He will succeed Hamish Maxwell, 72, who has been the group鈥檚 non-executive chairman since 1988. Shareholders have been pushing to have Maxwell replaced for some time as he is seen as being too old.
Sir Christopher is a former CEO of the Wilkinson Sword Group, the shaving products company owned by Warner Lambert.
He will join fellow Y&R directors Warren Hellman, chairman of private equity firm Hellman & Friedman, and Michael Jordan, the former chairman and CEO of CBS, as new non-executive members of the WPP board.
Michael Dolan, currently president and chief operating officer of Y&R, will also join the WPP board following the finalisation of WPP鈥檚 acquisition of Y&R yesterday.