WPP Scangroup Chairman Richard Omwela and eight directors have survived a high-stakes attempt to remove them from office.
Shareholders overwhelmingly rejected a sweeping board overhaul proposal at the company’s 20th Annual General Meeting held on Monday, June 8, 2026.
The failed motion sought to remove Chairman Richard Omwela, as well as directors Akua Brayie Owusu Nartey, Beverley Spencer-Obatoyinbo, Peter Kimurwa, Patricia Kiwanuka, Kagiso Musi, Nick Douglas, Manuel Segimon, and Ibogo Skwamband.
It also proposed replacing the WPP Scangroup board with Bharat Kumar Thakrar, Andrew John Laird White, Carl Adam Ogola, Kunal Kamlesh Bid and Rishab Bharat Thakrar.
WPP Scangroup Chairman and Eight Directors Survive Shock Ouster Bid in Heated AGM Vote
The requisition behind the contested agenda item—filed by a minority shareholder bloc linked to former CEO Bharat Thakrar—was directly inserted into the AGM notice as Agenda 8.
In a key development ahead of the meeting, the board confirmed on May 13, 2026, that three directors named in the removal resolutions—Jon Eggar, Patou Nuytemans and Shahid Sadiq—had retired with effect from the same date, just two days before the AGM notice was issued.
The proposal was rejected by shareholders, with 79.3 percent of votes cast against it and 20.7 percent in support.
Also Read: How Bharat Thakrar Built A $70 Million Advertising Empire In Kenya
An ancillary resolution, which sought to empower a newly constituted board to immediately appoint key leadership positions including the chairperson, managing director, and board committees, also failed after receiving 79.28 percent opposition.
WPP Plc, which controls approximately 50.1 percent of the issued share capital, holds a decisive voting majority capable of defeating any resolution on a straight vote, while the minority bloc backing the motion controls about 13.59 percent.
The outcome means the leadership of the listed firm will remain unchanged, despite the high-stakes governance vote that drew significant attention from investors and market observers.
The results were announced following polling conducted by Image Registrars Ltd and audited by FEKAN Howell LLP, with 306,664,160 shares participating, representing a 70.96 percent turnout.
According to figures cited by Thakrar, WPP Scangroup’s share price has fallen about 62 percent since early 2021. Gross profit has dropped by more than a third to roughly Ksh1.5 billion, while cumulative trading losses have exceeded Ksh3 billion over the past four years.
The company has exited Nigeria and Tanzania, sold its South African operations and lost several major clients, including Airtel, KCB Group, Equity Bank and NCBA.
Also Read: WPP Scangroup Announces Board Changes, Appoints Three Non-Executive Directors
Resolutions Passed by Shareholders
WPP Scangroup shareholders, however, approved several key routine resolutions during the AGM.
These included the adoption of the audited financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2025, and noting that the directors did not recommend the payment of a dividend for the financial year under review.
They also passed resolutions on the re-election and re-appointment of directors who had retired by rotation or been appointed to fill casual vacancies during the year.
In addition, shareholders approved the directors’ remuneration policy and the remuneration report as contained in the audited financial statements.
The appointment of auditors, PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP (Kenya), was also confirmed, with shareholders authorizing the directors to fix their remuneration for the ensuing financial year.
