations across the UK technology stack, including product, engineering, quality assurance, and release management processes.
  • Own, upskill, and inform the product management function for solutions; lead future-facing technology-stack design; establish agile ways of working; and implement and manage scrum.
  • Develop the technology strategy and Solutions architecture for the UK, build and innovate on globally developed products, and configure them where appropriate.
  • Ensure change management, quality assurance, and deliverables from internal and external development partners meet project and roadmap objectives.
  • Lead the Development function in managing priorities, deliverables, and quality standards for scaled solutions development.
  • Ensure Solutions development leverages WPP global and local technology, including Open Intelligence, Open Media Studio, and the broader WPP Open ecosystem.
  • Align global technology capabilities with UK market needs and drive the behavioural change required to maximise competitive advantage.
  • Own the relationship with the Data and Technology roadmap and set software development standards for the UK.
  • Create measurable quality benchmarks for solutions owners and engineers to deliver against the roadmap.
  • Ensure high-quality collaboration among Solutions design and development, Open, and global Media Solutions teams.
  • Build stakeholder relationships across WPP Media and establish structured processes to communicate team output, roadmap, and impact.
  • Embed the Solutions function within the wider WPP Media organisation as a strategic partner.
  • Set the technology strategy, own the roadmap and backlog, prioritise work, and deliver stable and robust technology.
  • Set standards for product and engineering agile practices and hold teams accountable for decision-making across solutions architecture, solutions ownership, platform operations, and WPP Open teams.
  • Establish investment cases and requirements-gathering standards for internal and external development teams.
  • Run third-party statements of work, negotiate with vendors, and manage offshore development teams.
  • Build and manage a collaborative, high-performing team with clear ways of working, roles, and responsibilities.
Desired Qualifications
  • Familiarity with the WPP Open platform ecosystem.

About the company

W

WPP Media

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WPP Media is a global media services arm that manages more than $60 billion in annual advertising investments for leading brands. It operates across a network of established agencies (Mindshare, Wavemaker, EssenceMediacom) and combines media planning, data, production, and commerce through its proprietary WPP Open platform. Its Open Intelligence data model uses real-time behavioral signals to drive predictive, faster, and smarter marketing campaigns. The company positions itself as an AI-native media collective, consolidating capabilities under a single technology stack to improve efficiency and scale for advertisers. Its goal is to help clients buy and optimize media more effectively by leveraging integrated data, advanced analytics, and automated execution at scale.

Company Size

51-200

Company Stage

N/A

Total Funding

N/A

Headquarters

New York City, New York

Founded

2003

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Simplify's Take

What believers are saying

  • August 6, 2026 results showed WPP Media's quarterly decline improved to 2.8%.
  • WPP appointed Laura Ryan chief media officer in 2026, strengthening investment and activation leadership.
  • Retail media and commerce promotions in October 2026 deepen WPP Media's linked commerce strategy.

What critics are saying

  • H1 2026 WPP Media revenue less pass-through costs fell 5.4%, showing client losses.
  • FTC sued GroupM on April 15, 2026 over alleged advertising collusion and demonetization practices.
  • Sindhuja Rai's October 2026 exit and APAC churn signal unstable leadership during restructuring.

What makes WPP Media unique

  • May 2025 rebrand unified GroupM into WPP Media around WPP Open and Open Intelligence.
  • WARC Media 100 ranked WPP Media first again on March 13, 2026.
  • WPP Media combines Mindshare, Wavemaker, and EssenceMediacom under shared data and commerce infrastructure.

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Benefits

  • Health Insurance
  • Vision Insurance
  • Dental Insurance
  • Paid Time Off
  • Hybrid Work Options
  • Remote Work Options
  • 401(k) Retirement Plan
  • Wellness Program
  • Mental Health Support
  • Paid Holidays
  • Paid Vacation
  • Gym Membership

Company News

Bandt
Oct 14th, 2026
WPP names Adam Gerhart global chief client officer.

