Continuing its efforts to streamline operations across its global portfolio, WPP has realigned its creative agency Grey under the leadership of Ogilvy, moving it away from its current reporting structure under the AKQA Group.

Laura Maness, global CEO, Grey, will now report to Devika Bulchandani, global CEO, Ogilvy. 

Grey will, however, continue to operate as an independent, standalone agency within the Ogilvy network.

According to an internal memo sent by Maness to Grey employees and accessed by Manifest, the Grey leadership emphasised that the new structure is not a merger but primarily a change in financial reporting.

“We are moving from our previous reporting relationship with AKQA Group to realign our financials with Ogilvy,” she wrote, adding that this will allow Bulchandani and her to “work closely to identify opportunities to deepen collaboration and drive further growth for Grey”.  

This model mirrors the other “successful, independent-spirited creative brands” within the WPP ecosystem like DAVID, INGO, and, more recently, New Creative Arts, noted Maness.

With AKQA set to announce a new global CEO this summer, the leadership teams at Grey, AKQA, Ogilvy, and WPP decided it was the right time to revisit reporting structures, she further added. 

Maness also noted that, while both Grey and Ogilvy share a belief in the power of creativity to address business challenges and deliver impactful client solutions, AKQA’s growing focus on innovation, design, and technology made this realignment with Ogilvy “a natural fit.”

Most importantly, she added, existing collaborations between Grey and AKQA will remain in place, while the agency continues to explore opportunities with AKQA, and others across WPP to best service its clients.

Ogilvy India has declined to comment on the matter.

Grey and AKQA were brought under a single group structure five years ago, however the agencies were never fully integrated. 

The move follows broader restructuring across WPP.  Last week, WPP's media arm GroupM announced in an internal email that agency brands EssenceMediacom, Mindshare, and Wavemaker will cease to operate as separate business units and will move to a single P&L.