Al-Qassab to depart M&C Saatchi 'by mutual consent'

M&C Saatchi chief executive Zaid Al-Qassab is to step down from his position and leave the board on March 31, 2026, by mutual agreement with the company.

The move, which was announced to the City this morning, comes just two years after the former Channel 4 chief marketing officer took up the role, effectively succeeding Moray MacLennan, who resigned last July, having been part of the senior management team since the agency was founded 1995.

Non-executive chair Dame Heather Rabbatts assume the role of executive chair on an interim basis until a new CEO is appointed. The agency said it will initiate a comprehensive formal search process to identify a replacement.

During the interim period, Dame Heather will focus on delivering the company’s growth strategy and supporting the senior leadership team. An operating board comprised of members from the company’s senior leadership team will be in place during this transition.

Al-Qassab led the company through a transformation that consolidated over 40 independent businesses into five connected regions and completed the company’s first M&A transactions in seven years, while launching the business proposition “Cultural Power”.

The company also announced the immediate appointment of Vinodka Murria as non-executive director and Deputy Chair, and Nicholas Shott as an independent non-executive director.

Shott brings more than 30 years of experience in the financial services sector, including senior roles at Lazard, where he served as vice chairman of European Investment Banking and Head of UK Investment Banking. He currently serves as Chair of Conduit Holdings and previously spent nine years as a non-executive director at Phoenix Group Holdings.

The agency’s latest unaudited results, revealed in January, reported net revenue for the year was expected to come in at £210m, with operating profit of £26m.

The company said it had delivered on its target of £12m of annualised cost savings in the second half of the year.

At the time, Al-Qassab said: “I am confident that our world-famous creativity and excellent client retention combined with our portfolio strategy and higher-margin growth drivers will deliver value for clients, colleagues and shareholders.”