M&C Saatchi Onboards Simon Fuller as Chief Financial Officer
M&C Saatchi announces that Simon Fuller will become a member of the board and the company’s Chief Financial Officer (“CFO”) on July 1, 2024, as part of a managed succession process. Chief Financial Officer Bruce Marson will become Deputy Chief Financial Officer upon stepping down from the Board on June 30, 2024.
Simon Fuller appointed as CFO at M&C Saatchi
Having held multiple executive and senior management positions in a variety of UK-listed companies, Simon has extensive experience as a CFO. He was CFO of McColl’s Retail Group plc and Reach plc, among other companies. Fuller joins M&C Saatchi with a wealth of experience, having held CFO positions at Reach Plc and McColl’s Retail Group in the past. Additionally, he has held senior financial positions at COLT Telecom Plc, BT Group, and Tesco Plc.
The advertising industry is facing reduced marketing budgets from tech clients and slower new business growth as a result of cautious customer spending in an unpredictable economic environment. Fuller’s appointment comes at a difficult time for the industry. The Board expresses gratitude to Bruce Marson for his pivotal contribution to the metamorphosis of M&C Saatchi since his October 2021 hire and his promotion to CFO in March 2023.
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Here’s what they said
Zillah Byng-Thorne, Non-Executive Chair, commented,
“Simon joins us with a distinguished career of over 20 years of listed company experience and deep operational and strategic expertise. His wide experience in corporate governance, business transformation and investment strategy will help drive M&C Saatchi forward. I thank Bruce for his contribution during his tenure as Chief Financial Officer. His leadership has been pivotal as we navigated our significant transformation over the past 18 months, and we are delighted that we will retain his expertise in the group.”
Zaid Al-Qassab, Chief Executive Officer, said,
“I am pleased to welcome Simon, whose skills will be highly valuable in the new phase we have entered, as we drive M&C Saatchi to become the leading creative solutions partner for our clients, combining deep regional expertise with broad global reach. Building on the platform created under the leadership of Zillah and Bruce, whose talents I am pleased we will retain, I believe we have the right team to realise our potential in creating value for all stakeholders.”
Simon Fuller, incoming Chief Financial Officer, stated:
“I am thrilled to be joining M&C Saatchi at such an exciting time for the business. Not only does this truly international brand have a remarkable creative heritage, but there is also a clear and compelling plan and vision for the future. I very much look forward to working in partnership with Zaid, the Board, Bruce and the wider team, to successfully deliver the next stage of the Company’s development.”
M&C Saatchi Names Rob Doubal and Laurence Thomson as Global CCOs
Rob Doubal and Laurence “Lolly” Thomson, co-presidents of McCann London and chief creative officers of McCann UK, were named M&C Saatchi’s new joint global chief creative officers (CCOs). As it implements its new operating model, M&C Saatchi said the newly created roles will serve as “a central focal point for the group’s creative ambitions and activities.”
M&C Saatchi Appoints Rob Doubal and Laurence Thomson as joint global CCOs
Doubal and Thomson are referred to as “Rob and Lolly” in the industry. They were executive creative directors at Weiden & Kennedy London when they joined McCann London in 2012. In 2019, they were promoted to regional CCOs for the UK. The two met and worked together for four years at Mother London before joining Weiden & Kennedy. It stated that the newly established position was essential to M&C Saatchi’s implementation of its new operating model. It aims to act as a focal point for the group’s creative goals and pursuits. M&C Saatchi was referred to as “an agency with one of the most famous names in advertising history and a legacy of creative brilliance” by Doubal & Thomson, who will begin their new roles later this year.
Rob and Lolly’s distinguished feats
They have created campaigns for companies like Xbox, Just Eat, Microsoft, Aldi, and Sky over the past 20 years. They have managed work that has taken home more than 800 awards from prestigious international exhibitions and over 100 Cannes Lions. According to Simon Gwynn of Campaign, Rob and Lolly “give the impression of guys who have spent plenty of time trying to make each other laugh over the years,” and they acknowledge that they are responsible for promoting a lighthearted and imaginative culture.
