WPP's First US Chief Client Officer Bets on AI and CTV Performance

WPP hired Angela Steele this year as its first US chief client officer, betting that AI-centered workflows and simpler operations will win marketers demanding provable results from every channel, including TV. The appointment follows Cindy Rose taking the helm of the holding company in late 2025.

Steele, a holdco veteran who joined from a career spanning senior agency roles, describes WPP's positioning under Rose as becoming a "trusted growth partner" rather than a vendor. The phrase may read as agency boilerplate. In practice, Steele said, it means "centering AI workflows, simplifying operations and better understanding and achieving clients' media performance goals."

What is WPP actually building?

Two products anchor the pitch. The first is Open Intelligence, part of WPP Open, the company's AI-driven marketing platform. Open Intelligence merges insights across client and partner portfolios so advertisers can identify new sources of growth, and it lets marketers visualize how data inputs could influence media performance.

The second is a business intelligence interface that answers direct client questions — a replacement for the traditional dashboard. Clients can ask how to enhance media plans, how well campaigns are working and what can be optimized in-flight.

The products exist; independent evidence of client outcomes is not part of the conversation yet. That gap between platform claims and verified results is the one Steele's mandate will be judged on.

Why CTV now sits in the performance conversation

For Steele, connected TV (streaming ad inventory bought with digital targeting) "comes closest to offering all of the value advertisers need across the marketing funnel." Performance in CTV no longer means just post-campaign measurement reporting, she argued. It also means applying campaign and audience insights earlier in planning, so advertisers can use faster feedback loops to shape audience targeting and creative.

"An audience-led approach in CTV is a big strategic advantage," she said — a claim the industry has made before, and one that still depends on agencies and tech partners shortening feedback turnaround.

How much power should AI hold?

Steele's answer is calibrated rather than maximalist. "At WPP, we believe AI is the enabler of the tasks at hand," she said, noting it is built into both operations and technology and lets teams work "better and faster, which improves campaign results for clients." The caveat follows immediately: "we still need humans asking the right questions to ultimately guide the AI in the right direction." Awareness, consideration or performance — humans set the frame.

"No matter how helpful AI is, the importance of the human can't be underestimated," she said.

A career built before the AI shift

Steele started in advertising in 2001, when online advertising was just kicking off. She credits Renetta McCann, then CEO of Starcom, where Steele worked, with showing her that a woman could reach the top of the industry. Her advice to women entering advertising now: "have a strong point of view," because "in the age of AI, where original thought is becoming even more valued," articulating a distinct perspective is what creates space in the room.

She joined WPP, she said, because its restructuring "represents a simplification in agency operations and a lead in AI" — a lead that competitors like Omnicom and Publicis are also claiming, and that 2026 client reviews will test.