Welcome in, today is Thursday, July twenty-third, and we begin with WPP's board approving a pay package worth up to eleven point one million pounds for its new chief executive, over a sizeable shareholder revolt. WPP's board has approved that package for chief executive Cindy Rose, pushing it through against a dissent of roughly twenty-five percent and against the advice of both major proxy firms. ISS and Glass Lewis had each recommended rejection. ISS called the proposed remuneration, in its words, out of proportion to the company's market positioning and its financial performance. Glass Lewis pointed to the size of Rose's on-appointment salary and to long-term awards granted to a chief executive with less than a year in the seat. That dissent registers investor scrutiny of executive pay at a company under strain, and, per the everything-pr report, the board had already trimmed an even higher initial proposal after consulting shareholders. The package sets a base salary of one point two five million pounds, up from the one point zero five million paid to predecessor Mark Read. The rest is tied to incentives that pay out in full only if WPP's share price climbs at least fifty percent. Rose's ceiling sits twenty-nine percent above Read's outgoing maximum. It comes as WPP's revenue less pass-through costs fell more than five percent last year, the shares lost close to sixty percent, and the group was dropped from the FTSE one hundred in December, the first time since the index began in nineteen eighty-four. Rose, who took the role in September, is steering a restructuring plan called Elevate twenty-eight. Industry reaction leans cautious, with some reading a pay rise set against layoffs and contraction as a question of timing and optics. Also today, Woolworths Group has named Droga5 ANZ, the Accenture Song shop, as its lead creative agency across Australia and New Zealand. The account moves from incumbent M and C Saatchi, which, according to Campaign Brief Asia, chose not to defend it when it went to pitch. The appointment is one of the first big calls under new group chief marketing officer Sean Barrett, who joined this year from the US retailer Albertsons. Barrett said Droga5 was selected after a competitive process, with the immediate focus on Woolworths' upcoming Christmas campaign. The win illustrates how consultancy-owned agencies are pressing for lead creative mandates as traditional incumbents step back. It covers the lead creative account only. TBWA Australia keeps the Everyday Rewards loyalty program, and Dentsu retains the group's media business. Now, a few more headlines moving the trade today. Agency leaders tell Digiday the AI gap with their clients is only widening, describing a frustration they say is surfacing more openly across the industry. Havas has acquired Dutch sports marketing agency SportVibes, which will operate as SportVibes by Havas Play, extending the group's sponsorship footprint across the Benelux region. Bandhan Bank has appointed Dentsu Creative Isobar as its creative agency following a multi-agency pitch, part of continued creative-review activity among Indian financial brands. American Eagle is anchoring its back-to-school push on global ambassador Lamine Yamal, per Marketing Dive and Adweek, launching days after his team won World Cup gold. And finally, Redscout has named Michael Keany chief executive, with the Stagwell-owned design firm signaling a push to expand in B2B as it marks its next chapter.