WPP appoints Elav Horwitz as Chief Innovation Officer

WPP has appointed Elav Horwitz as its first Chief Innovation Officer, a role created to strengthen the company’s leadership in applied artificial intelligence and technology-driven transformation.

Reporting to WPP Chief Technology Officer Stephan Pretorius, Horwitz will lead efforts to integrate advanced technology into client solutions, connecting WPP’s creative expertise with global partners to accelerate innovation across commerce, content, and culture.

In her new role, Horwitz will foster collaboration across WPP’s agencies and technology ecosystem, helping clients harness AI and emerging technologies for measurable business impact. A long-time advocate for responsible innovation, she also advises the Spotify and Meta Creative Councils and is a founding member of the leadership network Chief.

Role expands WPP’s focus on applied AI and collaboration

Stephan Pretorius, Chief Technology Officer, WPP: “Innovation is at the heart of everything we do at WPP, and Elav’s promotion to Chief Innovation Officer together with the world-class team she is assembling underscores our commitment to actively shape the future of our industry. She will be instrumental in ensuring our company remains at the center of technology-driven innovation, translating the power of applied AI into concrete solutions that drive material business impact for our clients.”

Elav Horwitz, Chief Innovation Officer, WPP: “Never before has the need for innovation and agility been more critical than in our AI era. We must show our teams, clients and the entire industry what's possible by uniting the best talents, capabilities, partners and a forward-thinking mindset, enabling us to deliver results in a matter of hours and make the future both tangible and democratised.”

Three-pillar approach to innovation

Under Horwitz’s leadership, WPP’s innovation team will focus on three interconnected areas:

Innovative talent: expanding WPP’s Creative Tech Apprenticeship programme, with Google as curriculum partner, to nurture creative technologists skilled in AI, robotics, and coding.

Cutting-edge technology models: deepening access to advanced AI tools through partnerships with Adobe, Amazon, Google, IBM, Meta, Microsoft, Spotify, and others, while collaborating with emerging start-ups to test and integrate new models.

Innovation in motion: promoting agile experimentation and co-creation through WPP Open and WPP Open Pro, and launching an AI Client Council for brands to explore and scale new technologies.

Driving innovation across WPP Open Pro

Cindy Rose, CEO, WPP: “As we rewrite the marketing playbook for the AI era, we’re thrilled to have Elav lead our innovation agenda. This appointment underscores our investment to embed innovation into the core of everything we do, ensuring our clients benefit from the most advanced and effective solutions.”

Horwitz’s appointment follows the rollout of WPP Open Pro, an expansion of the company’s AI marketing platform designed to empower clients to plan, create, and publish campaigns independently. Her leadership signals WPP’s ongoing commitment to shaping the future of creative and technological innovation across the marketing industry.

www.wpp.com

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