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At the end of 2023, Doubal and Thomson came in at number 11 on Campaign’s yearly list of the best UK creatives in the list. Since informing investors in September that it was essential to growth, Byng-Thorne has been seeking to establish a new chief creative officer position for the entire group. Under the direction of Daryl Lee, the global chief executive of McCann Worldgroup, McCann has also been reorganizing its own senior management team. Last year, Javier Campopiano was hired as the global chief creative officer. Furthermore, Regan Warner as executive creative director at McCann London.
Here’s what they said
Rob and Lolly said,
“We couldn’t be more delighted to be joining M&C Saatchi as global CCOs. It’s an agency with one the most famous names in advertising history and a legacy of creative brilliance. A truly iconic brand with some fantastic offices around the world. Driving fame and commerce by leveraging art and creativity is what we love to do and joining the new team with a shared ambition to make M&C Saatchi a global powerhouse with creativity at its core got us very excited. Given the speed of change in our industry, harnessing M&C Saatchi’s ‘brutal simplicity of thought’ philosophy with Zaid and the teams was an opportunity we simply couldn’t turn down. We can’t wait to get started. A truly iconic brand with some fantastic offices around the world. Driving fame and commerce by leveraging art and creativity is what we love to do and joining the new team with a shared ambition to make M&C Saatchi a global powerhouse with creativity at its core got us very excited.”
Executive chair Zillah Byng-Thorne said of the pair,
“Their creative vision combines with a passion for doing the best for clients, and I expect them to make a huge cultural impact on all parts of the M&C Saatchi Group, which will produce world-class creativity and business results.”
Zaid Al-Qassab, the incoming group chief executive, added,
“I was wowed by Rob and Lolly’s passion for innovation and commitment to creative excellence throughout the recruitment process. Their unique way of looking at the world, and track record of success with iconic and category disrupting campaigns, will undoubtedly drive transformative results for our clients.
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M&C Saatchi Names Zaid Al-Qassab As New Global CEO
M&C Saatchi has named Zaid Al-Qassab as its new global CEO. He is Channel 4’s CMO in the UK right now. Al-Qassab will take over for Moray MacLennan, who resigned in September. Zaid will assume control of the business which is experiencing negative growth.
M&C Saatchi Appoints Zaid Al-Qassab as Global CEO
Zaid will start working in the M&C office on May 13. He started working at Channel 4 in 2019 as CMO, overseeing marketing, digital, product, communications, PR, advertising, media, and continuity. He was also in charge of the channel’s digital content and brand entertainment agency, 4Studio, as well as its award-winning in-house creative agency, 4creative.
Previous Achievements
Al-Qassab, a former employee of BT, is among the most senior marketers in the UK. He is not employed in the agency industry. On the other hand, he has managed social media and branded entertainment unit 4Studio as well as in-house agency 4Creative at Channel 4, where he has been employed since 2019 as CMO. Additionally, he worked for Procter & Gamble for two years in marketing and business capacities, most notably as the Managing Director of the company’s health and beauty division for the UK and Ireland. Zaid has been employed by the Advertising Standards Authority since 2018 and presently holds the position of non-executive director.
M&C Saatchi Announcements
Al-Qassab left Channel 4 in January, although he would continue to work there until the end of March, the channel announced. On May 13, he will start working at M&C Saatchi, pending regulatory due diligence. The announcement was made one week after Jo Bacon, the global client lead for Ogilvy and WPP at Unilever, was named CEO of M&C Saatchi. She takes over for Camilla Kemp, who departed the company a year ago.
Here’s what they said
Zillah Byng-Thorne, the executive chairman, said,
“We are delighted to have attracted someone of Zaid’s calibre to lead M&C Saatchi into its next phase of growth. Zaid has proven leadership qualities, has managed global teams, and his client-centric focus, dynamism and commercial acumen will be highly valuable as we look to accelerate our growth trajectory. The advertising and marketing landscape is fast-moving and a modern, forward-thinking, agile leader like Zaid will help shape M&C Saatchi for excellence on the global stage, supported by our exceptional regional leaders across the UK and globally. It is truly an exciting moment for us.”
