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Rose to become CEO on Sept. 1

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Announcement comes after major profit warning

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WPP ( WPP ) shares have lost 48% so far this year

(Adds background and CEO quote paragraph 6-11)

By Sarah Young

LONDON, July 10 (Reuters) -

Britain's WPP ( WPP ) named board member Cindy Rose as its

new chief executive on Thursday, tasking the senior Microsoft ( MSFT )

executive with leading its recovery a day after a major profit

warning showed the scale of the challenge at the ad group.

Rose has been on the board since 2019 and will take over

from outgoing CEO Mark Read on Sept. 1, the company said, with

Read departing four months earlier than expected.

Rose has spent the last nine years in senior leadership

positions at Microsoft ( MSFT ), where she rose to Chief Operating

Officer, Global Enterprise after formerly being head of its UK

business. Prior to that she worked at Vodafone ( VOD ) and Virgin Media.

WPP ( WPP ) Chairman Philip Jansen said she had supported the

digital transformation of large enterprises around the world -

including embracing artificial intelligence to create new

business models and revenue streams.

"Her expertise in this landscape will be hugely valuable to

WPP ( WPP ) as the industry navigates fundamental changes and

macroeconomic uncertainty," he said.

Rose will take on a business that is reeling from a

sharp downturn in client spend and as it grapples with the

transformational impact that AI is having on the industry.

It slashed its profit guidance on Wednesday after some

big clients left, others cut spending and new business dried up

in June, sending its shares down 19%.

WPP ( WPP ) lost its crown as the world's biggest ad group to

France's Publicis last year after it struggled to grow under

Read.

It has been hampered by notable client losses, its

greater exposure to China than rivals and the threat posed by

AI, which gives clients the tools to create and manage more of

their own marketing campaigns.

Rose, who described herself as a "client and partner" to

WPP ( WPP ) in her former roles, was positive on the opportunities

ahead.

"We have and continue to build market-leading AI

capabilities, alongside an unrivalled reputation for creative

excellence and a preeminent client list," she said.