Chris Kay will leave Saatchi & Saatchi UK in July.James Denton-Clark has been hired as its new chief executive officer from from Accenture Song, where he was creative agency chief executive officer and chief executive officer of Karmarama.
Kay will be leaving Saatchi in a strong position with nine new business wins in 2022 including Churchill and Subway, and new business wins this year that include the global account for wealth and asset management company, ALTI.
Chris Kay is returning to Sydney with his family after joining the agency in November 2021. He was previously chief executive officer & Asia Pacific partner of 72andSunny.
Annette King, chief executive officer of Publicis Groupe UK, commented, “James is an accomplished creative leader with a great passion for what we do. Over the past decade, he has led transformative client partnerships, growing brands and nurturing talent. Saatchi & Saatchi is a special agency and James’ curiosity, and entrepreneurial leadership style will energise the agency.
“Chris has made a big impact in his time at the agency. We have benefitted from his impressive energy and leadership. Saatchi & Saatchi is in great shape with strong client partnerships, an impressive leadership team and a plethora of top talent right across the agency, and Chris is with us until July. I’m confident the agency will go on to even bigger and better things with James at the helm.”
James Denton-Clark stated, “As far back as I can remember I always wanted to be at Saatchi’s. They’re the original creative entrepreneurs. There’s magic there that endures and is still there in spades today. I can’t wait to belong to that, partnering with Franki, Jess, SJ and Richard in the next chapter.”
Chris Kay commented, “This has been a tough decision as the effort of the Saatchi crew and the momentum over the last 18 months has been pretty stellar. That said, sometimes you need to take a breath and make a life decision about what makes you the happiest and for my family, that’s moving back overseas. Until I leave in July, I will give it my all to help the Saatchi brand, and the broader creative practice, continue to shine in any way I can.”
Denton-Clark joins the Saatchi & Saatchi leadership team of Franki Goodwin, chief creative officer; Richard Huntington, chief strategy officer; Jess Ringshall, chief production officer; and Sarah Jenkins, managing director. The creative agency leaders will report direct to Annette King.
Denton-Clark has more than 25 years’ experience in the advertising industry and an impressive track record of leading teams to deliver award-winning campaigns. He has spent the past 12 years at Karmarama, leading the agency through its sale to Accenture in 2016 and the subsequent integration. Prior to his role as creative agency chief executive officer of Accenture Song and chief executive officer of Karmarama, Denton-Clark was chief client officer and managing director, after joining the agency in 2010 as client services director. Prior to Karmarama, Denton-Clark was at BMB for four and a half years after joining from DDB. He started his career at Bates Dorland in 1997.
