LONDON — M&C Saatchi has merged two of its PR agencies, M&C Saatchi Public Relations and Talk.Global, as the former firm’s global CEO, Molly Aldridge (pictured, right), departs after more than seven years.

The combined agency, M&C Saatchi Talk, will be led by Talk.Global CEO Jane Boardman, who will have the same role in the new business. She will be supported by M&C Saatchi Public Relations global MD and co-founder Chris Hides (pictured, left) as managing director. Boardman’s current COO Ryan Woor will have the same position at M&C Saatchi Talk.

Another M&C Saatchi communications agency, M&C Saatchi Sport & Entertainment, is unaffected by the merger and will continue to operate as a separate business.

Boardman said: “The communications landscape continues to evolve at an incredible pace and the launch of M&C Saatchi Talk reflects the scale of our ambition. We want to supercharge our impact in the world and by combining the fire power of Talk Global & M&C Saatchi Public Relations we can accelerate this journey.”

Hides said the merger, which will be completed this spring, would be “a seamless transition for clients with no disruption to day to day business.”

M&C Saatchi Group CEO Moray MacLennan added: “In M&C Saatchi Public Relations & Talk Global we have two high performing businesses with an enviable portfolio of clients that demand the absolute best in global communications. The creation of M&C Saatchi Talk brings the best of both to the table.”

Aldridge’s next move is not yet known. She joined M&C Saatchi Public Relations in June 2012 after being global MD of Slam PR, which she founded with fellow Weber Shandwick staffers Steve Strickland (now co-founder of Talker Tailor Trouble Maker) and Helena Bloomer (now Europe MD of DeVries Global) in 2006. Slam was merged into sister IPG agency DeVries in 2012 and the name was dropped altogether in 2018.

In July last year, two of M&C Saatchi Public Relations' UK leaders, Emeka McQuade and Adam Reader, moved to New York to help grow the agency's US operation. 

The M&C Saatchi group is currently embroiled in a number of accounting issues, which have led to profit warnings and a plunge in its share price.