Cheil promotes Mark Anderson to MD amongst a wave of promotions at the growing agency

(Pictured L-R: Melissa Young, head of people and culture, Sam Benson, senior account director, Mark Anderson, managing director, Alina Bendeli, associate creative director)

Cheil Australia has promoted Mark Anderson to managing director from his previous role as managing partner, as part of a wave of promotions at the agency, following another year of solid growth.

Anderson joined the agency back in 2016 as business director, and during this time has overseen the agency’s transformation, reinventing itself from a small retail operation to a data-driven CX agency of over 90 people. Under his leadership, the Australian office has become one of the most successful in the Cheil global network.

In the six years that Anderson has been with Cheil, the business has grown a staggering 543% in headcount, 338% in revenue and 672% in profitability. He played a pivotal role in leading the agency through the pandemic, even growing the business over 50% during this time. The company also boasts a number of new employee benefits and flexibility with where they work, opened a second office in the city, and more importantly continues its efforts to be a truly diverse, inclusive and equal opportunities employer, with a gender pay gap of just 0.5% (significantly below the current industry standard). These efforts saw Anderson recently be awarded as one of Campaign Asia’s 40 under 40 2022.

Says Anderson: “I am so proud of what the agency has overcome and achieved over the last few years, and it’s both an honour and privilege to lead such a talented, loyal and passionate team through our next phase of growth with more exciting plans on the horizon.”

Says Jayden Lee, chief executive officer, Cheil: “Mark’s relentless passion and loyalty has led us to become the strong, committed and dependable agency that we are today, and with him at the helm I have great confidence in our future.”

Alongside Anderson’s promotion to MD, the agency has made a number of promotions this year, across the entire business, recognising the efforts and contributions of individuals to the agency’s recent success and growth.

The promotions include Melissa Young, promoted from people and culture manager to head of people and culture, Alina Bendeli promoted to associate creative director and Samantha Benson to senior account director across the agency’s retail and brand experience team.

Says Young: “Over the past two years, I have had the privilege to contribute to the development and growth that Cheil Australia has seen. Our People & Culture team are very lucky to be able to support such a fantastic group of talented, innovative and spirited people. In turn, I am extremely proud to lead such a wonderful and dedicated P&C team.”