Sir Martin Sorrell, advertising guru on big tech, AI and global economics

Sir Martin Sorrell is the man who turned a plastics shell company, WPP, into the world’s biggest ad and marketing empire, snapping up the old Mad Men giants of Madison Avenue. By the time he left WPP in 2018, it was the world sector leader.

Transformed by the internet, is this now the “golden age” of a “trillion-dollar” advertising industry? Are the “nation state”-sized big tech companies to be regulated — and should we be more relaxed about them? After all are they just our modern-day equivalents of the Beaverbrooks and Murdochs?

And what of politics — which executive order was Martin “flummoxed by”? Are there signs of a successful midterm for Trump — and with democracy sliding, is a Trump dynasty emerging?

As AI and technology reshape everything, transforming labour markets and creating significant social disruption, Martin dissects how the world is fragmenting into a slow-growth environment — and which country he thinks is in “deep doo-doo”. What can be done? Is there scope for a Sorrell Foundation?

Please do check out my latest book, A Dead Cat On Your Table – available online and in all good book shops.

@peteryork.bsky.social

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