The new CEO of M&C Saatchi is is Zaid Al-Qassab, the CMO of UK's Channel 4.
He replaces co-founder Moray MacLennan who stepped down in September.
Zaid will take the reins with the company facing negative growth. Full year net revenue is expected to be down 7% to £252 million (AUD487 million) when financial results for the 2023 year are released in April.
"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," Zaid said.
"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."
Zaid, who starts May 14, held the CMO role at Channel 4 from 2019 where he was responsible for marketing, digital, product, communications and PR, advertising, media and continuity, its award-winning in-house creative agency 4creative, and its digital content and brand entertainment agency 4Studio.
He was previously the chief brand & marketing officer of BT plc,. He also spent 20 years at Procter & Gamble, in marketing and commercial roles, including as managing director of the health & beauty division for the UK & Ireland.
Zaid currently serves as non-executive director of the Advertising Standards Authority, a role he has held since 2018.
"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," said Zillah Byng-Thorne, executive chair at M&C Saatchi.
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