Michael Houston is WPP president of the US, the holding company’s largest market. He took the role in 2022 after 15 years within WPP agency Grey, where he was worldwide CEO from 2017 until joining WPP. Only four people has previously held this role in Grey’s 102-year history.
As president of the US, Michael is responsible for promoting WPP’s offering and collective capabilities, working with its agency CEOs, clients, partners and people team to realise the entirety of WPP’s global creative transformation agenda domestically in the United States. He is also a member of the WPP Executive Committee.
LBB’s Addison Capper caught up with Michael for a quickfire chat in which they discuss the importance of diplomacy in leadership, business, and creative opportunities within the biggest market in the world and, naturally, AI.
LBB> What’s the role of a president of the US for WPP? What are the similarities and differences between your time as worldwide CEO of Grey?
Michael> There are some similarities. Probably most similar is the growth focus. As a CEO, it is clearly what I was – and all of our CEOs are – responsible for. Country managers and the presidents of the countries are equally responsible, but how that manifests itself and my day-to-day responsibilities obviously are different. I don’t want to get too theoretical about it, but the way I think about it is really about viscosity and how sticky the system is. My role is to reduce that stickiness in the system as much as possible when it comes to all of the different companies. How do we get our companies to work seamlessly together, encourage collaboration, ensure that clients really have the view of the best and the brightest of WPP in the market? That in many ways is similar to a CEO role, it’s just multiple companies that I’m trying to work through.
LBB> How do you find that challenge of working across multiple brands, bringing them together and fostering collaboration?
Michael> I do think, historically – and this isn’t to pat myself on the back – one of the things that I’m decent at is diplomacy, and I think there’s a fair amount of diplomacy that is required in the role. And like all diplomacy, it comes down to the people. I’m fortunate that in the US, our people are amazing. I find it to be a real joy to work with them and don’t sense or feel a lot of tension. To me, it’s all upside. Even though the geography is not global, the remit is very wide.
LBB> As the biggest market in the world, what do you think the growth opportunities are for the USA? Due to its size and competition, is it tougher to find opportunities or the opposite?
Michael> I think it’s the opposite. And I have to believe that it’s the opposite. I think that is based on what the market is by definition and the way in which the United States operates from a business perspective. Given its breadth and the types of clients we have, whether it’s technology or the more stalwart CPG companies, they’re all here, and they all want to move into the future as aggressively as possible. So, to me, the opportunities are endless.
LBB> It’s a volatile time at the moment with elections on the horizon, how do you build and maintain culture across a US network of more than 25 thousand employees?
Michael> It starts with vision, principles and values. Even though the times can change, the underlying foundation of what we stand for should arise. Obviously, it’s about being a client service organisation that helps our clients grow through the power of creativity. What kind of values do we need in order to enable that? Well, we have them listed – being open, honest, transparent, collaborative, optimistic, extraordinary. If we truly live those, it doesn’t matter if it’s two people or 20,000 people – which it is, in the United States. If we all understand that those are the principles by which we have to operate, then any kind of change really is possible and can happen – back to viscosity – with as much ease as possible.
LBB> How is AI advancing your business?
Michael> Unlike two or three years ago, when we were all talking about the metaverse, people were saying it’s going to disrupt everything and turn everything upside down. But none of us could really figure out in what way that was going to happen. The difference with AI is that it is happening in real time and for almost everybody’s job. So, the way in which it’s impacting people varies based on what one’s role is, but there are very few people right now within WPP who aren’t being impacted by AI in their daily job. It could be something as simple as automating a very rote or administrative task down to our creatives who are using it for collaboration and inspiration and efficiency. I guess that’s a circuitous answer of saying, it is impacting every thing and every one. I think that’s a good thing and most of the people within WPP are embracing it, because there’s not really a great alternative.
LBB> Do you think it will lead to a reduction in jobs? Or just different opportunities?
Michael> The answer is yes and yes. I don’t think that that’s a bad thing. I look at it as many do. You can choose to be Blockbuster or we can choose to be Netflix. We’ve chosen that we will operate as Netflix did and we’re not going to give up necessarily because people stopped deciding to mail DVDs of their favourite movies. Instead, let’s move with the market. Let’s go where consumers are going and find ways to capitalise on the opportunities. That’s what AI is going to do. While some pieces of our business may go away, I would say that there are going to be even greater opportunities that will appear on the horizon.
LBB> The US is the biggest market in the world. Is it the most creative?
Michael> Who’s more creative, Monet or Van Gogh? It’s a very subjective question. But I think that given the size of the market, by extension, yes, there is a disproportionate amount of opportunity for creativity in the market. I don’t believe creativity is bound by geography. It can’t be bound by geography. But context is everything. And I think within the context of the US market, creative opportunities abound.
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