MAM
WPP rolls out Agent Hub to put its AI brainpower to work for clients
LONDON: WPP has thrown open the doors to its collective brain. The world’s largest advertising group has launched Agent Hub on WPP Open, turning decades of proprietary knowledge, data and creative craft into a suite of always-on AI agents designed to sharpen marketing outcomes for clients worldwide.
Billed as an internal app store for intelligence, Agent Hub codifies WPP’s institutional memory into advanced agentic AI, giving clients and its 100,000-strong workforce instant access to WPP-verified strategy, creativity and behavioural insight. The aim is scale with precision, replacing generic automation with expertise trained on real-world brand experience.
The platform launches with a line-up of so-called Super Agents. These include a brand analytics agent drawing on nearly 30 years of Brand Asset Valuator data, the world’s largest longitudinal study of brand equity; a behavioural science agent modelled on Ogilvy’s award-winning practice; an analogies agent designed to spark cross-industry thinking; and Creative Brain, an ideation partner fuelled by 150 years of WPP creative intelligence.
Agent Hub builds on a bottom-up innovation model already embedded inside WPP Open. Since the platform’s launch, agencies and teams have created thousands of bespoke agents using no-code tools to boost productivity and creativity. The new Super Agents represent the strongest of these efforts, now standardised and made available across the group.
Responsibility is being positioned as a differentiator. Every agent entering the Hub is validated by senior subject matter experts, tested for accuracy and compliance, and vetted to ensure licensed data use and client confidentiality. WPP says the process is designed to give brands confidence that AI outputs are commercially safe and grounded in practical business understanding.
Stephan Pretorius, chief technology officer at WPP, said Agent Hub marks a shift in how the group delivers value. “This is about human brilliance, amplified by AI. We are encoding decades of judgement and expertise into agents that solve real client problems and allow us to move towards commercial models based on outcomes, not hours.”
Adoption is already broad. WPP Open has more than 75,000 users across the company, covering over 90 per cent of client-facing staff, and is in use by clients including Nestlé and The Coca-Cola Company. Existing users will gain immediate access to Agent Hub, while select clients are also co-creating customised agents trained on their own data and brand guidelines.
Chief innovation officer of WPP, Elav Horwitz, described the approach as deliberately open. “This is not a black box. Agent Hub curates our people’s best thinking and makes it available to everyone. It is innovation, democratised.”
With Agent Hub, WPP is making a clear bet: that the next edge in marketing will not come from more tools, but from smarter intelligence, delivered at speed and at scale.
Brands
Safex Group appoints Richa Malhotra as group chief financial officer
Former Standard Chartered executive to steer finance
NEW DELHI: Safex Chemicals has appointed Richa Malhotra as group chief financial officer, strengthening its leadership team as the company prepares for the next phase of expansion in specialty chemicals and global agrochemicals.
In her new role, Malhotra will lead the group’s financial strategy, capital architecture and governance framework as Safex scales operations across multiple verticals including branded formulations, specialty chemicals and contract manufacturing.
A chartered accountant and graduate of Shri Ram College of Commerce, University of Delhi, Malhotra brings more than two decades of experience in business finance, strategic planning, corporate banking and client management.
Before joining Safex, she served as executive director, financial markets at Standard Chartered, where she led teams across India and Sri Lanka and worked closely with large corporates, global subsidiaries and commercial banking clients. Her expertise includes capital structuring, treasury operations, risk management and financial markets led financing solutions.
Safex Group promoter director and joint managing director Piyush Jindal, said the appointment comes at a pivotal time for the company. “Safex stands at an inflection point as we build an integrated platform across branded formulations, specialty chemicals and contract manufacturing. Richa’s experience across global financial institutions will strengthen our financial discipline and help unlock value across the group,” he said.
Malhotra said she was looking forward to contributing to the company’s next chapter of growth. “Safex has built a strong reputation over 35 years with its focus on integrity, innovation and agricultural insight. I am excited to be part of the organisation as it expands its footprint in India and global markets,” she said.
The appointment comes as Safex continues to strengthen its financial foundations and scale operations internationally, positioning itself for future growth milestones.
