M&C Saatchi appoints Optus lead

M&C Saatchi has hired Chiquita King (pictured) to group head of the Optus team. King joined M&C Saatchi from Leo Burnett where, as group business director, she led the Canon, Colonial First State and eBay accounts.King is the latest add on to M&C Saatchi. The agency also recently appointed chief strategy officer Justin Graham from Droga5 and group operations director Marc van den Berg from Ogilvy & Mather.Prior to Leo Burnett, King was group business director at creative agency The Jupiter Drawing Room, based in South Africa. There she worked on accounts such as Nike, SA Breweries and the Edcon retail group of companies.In 2009 she moved to Sydney, honing her data-driven and digital marketing skills with full service agency Lavender to lead the charge on Westpac retail and business banking.M&C Saatchi managing partner Christine Gardner said it was “Chiquita’s cross-category track record in business development and relationship marketing that made her a stand-out for the Optus Group Head role”.“Chiquita’s passion for people and creativity is contagious and inspiring. She has a piercingly sharp strategic mind and her strength in CRM makes her the perfect match for Optus given their ‘customer-first’ commitment,” said Gardner.