Chief Learning and Development Officer

WPP•New York, NY

1d•Hybrid

About The Position

WPP is seeking a Chief Learning & Development Officer (CLDO) to build and lead its global learning function end-to-end. This role is crucial for WPP's transformation strategy, focusing on enterprise-wide sales and client capability, leadership development, AI and craft skilling, and fostering a learning culture. The CLDO will design the capability engine that makes WPP's strategic priorities a reality for its people, aiming to make learning a visible signal that WPP is the best place in the industry to build a career. The role requires a commercial mandate to reshape how WPP wins, keeps, and grows clients.

Requirements

Senior learning leader with credibility, scale, and commercial instinct to operate as a peer to the C-suite.
Experience building enterprise sales and leadership capability at a global scale, likely within a multinational tech, professional services, consumer, or consulting business.
Experience leading a learning organization supporting tens of thousands of employees across multiple geographies at a CVP-, SVP-, or CLO-level.
Proven ability to build, measure, and scale consultative selling, client engagement, and C-suite-readiness programs that have changed seller behavior and improved commercial KPIs (win rates, deal size, client retention, organic growth).
AI-native learning leader with experience using AI to re-engineer learning (e.g., adaptive paths, AI coaching, simulation, measurement).
Executive gravitas to earn the trust of CEOs, CROs, CFOs, and agency leaders, and influence boardroom conversations about capability investment.
Ability to attract exceptional L&D talent and build high-performing teams.
Commitment to psychological safety and high performance.

Nice To Haves

Candidates who bring recent, tangible experience shipping AI-powered learning at scale will stand out.

Responsibilities

Design and scale a global commercial academy to enhance consultative selling, C-suite engagement, negotiation, and business acumen for thousands of client-facing leaders, with measurable impact on pitch win rates, organic growth, and client tenure.
Own the curriculum for developing WPP leaders from first-time managers to agency CEOs, aligned with WPP's six leadership dimensions. Partner with the Chief People Officer on succession planning, high-potential programs, and executive coaching architecture.
Build the learning strategy to make AI a core capability for all roles, from creative teams using generative tools to leaders making AI investment decisions. Partner with the Chief AI Officer and agency leaders to ensure practical AI fluency.
Codify and scale craft expertise (creative, media, production, data, technology) and sector fluency (CPG, retail, financial services, tech, pharma) to differentiate WPP.
Rebuild the global learning ecosystem, including platforms, content strategy, coaching practice, measurement, and governance, connecting every program to a business outcome. Shift from training-as-events to learning-as-a-continuous-capability-advantage.
Lead a global L&D organization distributed across regions and agency brands, build a high-performing team, set the operating model, and manage the function with commercial rigor.