WPP names Adam Gerhart global chief client officer. Published on: 15th October 2026 at 9:37 AM WPP has promoted Adam Gerhart as global chief client officer from his role as global chief client officer of WPP Media. In this role, Gerhart will be responsible for leading WPP's key global client relationships and overseeing the company's network of Global Client Leaders. Based in New York, he joins WPP's Executive Committee and reports to WPP's chief operating officer Devika Bulchandani. In his new position, Gerhart will expand and deepen client partnerships across WPP's integrated offerings, driving seamless cross-agency collaboration and harnessing the power of data, AI and creativity to solve clients' most complex growth challenges. Known for a relentless focus on client success and a proven ability to execute at scale globally, Gerhart will ensure WPP continuously anticipates and responds to the rapidly evolving needs of modern marketers. Adam brings a distinguished track record of driving transformative growth, modernising client partnerships and championing connected solutions across the global marketing landscape. A seasoned WPP leader who has served in roles ranging from strategist to global CEO, Gerhart most recently served as global chief client officer for WPP Media, embedding client-centricity at the heart of strategic decision-making. Prior to that, he was global CEO of Mindshare. "Adam has it all. He is a world-renowned agency executive and a fiercely dedicated client leader who is as brilliant in strategy conversations in New York as he is comfortable executing on the ground in China. There is simply no one better than Adam to represent the best of WPP to our clients," said Bulchandani. "WPP's greatest strength is the breadth of resources at our disposal - from world-class talent, to cutting edge AI and technology, to media transformation expertise. I look forward to bringing all of it to bear for our clients, to tackle their biggest opportunities," added Gerhart. Join more than 30,000 advertising industry experts Get all the latest advertising and media news direct to your inbox from B&T.

Mumbrella
Oct 14th, 2026
AI shopping agents set to become marketing's 'biggest battleground'

AI shopping agents set to become marketing's 'biggest battleground' October 14, 2026 4:08 WPP Media's Marc Lomas believes retail sites will ultimately have to "bend to the will of the consumer" The rise of AI shopping agents is poised to create the marketing industry's "biggest battleground" yet, as retailers and tech giants fight for control over how consumers discover and buy products, according to WPP Media's Marc Lomas. Speaking at WPP Media's Future Series event in Sydney, Lomas said a showdown was brewing over whether retailers allow third-party AI agents to browse and transact on their websites, or block them in favour of their own tools. His comments follow recent clashes in the US, where Amazon has moved to block AI agents such as Perplexity's Comet browser and Meta's shopping agent Muse. Lomas, who leads WPP Media Australia's commerce division, said agentic commerce's future would depend on retailers' willingness to open their platforms to third-party agents, as well as whether retailers "bend to the will of the consumer". Responding to an audience question about agentic AI's effect on retail media, Lomas said: "It's probably one of the biggest battlegrounds that we're seeing. "I think we're going through a lot of legal back and forth, especially in the US, and I think it's going to entirely depend on whether big marketplaces, and especially local big retailers, allow agents to transact on their site, and scan their site and browse their site, or we see a big payoff where they block those agents and bring in their own agents instead." Lomas was unable to predict what the final outcome would look like, but said that ultimately retailers would have to respond to consumer demand. "It's going to entirely depend on whether those sites open up to third-party agents," he said. "And also I think the level at which consumers adopt it, because those sites will have to also bend to the will of the consumer." Lomas noted that the shift is already gathering pace in Australia, with Google's Merchant Centre opening up agentic checkout to brands including Bunnings, Kogan and The Iconic. "Many more [retailers] have already signed up to this and are actively moving in this space," he added. Re-architecting. While tech giants face off in the US, Australian marketers will have plenty to do in the meantime to prepare for consumers adopting shopping agents in place of traditional search engines and browsing. WPP Media managing director of digital solutions Daniel Benton told the audience that brands would need to ensure their digital infrastructure was ready for AI agents to discover products and, increasingly, complete transactions on consumers' behalf. "We need to re-architect for agent action, so we need to make sure the tactical rails are in place," he said. "Everything that is available in the open internet is fuelling LLM discovery [and] understanding of your brand," Benton pointed to a case study involving an unnamed global consumer electronics company, which WPP Media worked with to rebuild its website to make it more accessible to AI systems and better answer the questions posed by large language models. The result of the project was that ChatGPT became the company's number one referral source and a "significant source of new revenue sets". "It is eminently achievable," he said. "It just requires cross-functional focus and some determination to get there," Benton said. "We need to own the interrogation and understand how our brands are showing up; understand what people are actually looking for and making sure there's no drift or gap or misconceptions in the results within AI." The rub, however, lies in measurement, with Benton saying marketers would need to establish entirely new benchmarks to understand AI's role in brand discovery and consumer behaviour. "Unfortunately, there's not a single class of measurement that actually solves for AI visibility or agentic commerce," he said. "Unlike with web analytics, where tools such as Adobe and Google Analytics that are quite self-contained, we will need to have a much more holistic approach to measurement." This, he explained, would ideally consist of AI visibility tracking, measurement of user agents, bots hitting sites, web analytics, referral traffic and data from marketing mix modelling to understand how the different factors interact. "There's a bit to be done," he added. "It is super exciting though." Eleanor Dickinson is a journalist with more than a decade of experience across the UK, Middle East, Asia and Australia. She served as editor of Mumbrella Asia from 2017 to 2018, before spending seven years reporting on technology in Australia. She returned to Mumbrella as chief reporter in September 2025. Have your say. Or comment anonymously Your comment will be marked as unverified

