Karen Blackett
Business Leader, Culture Expert and Former UK President of WPP
- Former UK President of WPP and one of the UK’s most influential business leaders
- Expert on leadership, business transformation, inclusion and high-performing cultures
- Former CEO of GroupM UK, leading through the COVID-19 pandemic and major social change
- Chancellor of the University of Portsmouth and Non-Executive Director at Diageo
- First businesswoman to top the Power List and recipient of its Outstanding Contribution Award
- Awarded an OBE and CBE for services to the media, advertising and creative industries
- Ranked #1 in INvolve’s Top 100 Women Executives List
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About Karen Blackett
Download ProfileKaren is a proven business leader with a track record in creating vibrant cultures, energising teams, and consistently delivering business growth and success. She is currently UK President for WPP, the world’s largest marketing services group, and responsible for driving growth in WPP’s second largest market of 13,000 people.
Former GroupM UK CEO, Karen was selected to turnaround the business over 2.5 years at a critical time, during the COVID global pandemic and the subsequent impact of the killing of George Floyd.
In June 2014, Karen received an OBE in the Queen’s Birthday honours and topped the Power List, being the first businesswoman to come in at number 1. In November 2022, Karen received
Power List’s Outstanding Contribution Award in recognition of her continued exceptional achievements. In June 2023, Karen was appointed a NED for Diageo (a FTSE Top 10 company), and was a former NED of The Cabinet Office. In October 2023, Karen was honoured by INvolve – The Inclusion People’s List and came in at #1 for the Top 100 Women Executives.
Speech Topics
Download TopicsDrawing on her leadership experience at WPP and GroupM, Karen explores how strong workplace cultures can drive performance, innovation and long-term success.
Karen reflects on navigating pressure, setbacks and rapid change, and how resilient leadership can inspire confidence and stability within organisations.
Karen shares her journey to becoming one of the UK’s most influential business leaders and the importance of representation, confidence and opportunity.
A forward-looking perspective on leadership, creativity, innovation and the evolving role of businesses in a rapidly changing world.
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