M&C Saatchi names APAC CEO

SINGAPORE - M&C Saatchi has appointed Richard Morewood as regional CEO, overseeing its offices in Singapore, New Delhi, Tokyo, Shanghai and Kuala Lumpur.

Morewood, who begins the new role in January, most recently spent five years at DDB, where he was responsible for the McDonald’s account across APAC and MEA and Unilever (Walls & Lipton) across North Asia, Southeast Asia and Australia.

Based in Singapore, he will focus on driving growth and raising the agency’s profile in the region. There is also an opportunity to increase collaboration across the offices and tap into powerhouse offices such as Australia, South Africa and London, he told Campaign Asia-Pacific.

The network has been focused on becoming as strong creatively in Asia as in Australia. M&C Saatchi’s earnings for Asia and Australasia grew 5 percent, while revenue in the UK fell 1 percent, according to its latest financial results released in September.

Last year, Chris Jaques stepped down after eight years leading the network in the region. Ben Walsh, who has been at the company 19 years, moved to Singapore as creative chairman.

This will be Morewood’s second stint with M&C Saatchi, having previously worked at its London and Sydney offices, where he was responsible for clients including David Jones and Woolworths.

“I understand the brand and its unique culture and I’m a great believer in it,” he said. “The unique ownership structure, whereby local offices have equity, drives a great entrepreneurial spirit that you don’t always find in other networks.”

Worldwide CEO Moray MacLennan said Asia is critical to growth and that Morewood understands the network's brand and culture.

While Morewood was at DDB, it and McDonald’s won top honours in the 2016 Agency | Marketer Partnership Award. Morewood has also held senior roles at Bates UK and Mother London.