Marketing Mind
Oct 12th, 2026
Publicis Groupe appoints kristen Mascarenhas as Group Head.

Publicis Groupe appoints kristen Mascarenhas as Group Head. Kristen Mascarenhas takes on the role of Group Head at Starcom, following a brief stint at WPP Media and previous roles at Mindshare and Merkle Sokrati. Kristen Mascarenhas has joined Starcom, part of Publicis Groupe, as Group Head, following a brief stint at WPP Media. Mascarenhas announced the move on LinkedIn. She joins Starcom after spending around three months at WPP Media, where she took on the role of Associate Vice President - Client Services in August 2026. Prior to WPP Media, Mascarenhas spent over three years at Mindshare, joining the agency in August 2023 as Manager - The Exchange and later progressing to Director - The Exchange. Earlier, she had two stints at Merkle Sokrati. She first worked with the company as Associate Manager from February to October 2022 before rejoining in January 2023 as Manager - Business Strategy, a role she held for eight months. Found this useful? Share it with your team See more Marketing Mind stories on Google Add The Brand Sigma as a preferred source and its stories will show up more often in your Top Stories. Raman Goyal has been elevated to Senior Vice President at Niva Bupa Health Insurance, where he previously served as Vice... CheilX has appointed Tania Sinha to lead its Delhi office and oversee business expansion across the region. Sinha has joined...

exchange4media
Oct 10th, 2026
Veena Muley joins Nivea India as Integrated Media and Marketing Expert.

Veena Muley joins Nivea India as Integrated Media and Marketing Expert. Veena Muley was earlier with WPP media as Client Leadership Manager for Unilever account. Veena Muley has joined Nivea India as Integrated Media and Marketing Expert, moving from WPP Media, where she spent over four years working on media strategy and planning for Hindustan Unilever (HUL). Muley most recently served as Client Leadership Manager for the Unilever account at WPP Media, overseeing integrated media planning across television, YouTube, Connected TV, OTT and social media for brands, including Dove, Pears, Closeup, Pepsodent and the deodorants portfolio. During her tenure, she managed media budgets, audience targeting, campaign execution and performance analysis, while working with creative and research teams to align media strategies with brand objectives. Before this, she was an Integrated Media Planner for the Unilever account, handling media plans for HUL's oral care and deodorants businesses. Muley began her career at Star TV Network, where she spent over two years in ad sales. Her responsibilities included commercial bookings, inventory and spot planning across channels such as Star Movies, Star Gold and National Geographic. She also managed a team handling booking operations and revenue reporting.

afaqs!
Oct 9th, 2026
Amazon Ads, MMA Global and WPP Media launch full-funnel advertising playbook.

