Philip Jansen, the outgoing BT Group boss, has been approached about changing into the following chairman of WPP, the FTSE-100 advertising companies large.

Sky News has learnt that Mr Jansen, who's to step down from the telecoms firm within the spring, is one in all numerous potential candidates to have been sounded out in latest weeks concerning the put up.

City sources stated on Monday that WPP's search was not but at a sophisticated stage and there was no certainty that Mr Jansen or WPP would determine to progress his candidacy additional.

His impending exit from BT has prompted hypothesis about his company future, with a transfer to the US or into personal fairness each prospects.

A former boss at MyTravel and Worldpay, Mr Jansen started his profession at Procter & Gamble, the American client items large and one of many world's largest spenders on promoting.

WPP signalled final 12 months that it had begun succession planning to discover a substitute for Roberto Quarta, its chairman since 2015.

The most seismic interval of his tenure got here in 2018, when the corporate's figurehead for 3 a long time, Sir Martin Sorrell, was pressured out of the corporate.

Sir Martin has since listed a digitally targeted rival to the main promoting holding corporations known as S4 Capital, which has additionally endured a tough time amid deteriorating sentiment in direction of know-how shares.

He was changed at WPP by long-standing colleague Mark Read, who stays its chief government.

Insiders stated that WPP was anticipated to choose a boss from outdoors the ranks of its current board members, who embody the previous Burberry chief Angela Ahrendts and Tom Ilube, the chair of the Rugby Football Union.

WPP, which has a market worth of simply over £8bn, and Mr Jansen each declined to remark.

Content Source: information.sky.com