Zaid Al-Qassab will step down as chief executive officer of M&C Saatchi on 31 March 2026 by mutual agreement with the board, according to a filing on the London Stock Exchange. The board said it will begin a formal search process to identify a new CEO and will update the market when appropriate.
Al-Qassab (pictured) has led the agency network through a period of transformation and business integration, restructuring the company from more than 40 independent businesses into five connected regions offering end-to-end marketing services.
During his tenure, the company also completed its first mergers and acquisitions in seven years, integrating two acquired businesses and launching its “Cultural power” proposition across the group.
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Al-Qassab joined M&C Saatchi in 2023. Prior to that, he served as chief marketing officer at Channel 4 and start-up Housetrip. He also spent more than 20 years at Procter & Gamble, where he held several senior roles including managing director, commercial and operations director, marketing director and brand manager.
Heather Rabbatts, currently non-executive chair, will assume the role of executive chair. She will lead an operating board made up of members of the company’s senior leadership team while overseeing delivery of the group’s growth strategy.
The board revealed the appointment of Vinodka Murria as non-executive director and deputy chair and Nicholas Shott as an independent non-executive director, effective immediately.
Murria is a long-term shareholder and former director of the company, while Shott brings more than three decades of experience in financial services, including senior roles at Lazard where he served as vice chairman of European investment banking and head of UK investment banking.
The board said the appointments come as it continues efforts to strengthen governance and maximise shareholder value following the company’s transformation programme.
“I would like to thank Al-Qassab for his contribution during his time at M&C Saatchi,” Rabbatts said. “He leaves the company with a strong and more integrated operating model, creating ‘Cultural power’ for our clients by combining world-leading creativity, global reach, and specialist capabilities. We wish him all the best for the future.”
She added, “In my role as interim executive chair, I will be focused on driving our strategy and shareholder value, and supporting our talented team to continue to deliver best-in-class solutions for our clients through our diverse portfolio of specialisms.”
Separately, the network has also made leadership changes across its regional offices in recent months. In January, M&C Saatchi Malaysia appointed Darren Lee as chief creative officer to strengthen creativity as a core driver of the agency’s growth, culture and long-term client value.
Lee returned to the agency with more than two decades of experience working across brands including Malaysia Airlines, Celcom, CIMB and Axiata. He most recently served as chief brand officer at Bitazza, a digital asset management platform.
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