M+C Saatchi appoints another specialist global CEO
Karen Boswell
M+C Saatchi Group has appointed Karen Boswell as a new global CEO of digital experience, performance, and consulting.
Boswell will join next month, where she will oversee the group’s media and consulting specialisms, including the strategic direction of data, technology, digital experience, digital media, and consulting. She will also be responsible for its growing intelligence function and expanded focus in martech.
Sitting on the agency’s executive leadership team, Boswell will lead these specialisms to enhance M+C Saatchi’s client services and fuel its ‘Cultural Power’ proposition.
Karen Boswell
She said it is a pivotal moment for the agency, for which she’s excited to be a part of.
“Growth today requires more than great marketing — it demands cultural intelligence, sharp technology and brave creativity,” she said in a media release issued on Tuesday.
“That’s what M+C Saatchi is built for. I’m energised to partner with Zaid and the incredibly talented teams across media, consulting, intelligence and beyond to shape the next wave of transformation with our clients to drive meaningful growth and impact.”
She joins the agency from VML, where she spent nearly a year as global chief experience transformation officer, where she drove customer-centric holistic solutions for clients including Boots UK and Ireland, Ford EU, and PwC Global.
Prior to that, she was chief experience officer of VML EMEA, and held senior roles at WPP’s bespoke agency The Pharm, adam&eveDDB, AKQA, and LBi.
Boswell is one of four with the ‘global CEO’ title. She will work closely with the others — Robin Clarke (global CEO of M+C Saatchi Sport and Entertainment), Simon Bergman (global CEO of World Services), and Zaid Al-Qassab, global CEO of the entire group.
Al-Qassab described Boswell as a “truly client-centric leader”.
“Her appointment is a powerful step forward in realising our ambition to keep our clients at the cutting edge of marketing innovation,” he said in the release.
“She will work shoulder-to-shoulder with our regional CEOs, specialism CEOs, clients and partners to deliver our strategy and delight our clients, and I can’t wait for her to get started.”
M+C Saatchi’s new proposition of ‘Cultural Power’
M+C Saatchi Group has also announced that Rhonda Hiatt, who has been operating as CEO of M+C Saatchi consulting on an interim basis, will take up the position permanently.
According to the release, Hiatt has accelerated the agency’s plans to unify its consulting expertise and businesses, playing an instrumental part in the development of “new-to-the-world products”, including the recently launched Cultural Power Index.
The global appointment comes amid a clear realignment, which also sees the Asia business transition to being led from the Singapore HQ. This has resulted in the stepping down of Justin Graham, the Sydney-based APAC CEO of M+C Saatchi Group.
It also said goodbye to Michael McEwan, CEO of AUNZ, who announced his move to Droga5 Melbourne last month, where he will be director of Melbourne.
However locally, M+C Saatchi has welcomed MeEwan’s replacement, Dani Bassil.
She joins from Clemenger BBDO Australia where she was CEO. Bassil departed earlier this year amid the agency’s restructure and absorption of Clemenger Group stablemates Chep Network and Traffik.
M+C Saatchi’s local leadership team of Steve Coll, Tanya Vragalis, Jenn Butler, Benjamin Harrison and Jen Hegarty will report to Bassil.
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