M+C Saatchi has appointed Sophie Gallagher to the role of group strategy director.
Gallagher brings over a decade of experience across journalism, publishing, client in-house roles, and full-service agencies.
She has worked with celebrated local and international brands including Samsung, Compare Club, Universal, Sony, Audi, LVMH, The University of Sydney, and Ingham’s, with her work recognised at Cannes Lions, Effies, Spikes, AWARD, AGDA, and the MFA. Most recently, Sophie was strategy director at Clemenger BBDO, and prior to that she was at Slingshot Media Ventures and News Corp.
In her new role, she will lead the agency’s Connections Strategy offer, ensuring media and creative are seamlessly integrated to influence audiences, impact culture, and deliver tangible business results. Sophie will work across all clients to identify the most effective ways to bring ideas to life.
“I am thrilled to be joining M+C Saatchi, an iconic agency that has continually shaped how Australian brands have influenced people’s lives,” said Gallagher. “This is a pivotal time in our industry, where media and creative must work hand in hand to drive impact and influence. I am so excited to work with M+C to bring this dynamic combination to clients, and create more work that drives trust, engagement and results.”
Simon Wassef, group chief strategy officer at M+C Saatchi said, “Sophie’s a gun – the best connections strategist in the market. She has the rare gift of being able to combine big strategy optimism with real strategy pragmatism. Her ideas are exciting and they work bloody hard.
“She’s chosen M+C as the place to wield her talent, elevate our work, push the industry forward and help our clients grow. Let’s enjoy the show.”
Gallagher actively champions the next generation of talent, leading Assisterhood NSW, a mentorship program for underrepresented communications professionals. Under her leadership, the program grew mentor participation by 42 per cent year-on-year.
She was a finalist in 2025 for the B&T Women in Media Awards for Strategy, was named as “one to watch for the future” in B&T’s Best of the Best Media Agency Strategy Chiefs list, and is an industry mentor for the Media Federation of Australia’s NGEN program.