Zaid Al-Qassab, on his appointment added,
“I have long admired M&C Saatchi’s creativity and industry-leading work and I am delighted to be joining one of the most recognised advertising brands in the world. I believe M&C Saatchi has a unique growth opportunity, capitalising on its combination of advertising and specialist marketing services, and its unrelenting focus on creative solutions built on client understanding, with an agile, global, integrated offer.”
Read More: M&C Saatchi Indonesia has been acquired by Anish Daryani
M&C Saatchi Indonesia has been acquired by Anish Daryani
M&C Saatchi Indonesia, which was set up six years ago as a joint venture between M&C Saatchi Group and Anish Daryani, Dami Sidharta, and Elki Hendria on 24th January 2018 has been acquired by Anish Daryani. Daryani has purchased the business’s 55% ownership from M&C Saatchi Group for an undisclosed amount. Co-founding partners Elki Hendria, executive strategy and digital director, and Dami Sidharta, chief creative officer, will both stay key members of the leadership team and shareholders in the company.
M&C Saatchi Indonesia will be rebranded as a new entity
In January 2024, M&C Saatchi Indonesia will change its name to a new company. Under a new organization, there will be total business continuity for all clients, talent, partners, and vendors. The new company will run its operations out of the same space in Menara Sentraya, Jakarta Selatah, Indonesia. M&C Saatchi Performance will, however, continue to function as a distinct legal entity even after the Indonesian creative, digital, PR, and activation industry becomes independent.
It has been a “mutually rewarding partnership” for the past six years, according to a joint statement from Zillah Bing-Thorne, the current CEO of M&C Saatchi group and chair of M&C Saatchi, and Daryani, the founder, president, and director of M&C Saatchi Indonesia, and chief growth officer of Southeast Asia. There was a mutually beneficial relationship between the Indonesian entity and the group at that time.
Anish Daryani has acquired M&C Saatchi Indonesia
On January 24, 2018, Daryani opened an office in Jakarta with executive strategy and digital director Elki Hendria and chief creative officer Dami Sidharta, who were co-founders. He had been in the advertising business for about 15 years and had previously served as CEO of Phibious Indonesia. Following the appointment of Zillah Byng-Thorne as executive chair and the departure of Moray MacLennan as chief executive in September, the agency has been grappling with exits, restructuring, and group consolidation efforts. This is the backdrop against which Daryani’s announcement of going independent in Indonesia occurs.
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Indonesia’s road ahead
Performance was the agency’s fastest-growing division in 2022. It contributed 24% of revenue to earnings thanks to significant client wins like Asana, Asics, Julo, Noice, and Jobstreet. Promising performers such as Roshat Adnani and Kabeer Chaudhary were promoted. Adnani is the managing director for APAC. He will be responsible for the region’s P&L. Meanwhile Chaudhary is currently the global CEO for the Performance vertical, based in Singapore.
Among the companies that Daryani currently works with are Asian Paints, Adaro Energy, Ismaya Group, PermataBank, ByteDance, Sampoerna-Phillip Morris, Tempo Scan Group, Unilever, Kimia Pharma, Mandi Pharma, Mastercard, Grab, LG, Pertamina, Kemeperekraf (Wonderful Indonesia), and Astra Credit Company.
Here’s what they said
Anish Daryani said,
M&C Saatchi is one of the strongest brands in the business, and it has been my life’s honour to serve the group over the last 6 years. We started M&C Saatchi Indonesia with just the three of us (with Dami and Elki), and have grown to a team of hundred. We’ve earned many Agency of the Year titles over the years, among other awards including our first Cannes Lion, attracted the best talent, and built a formidable business. Here, I have learnt immensely, and forged strong bonds with friends I made the world over from across the network. However, as a creative entrepreneur, some of my ambitions can only be met as an independent entity, which regretfully involves my exit from the group. I’m grateful for all the good times we have shared together, and for Zillah’s keenness to agree to a deal that helps me race towards meeting my ambitions. For M&C Saatchi Group, I will continue to be a reliable friend. As we take our second first step, we wish to continue serving our clients with the same level of passion and integrity, and setting higher benchmarks in the industry.
Zillah Bing-Thorne added,
We have enjoyed our relationship with Anish and wish him & colleagues all the very best for their new venture.
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