M&C Saatchi grows leadership group, unlocks connected creative solutions

M&C Saatchi Group SA has appointed long-time partner and group co-founder Jacques Burger as CEO, with Mike Abel assuming the role of executive chair. The group has experienced significant growth over the last two years and, as a result, the leadership was expanded.

Abel, who is a part of the global executive committee of M&C Saatchi Plc, will be able to focus more on his global portfolio with his move to the executive chair. This role includes driving the group’s overall creative product and engaging with the SA team on key initiatives and high-level projects. 

“Over the last 12 years M&C Saatchi Group SA has focused on building an agency founded on strong values, deep smarts and meaningful client partnerships,” says Abel. “The group’s expansion gives the agency an ability to unlock powerful and connected creative solutions for the challenges clients face.” 

Incoming CEO Burger says, “This is a new chapter of radical collaboration across the M&C Saatchi Group and the multiple disciplines and solutions they each bring. The ability to connect these opportunities while constantly and relentlessly applying our trademark approach of 'brutal simplicity of thought' is a powerful proposition. It is where the future of communication lies and will deliver greater value to clients.” 

With the focus on connected creativity and radical collaboration, the expanded group leadership is orientated around six pillars:  

1. Creativity — unlocking the power of creativity and creative solutions to every part of the business to drive greater brand affect, which will be led by COO Neo Mashigo. 
2. Data fluency — accelerating data-fuelled solutions across the group, including a partnership with Fluency (the group’s UK-based data consultancy) to help clients define where growth will come from and unlock this growth across the marketing and communication levers. To this end, Black & White managing partner Diana Springer will also assume the role of chief data and intelligence officer.
3. Strategy — building on the group’s long-standing strategic credentials with an evolutionary approach that sees a broader mix of marketing and communication solutions coming together to drive more precise positioning. The result will be stronger equity and faster conversion rates for clients. This will be led by co-founder Robert Grace, who moves from head of strategy to chief strategy officer. 
4. Diversity — further accelerating success to deliver relevant and resonant solutions through unlocking diversity of thought. Key to this is a continued groupwide focus on diverse talent and ways of working. Chief diversity officer Makosha Maja-Rasethaba will lead diversity & inclusion at a group level, beyond her current remit on the M&C Saatchi Abel board.
5. Agility and innovation — building tighter collaborations across groupwide disciplines matched with operational excellence to enable increased agility and the ability for the group companies to move at speed of culture and change. This will be led by Jason Harrison, who assumes the role of COO from being group MD.
6. Commercial excellence: Graham Mears as CFO continues to ensure the group’s strategic growth plans are underpinned by astuteness, simplicity and shared value for innovative start-ups and key acquisitions. In addition, he will also lead the environmental, social, and governance mandate for the group.

 “You get succession planning, and then you get this level of planning,” says Abel, as he reflects on a 25-year friendship and business relationship with Burger. 

“This move opens up an exciting new chapter in the executive and operational leadership of the group to see it deliver more connected and creative solutions for clients. It also enables me to apply sharp focus on our priorities locally and internationally. 

“Jacques is a formidable leader with impeccable credentials and track record. He was the highly successful MD of Ogilvy Cape Group, the CEO of the Campaign Palace, Australia, and returned to SA in 2010 to start M&C Saatchi Abel, Johannesburg, and to co-lead the SA group,” says Abel.

The M&C Saatchi Group SA leadership team is structured as follows:

• Mike Abel, executive chair; 
• Jacques Burger, CEO; 
• Neo Mashigo, chief creative officer;
• Jason Harrison, COO;
• Robert Grace, CSO; 
• Makosha Maja-Rasethaba, chief diversity officer;
• Diana Springer, chief data & intelligence officer; and
• Graham Mears, CFO.

Just 12 years old with more than 350 diverse team members, the M&C Saatchi Group SA comprises six distinct creative companies: 

1. M&C Saatchi Abel (integrated advertising solutions);
2. Razor (reputation & PR); 
3. Connect (media & touchpoint);
4. Levergy (passion-point marketing);
5. Dalmatian (through-the line-advertising); and 
6. Black & White (marketing consultancy). 

M&C Saatchi Group SA is also one of two finalists in the 2022 Financial Mail AdFocus Awards in the category of agency group of the year. 

“We speak a lot about wanting to be the most admired creative company and marketing group in Africa, and we are gearing ourselves to do this with the new structure and relationships in the agency and with clients. We’re excited about what this means for the group as an increasingly data fluent and diverse team of specialists with creativity at the core,” says Mashigo.  

This article was paid for by M&C Saatchi Group SA.