Anita Zanesco reunites with Dani Bassil at M+C Saatchi
M+C Saatchi Group’s new CEO Dani Bassil has appointed Anita Zanesco to the newly created role of chief marketing officer.
Zanesco will work with Bassil and the core leadership team across Sydney, Melbourne, and Auckland to spearhead the group’s growth strategy.
Her responsibilities will include new clients and capabilities, as well as “supercharging” existing clients to make sure they are accessing the agency’s offerings across advertising, PR, social and influence, sports and entertainment, consulting, and production.
“Anita is rare. She brings a wealth of knowledge of our industry, but most importantly what clients need in an ever-changing marketing environment,” Bassil said in a release on Wednesday.
“Anita is part coach, part growth strategist, part client connector, her role will be entirely centred around strategic growth for M+C and I’m so happy she has agreed to join us on our mission moving forward.”
Anita Zanesco and Dani Bassil
She joins with over two decades of agency and marketing experience, including roles at Trinity P3, Havas, Eval8ing, and more recently, Clemenger BBDO.
There, she and Bassil worked closely in a similar role overseeing the agency’s growth. She was among Bassil’s first hires at the helm, and similarly, her role was also newly created there.
“I could not be more excited to be joining one of Australia’s most iconic agencies. Dani is a fearless and phenomenally smart and talented leader who also happens to be one of the kindest, most generous humans on the planet, so I didn’t hesitate when she asked me to join the global push to embed growth in key markets,” Zanesco said in the release.
“M+C’s legacy is building enduring platforms for some of the country’s most loved and trusted brands and there is genuine passion to continue growing and creating world class ideas that are part of culture. It’s a great brief and I’m pumped.”
The agency also recently promoted Emma Robbins to chief creative officer, Melbourne, and nabbed Thinkerbell’s Louise Rutherford as client partner. The commitment to strengthen operations in Melbourne has been a priority of the new CEO. Bassil has earmarked it as a focus upon her arrival this month.
Bassil will, however, also need to prioritise managing costs following the loss of one of M+C Saatchi’s biggest clients Optus, a portion of the Woolworths account, and the retirement of its media brand Bohemia. Outgoing APAC CEO Justin Graham has helped her with the transition through the month of August.
These client losses have undoubtedly impacted the group’s headcount, with redundancies including head of group marketing and communications Amanda Quested.
M+C Saatchi had worked with Optus for eight years, building out a bespoke agency called Yes to service it. In June, it was confirmed the account would change hands to Accenture Song and Droga5.
It also had a bespoke agency, Greenhouse Collective, servicing the Everyday Rewards portfolio, part of the Woolworths Group. TBWA recently won the pitch for the account, marking the first time it is separate to the Woolworths brand. M+C Saatchi and Greenhouse Collective remains the lead agency on Woolworths.
Meanwhile, the group’s media brand Bohemia has been sunsetted as part of a global media strategy restructure. Global CEO Zaid Al-Qassab said the agency’s focus is on areas where it can “lead with a truly differentiated offering”, and Bohemia no longer met that criteria. It has subsequently farewelled clients including Fever-Tree Australia, Nando’s, and Australian Retirement Trust.
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Lauren McNamara is a freelance journalist contributing to Mumbrella. She previously spent three years at the publication, most recently as the associate editor. She first joined in 2022 after completing a Bachelor of Communications (Journalism) at UTS. She left her staff role at Mumbrella in August 2025.
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