About

Team size: 112 (30 in central team)

Major legal advisers: Allen & Overy, Bristows, Milbank, Simkins, Slaughter and May

Andrea Harris’s dual title of GC and head of sustainability at WPP may be an unusual pairing, but it is symptomatic of environmental sustainability goals climbing up the risk agenda in big business.

A well-established figure within WWP – the world’s largest marketing and PR company – Harris has been group GC for 15 years. Allen & Overy global co-head of antitrust Antonio Bavasso says: ‘She is an impressive GC who, over the years, has handled the most complex issues across a wide range of matters from M&A to litigation, while also heading the sustainability strategy for the group.’

‘There are more GCs thinking about this issue but not many have sustainability in their remit and I saw the opportunity to say: ‘’This is mainstream governance and good business, and should be embedded in what we do,’’’ Harris comments.

The business’ risk committee has recently added sustainability to its remit and, in 2019, the company launched an initiative to eliminate single-use plastics across the business by the end of 2020.

WPP pulled in more than £15bn in revenue in 2018. Sustainability aside, Harris has also been assisting with a multifaceted three-year transformation project to simplify the group’s structures and return the business to growth. Company veteran Mark Read was appointed chief executive in September 2018 after the British multinational saw its high-profile founder and chief executive, Sir Martin Sorrell, retire after 33 years amid controversy.

A more ‘rigorous’ focus on compliance across WPP has seen a business integrity function added to the company to ‘reflect the focus on culture across the business,’ Harris says. The company is also in the process of disposing of
its majority stake in global research data and insight business Kantar, which it announced last year in a sale expected to fetch billions.

‘The disposal of Kantar was a huge transaction. There is still more work to do to simplify our company, which is about collaborating.’