At the Techonomy conference in New York this week, WPP’s ex-CEO Sir Martin Sorrell told the audience he has no intentions going away anytime soon, stating: “I’m going to start again. I’m not going into voluntary or involuntary retirement.”
This announcement comes a little more than a month after WPP said they launched an investigation into the allegations of “personal misconduct” against Sorrell, which was followed by his abrupt departure from the company, after serving 33 years as the leader of the world’s largest ad industry holding.
Sorrell described his exit as being “extracted” in a conversation with Techonomy CEO and author David Kirkpatrick, adding that he “can see much more clearly” where the traditional advertising model’s strengths and weaknesses lie now that he is no longer directly involved in its day-to-day operations, Adweek reported.
However, when asked about his concrete plans going forward, Sorrell declined to comment, which leaves space to speculations. Some even suggest that, thanks to the non-existence of a non-compete clause with his now former company WPP, Sorrell could even start a new holding company, leaning on his long experience and reputation in the ad industry.
In 2017, estimates placed Sorrell’s net worth at approximately $700 million. At one point, he was the highest-paid executive in the United Kingdom.
