M+C Saatchi appoints Dani Bassil as Justin Graham steps down

M&C Saatchi Group APAC CEO Justin Graham is to leave the agency later this year with ex-Clemenger CEO Dani Bassil joining to run the ANZ business.

Dani Bassil and Justin Graham

Global independent agency M&C Saatchi Group has announced a local leadership change appointing Dani Bassil as ANZ CEO replacing Justin Graham, who will depart later in the year.

Mr Graham leaves the agency after ten and a half years, initially joining as the chief strategy officer before assuming the chief executive role in May 2020. He was also appointed APAC CEO, in addition to his ANZ role, in 2024.

Ms Bassil will be responsible for M+C Saatchi’s ANZ business including its services across advertising, consulting, sport and entertainment and PR. The leadership team of Steve Coll, Tanya Vragalis, Jenn Butler, Benjamin Harrison and Jen Hegarty will report to her.

A seasoned agency executive, she was most recently the chief executive of Clemenger, a role she held from 2023 until the merger of three Omnicom agencies; Clemenger, CHEP Network and Traffik, in February. Prior to this, she was the CEO of Digitas UK and also held senior roles at highly-respected agencies including J Walter Thomson, Possible, Wieden+Kennedy, Mother and VCCP.

She will step into the ANZ role later this year after Mr Graham’s departure. The APAC role will be reassigned to be managed from M+C Saatchi’s Singapore office.

Mr Graham is a board member of the Advertising Council Australia (ACA) and prior to his time at M+C Saatchi he worked for agencies including Droga5, BBDO New York and Leo Burnett.

The local leadership change comes a year after the arrival of global chief executive Zaid Al-Qassab. Mr Al-Qassab, a former marketer with three decades experience at Procter & Gamble, BT and Channel 4, said the global agency needed to create a connected proposition to maintain its relevancy in the rapidly changing advertising ecosystem.

Speaking to The Australian last year, Mr Al-Qassab outlined a vision where the client agency partnership went beyond making ads and stretched into solving the big business problems keeping marketers, and CEOs, awake at night.

“It’s no longer, ‘hey, we’ll make you an ad’. Now it’s, ‘hey, we will solve your whole business problems’. This isn’t just about creative solutions, this is about being able to make something powerful and simple that connects with consumers, and that’s a really important positioning,” said Mr Al-Qassab.

As part of this strategy, M+C Saatchi launched its global consulting business in July to help the agency partner with clients to solve business problems beyond advertising services.

Earlier this year, the Group launched its new positioning around Cultural Power as the business pursues its connected strategy to help brands navigate the fragmented media and cultural landscapes by creating and curating cultural relevance.

In a statement about the management change, Mr Al-Qassab said, “‘When I joined the business in May last year, I spent my very first day in our Sydney office to see first-hand the work of the most awarded region in our network. Justin has been a brilliant partner, and whilst I will miss working with him, I am grateful for the legacy he leaves behind.’

“At M+C Saatchi Group, we are committed to our leaders and long-term succession planning. As such, over the last few months, Justin and I have been working closely to identify the best leadership succession for key markets in the APAC region, and in particular our Australian and New Zealand businesses.”

‘I’m excited to welcome Dani to the helm of our Australia and New Zealand businesses. Her broad leadership experience and client centric approach will power the agency forward, and her vast digital expertise is what’s most needed in the next phase of our journey to give brands Cultural Power. I’m excited to see what magic she can make.”