Digitas poaches Dentsu chief Anne Stagg for CEO role

Digitas UK’s quest to hire “an Anne Stagg” to lead the agency has ended in the business appointing the real thing, with the Dentsu head of customer experience marketing and Merkle CEO set to join the business later this year.

Stagg joined Dentsu-owned Merkle in 2019 as head of client services for the EMEA region. However, within a year she was promoted to CEO of the UK agency as well as to spearhead Dentsu’s CXM division, in charge of a business of 940 people covering data and analytics, CRM, commerce, media, digital experience services and B2B.

Having held senior roles at Communisis, More2, Experian and Valassis, Stagg joined Indicia in 2014 as client services director, and was promoted to MD after just 12 months. She also acted as chief client officer for its parent KMMS, managing Indicia’s effective integration into the business.

In her new role, Stagg will lead Digitas UK, helping to grow the agency, shaping its next phase of evolution and reinforcing its leadership in an increasingly complex marketing landscape.

Digitas UK claims to have recorded strong growth in 2024 and scooped an IPA Effectiveness Award, an Effie and nine BIMA awards for its clients, while its data and analytics team was named best in the business at the DataIQ awards.

Stagg will join in the summer, and succeeds Jennifer Berry, who stepped down in November 2024, having been appointed to the role in January 2023. She had spent over 17 years at Publicis Groupe.

She reports to Digitas EMEA chief executive Sam Hawkey, who said: “When we started this process, I said, ‘we need to find an Anne Stagg’, and I’m delighted to say we got the real thing.

“Anne is one of the most innovative and established digital leaders in the UK and her successes speak for themselves. As Digitas looks to continue to lead the way in customer experience Anne is the perfect person to lead our dynamic mix of talents to deliver a lasting positive impact on our clients’ businesses.”

Stagg added: “Taking on this role at Digitas is an incredible opportunity. It’s clear the team has created something special, making significant commercial and cultural impact over the last year for a portfolio of clients.  I’m looking forward building on their success and helping drive the next chapter of growth in partnership with our clients.”

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