M&C Saatchi has confirmed that former Channel 4 chief marketing officer Zaid Al-Qassab has been recruited as group chief executive, effectively succeeding Moray MacLennan, who resigned last July, having been part of the senior management team since the agency was founded 1995.
Al-Qassab’s departure from Channel 4 was revealed last month, as the broadcaster said it was cutting 18% of its 1,500 strong workforce, around 200 jobs, amid a decline in its advertising revenue.
He joined Channel 4 in 2019, and led the marketing and digital teams, and in-house creative agency 4creative. Prior to that, Al-Qassab was chief brand and marketing officer at BT , and spent 20 years at Procter & Gamble in marketing and commercial roles.
Al-Qassab will officially leave Channel 4 at end of March and join M&C in May.
Zillah Byng-Thorne, who was the acting executive chair at M&C, will return to her non-executive role but neither chief has actually worked in the agency sector, much to the surprise of adland insiders.
Byng-Thorne 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.”
Al-Qassab 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.”
The move follows last week’s appointment of CEO Jo Bacon from WPP, who has been drafted in to run the agency on a day to day basis. She will work alongside at M&C Saatchi UK group CEO Marcus Peffers and chief strategy officer Sophie Lewis to lead the revamped agency.
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