M&C Saatchi has promoted Richard Thompson, the boss of its expertise division, to be UK group chairman, changing long-serving Tim Duffy, who turns into group technique director worldwide.
They’re essentially the most important appointments made by Moray MacLennan since he stepped as much as turn into international chief govt in January, after the three founding companions, David Kershaw, Jeremy Sinclair and Invoice Muirhead, stepped down following 26 years as govt administrators.
MacLennan is promising “a change agenda”, within the wake of an accounting disaster that lasted practically 18 months, and has lately appointed the group’s first chief individuals officer and a brand new common counsel to enhance governance.
MacLennan and Duffy have labored collectively for 35 years – first at Saatchi & Saatchi after which at M&C Saatchi since its basis in 1995. Duffy has led a lot of its authorities work, such because the Change4Life marketing campaign.
Thompson is a serial entrepreneur, who joined in 2013 when he offered his expertise company, Merlin Elite, to the group. He has additionally chaired a number of media companies for personal fairness house owners and is chair of Surrey County Cricket Membership.
MacLennan mentioned: “Tim is an excellent strategist and I wish to use him single-mindedly, globally and within the UK. In case you had been to ask Tim what excites him most, it’s fixing purchasers’ issues, and I believed let’s give him a much bigger stage – that’s why he’s transferring from the UK to worldwide.”
Duffy mentioned: “I look ahead to transferring into a worldwide function as our new technique accelerates over the approaching years.”
MacLennan added Thompson is a “sensible chief” with a “industrial” fame and “his outside-of-advertising expertise is beneficial in being an excellent chair” and making certain enterprise self-discipline.
Extra cross-selling within the UK
M&C Saatchi’s UK operation has upwards of 700 individuals and 14 subsidiaries, together with the flagship advert company M&C Saatchi London, efficiency store M&C Saatchi Efficiency, PR outfit M&C Saatchi Discuss and expertise arm M&C Saatchi Merlin.
Thompson mentioned there is a chance to get totally different businesses working extra carefully and to cross-sell companies – a method that matches with MacLennan’s mantra of providing “Significant Change” to purchasers.
“The M&C Saatchi Group is a novel assortment of world-class firms that span the whole communications panorama,” Thompson mentioned.
“They’re distinctive aside, and when mixed may be much more highly effective in delivering ‘Significant Change’ for present and new purchasers. I look ahead to serving to ship our compelling proposition, with our excellent expertise.”
He went on: “We’ve bought plenty of purchasers inside the group that most likely purchase just one or two companies from us, but there are 14 businesses inside the UK enterprise. So why are we not cross-selling extra? Why are we not creating extra alternatives with the prevailing purchasers who’re recognized to us and belief us?
“There’s a right away alternative for us to create one entrance door in Golden Sq. [in Soho where M&C Saatchi has multiple offices] to be simple to do enterprise with and take advantage of among the world-class disciplines that we’ve, quite than working in a extra siloed means.”
Accounting disaster
4 unnamed UK subsidiaries had been on the coronary heart of the accounting disaster that resulted in a boardroom break up and the resignation of Lord Saatchi, one of many co-founders, and the entire non-executive administrators in December 2019.
M&C Saatchi needed to revise its 2018 accounts they usually had been lastly permitted by auditors in autumn 2020.
Thompson mentioned of the accounting issues: “We’ve drawn a line underneath that now. With Mickey Kalifa coming in [as group finance director in 2019] and an entire new finance group, we’re within the third monetary 12 months since that occurred.”
He added: “Over the past 12 months, in comparison with our peer group and many different companies, we’ve proven unbelievable resilience. Our key purchasers have remained with us, key administration have remained with us, our numbers have held up.”
M&C Saatchi’s share value crashed from 330p earlier than the accounting scandal to about 30p throughout the worst of the pandemic in April 2020 however has begun to get better.
Vin Murria, a tech entrepreneur, grew to become the most important shareholder in Could 2020 when she purchased 13.25% in an sudden transfer.
Murria paid an estimated £6m for her stake at about 39.5p a share and has greater than trebled her cash because the inventory value has climbed to about 150p.
She grew to become deputy chairman earlier this month.