Jon Cook, global CEO of VML and WPP Creative, is leaving WPP after three decades to pursue the "next chapter" of his career, according to a company release.

Eric Campbell, currently North America CEO of VML and WPP Creative, will succeed Cook as global CEO of VML. Campbell will keep his North American remit with WPP Creative alongside the new global role.

The handover will take time. Cook stays in position until March 2027 to allow what the release called a "seamless" transition for Campbell. Cook described the decision to step down as one of the most difficult he has had to make.

"After three decades of pouring everything I have into this agency and all of WPP," Cook said, "it is time to build something new."

The 30-month runway is unusually long for an agency leadership change. It gives Campbell, who already runs the network's largest region, years to take ownership of the global operation before Cook formally departs — and gives WPP stability at the top of its largest creative brand while clients watch how the transition plays out.