- Zaid Al-Qassab replaces Moray MacLennan, who resigned last September
- Before working at Channel 4, Al-Qassab was head of brand at BT Group
- M&C Saatchi is one of Britain’s leading advertising companies.
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Channel 4’s outgoing marketing boss will become the next chief executive of M&C Saatchi, the advertising agency announced on Thursday.
Zaid Al-Qassab will join in mid-May, replacing Moray MacLennan, who resigned last September after having been with the advertising giant since its split from Saatchi & Saatchi in 1995.
Al-Qassab announced in January that he would be leaving Channel 4 after five years as chief marketing officer, where he oversees in-house agency 4Creative and digital brand 4Studio.
Appointment: Zaid Al-Qassab (pictured) to become next CEO of M&C Saatchi
The departure was announced on the same day the broadcaster revealed plans to cut around 200 jobs and move to offering more digital services due to challenges in the advertising market.
Before working at Channel 4, Al-Qassab was head of brand at BT Group and worked for two decades at consumer goods giant Procter & Gamble.
His roles at the latter firm included managing director of its beauty and personal care division in the British Isles and commercial and operations director in Greece.
Al-Qassab said: “I have long admired the creativity and industry-leading work of M&C Saatchi, and I am delighted to be joining one of the world’s most recognized advertising brands.”
AIM-listed M&C Saatchi is one of Britain’s leading advertising companies, with more than 2,500 employees and operations in 23 countries.
Known for its close association with the Conservative Party, the group’s corporate clients include Amazon, McDonald’s, Uber and flag carriers KLM and Air France.
Under the leadership of Moray MacLennan, the company suffered a huge drop in trading during 2020 as businesses cut their marketing budgets due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
It also suffered repercussions from an accounting scandal involving certain divisions of its UK subsidiary overstating revenues and amounts owed by clients.
The Financial Conduct Authority subsequently dropped an investigation into the matter.
Two years ago, M&C Saatchi defended takeover attempts by Vin Murria’s investment vehicle Advanced AdvT and marketing consultancy Next Fifteen Communications.
MacLennan was replaced last fall as temporary CEO by Zillah Byng-Thorne, former boss of Future, the publisher behind MoneyWeek, Country Life and Marie Claire UK magazines.
Following Al-Qassab’s appointment, Byng-Thorne will once again serve as non-executive chairman of M&C Saatchi.
He told investors that Al-Qassab “has proven leadership qualities, has managed global teams and his client-focused approach, dynamism and commercial acumen will be invaluable as we look to accelerate our growth trajectory.”
He added: “The advertising and marketing landscape is changing rapidly and a modern, agile and forward-thinking leader like Zaid will help shape M&C Saatchi to achieve excellence on the global stage, supported by our exceptional leaders. across the UK and globally. ‘
M&C Saatchi shares They were steady at 176p on Thursday afternoon and have risen around 12 per cent since the start of the year.