Amazon Ads, MMA Global and WPP Media launch full-funnel advertising playbook. The playbook highlights a gap between advertiser ambition and execution, with 82% aspiring to full-funnel advertising but only 18% reporting success. 09 Oct 2026 18:02 IST Amazon Ads, in collaboration with MMA Global India and WPP Media, has launched a playbook titled 'From Fragmentation to One View' to help Indian brands build connected and measurable advertising strategies across the consumer journey. The playbook identifies cross-channel measurement as the biggest barrier to full-funnel advertising, highlighting the need for brands to connect media investments with business outcomes. The number of touchpoints needed to drive 80% of purchase decisions has nearly doubled, from 12 in 2018 to 21 in 2024. Consumers now move between streaming, search and online shopping channels during their purchase journey, while advertising is often planned and measured in silos. A survey of senior Indian advertisers conducted by MMA Global India found that 62% cited a fragmented view of consumer journeys as their biggest advertising challenge, ahead of rising media costs, which were cited by 38%. While 82% of advertisers aspire to full-funnel execution, only 18% report being very successful at it. The playbook found that 67% identify the lack of unified cross-channel measurement as their biggest obstacle, while 69% say unified cross-channel attribution is the capability they need most. The findings point to a gap between advertisers' ambitions and their ability to connect different channels through a common measurement framework. The playbook also highlights a shift in how advertisers view retail media. Around 59% of Indian advertisers now consider it a full-funnel solution rather than just a conversion tool. Econometric modelling by WPP Media found that commerce spend drives 20-25% of offline sales impact, along with a 10-12% lift in brand awareness and an 18-20% impact on consideration. The findings indicate that retail media can contribute to both brand-building and performance objectives. The playbook outlines a five-step framework covering Diagnose, Architect, Allocate, Create and Measure. It includes case studies, best practices and budget allocation guidelines for categories such as FMCG, electronics, fashion and emerging sectors. It also features full-funnel measurement models based on Amazon Ads campaigns. Commenting on the launch, Gulshan Verma, director, Amazon Ads India, said, "Consumers move between search, streaming, browsing and shopping, creating signals of intent across every stage of their journey. Brands need a more connected view to understand what is driving outcomes, not just measure the last click. This playbook is designed to help marketers navigate that complexity. With insights from shopping, browsing and streaming, Amazon Ads helps brands build a more connected path from awareness to consideration to purchase, bringing together reach, insights and measurement to drive growth across the full funnel," Moneka Khurana, managing director & board member, marketing + Media Alliance (MMA) India, said, "Full-funnel isn't about being everywhere. It's about making every stage of the journey work as one. 82% of advertisers aspire to full-funnel execution, yet only 18% say they are very successful at it. That tells us the gap isn't ambition, it's integration. Brand and performance can't run on separate scorecards, retail media can't be boxed in as a conversion channel, and measurement can't stop at channel metrics. The real opportunity is one connected growth system that links media investment to business outcomes. This playbook gives marketers a practical, evidence-led roadmap to build it," Sairam Ranganathan, head of commerce, WPP Media India, said, "Consumers no longer experience brands through a linear funnel, and our approach to media cannot remain linear either. The opportunity for marketers is to move beyond thinking of commerce as a point of conversion and instead recognise its role across the entire growth journey, from building consideration and intent to driving action and measuring business outcomes. The next phase of media growth will come from connecting these moments, signals and investments into one coherent view of the consumer. This playbook is an important step in helping the industry make that shift - moving the full-funnel conversation from theory to practical, measurable execution,"