Rhian Mason is the third Clemmser to hop over to M+C Saatchi, with her appointment as the managing partner of the agency’s Passions & PR business, which includes M+C Sport & Entertainment, Social, PR, and Influencer.
Following Dani Bassil’s exit from Clemms as its CEO after its merger with CHEP back in February, Bassil stepped into M+C Saatchi’s national CEO role, taking over from Justin Graham, who headed up the APAC region.
Anita Zanesco is another ex-Clemmser to recently hop over to Saatchi, stepping into a chief marketing officer role.
Mason brings a 15-year career developing and executing earned-first ideas for brands across social, influencer, PR, partnerships and cultural experiences.
At Clemenger BBDO, she established and led an earned attention offering as head of cultural design. Her background also includes roles as head of creative amplifications at Emotive, head of social and content at DDB Group Australia, and Mediabrands content strategy director across EMEA and head of native content in Australia.
During her career, Rhian has driven business wins and campaigns for brands such as Asahi, L’Oréal, BMW, TAC, Google, Optus, IKEA, McDonald’s, Unilever, and Volkswagen.
M+C Saatchi Sport & Entertainment (S&E) manages global brands, including Adidas, Heineken, Coca-Cola, Samsonite and LEGO.
Rhian will report to Robin Clarke, global CEO of M+C Sport & Entertainment, and support his vision to expand the offering across Australia.
Locally, Rhian will report to managing director Tanya Vragalis, who has assumed responsibility for overseeing M+C Saatchi’s connected agency model.
“This is a hugely exciting moment for us. Rhian is one of the best in the business, and her arrival is a statement of intent. We are building an agency that doesn’t just respond to culture, but creates it, and Rhian will play a central role in further making that a reality,” Tanya Vragalis, managing director M+C Saatchi ANZ said.
“Passions are where Australians connect most deeply — through sport, entertainment, and culture. Around the world, M+C Saatchi Sport & Entertainment has built culture-shaping work, and my ambition is to create that same impact here in Australia. We’ll be partnering with brands that want to lead through passion — moving beyond campaigns to deliver ideas that are social by design, earned-first, and built to shape culture,” Rhian Mason, managing partner, Passions & PR added.
Rhian has commenced her national role, based in the Sydney office.
