M+C Saatchi Talk Appoints Amaya Alvarez to MD to Supercharge Cultural Comms

M+C Saatchi Group UK has today announced the appointment of Amaya Alvarez as managing director of M+C Saatchi Talk, strengthening its leadership team and further embedding its Cultural Power proposition.

Amaya joins from Burson where she was senior director and P&G brand and culture lead, overseeing beauty and haircare brands and responsible for strategic, creative, and operational leadership. Prior to that, she held roles at Hill+Knowlton, Grayling Brands, Fleishman Hillard, Smarts Communicate and Cirkle PR.

With 17 years of experience, Amaya has shaped and delivered strategic, insight-driven, and award-winning campaigns for some of the world’s biggest brands, including P&G, Diageo, Pernod Ricard, Nestlé, and Bosch. Her expertise spans global and local market activations, integrated and pure-play PR, social and digital, as well as social purpose and behaviour change campaigns.

Throughout her career, Amaya has helped to turn cultural insights into powerful brand moments. An instrumental long-term leader of the P&G Grooming business, she was behind the award-winning Venus Move Your Skin campaign. Propelling growth for Braun across the male and female parts of the business, Amaya launched the world’s first smart IPL with the #SmarterSmoothness pop-up at Westfield in partnership with Boots. Other achievements include turning the Aussie haircare business around, bringing it back to consecutive years of growth through strategic signings and activations with cultural voices.

In her new role, Amaya will lead M+C Saatchi Talk’s 33-strong team, overseeing the agency’s strategic direction, growth, and client impact. She will report to Laura Coller, UK CEO, M+C Saatchi Sport & Entertainment and M+C Saatchi Talk, and collaborate across the M+C Saatchi Group to create integrated, culture-first solutions for brands.

Amaya's appointment is the latest in a series of senior hires at M+C Saatchi Group UK. She joins Emma Storer, group chief marketing officer; Gemma Knox, group managing director and global client lead; and Gen Kobayashi, group chief strategy officer; in strengthening the agency’s leadership and further embedding its Cultural Power proposition.

The appointment also follows the recent launch of the Cultural Power Index, a proprietary tool developed by M+C Saatchi Group to measure how effectively brands are engaging with and influencing culture.

Jo Bacon, group CEO, M+C Saatchi Group UK, said, “Amaya is a true force — a leader whose career has been all about making culture move. She’s got serious chops in PR, social, and influencer marketing, plus that rare mix of sharp strategy and bold creativity. She’s exactly who we need to lead M+C Saatchi Talk into what’s next. With her at the helm, we’re doubling down on building real Cultural Power for our clients — the kind that shows up, stands out, and drives results.”

Laura Coller, UK CEO, M+C Saatchi Sport & Entertainment and M+C Saatchi Talk, added, “Amaya is a brilliant strategic and creative thinker and a highly respected operator in the PR world. She understands how to build relevance for brands by sparking the right conversations, with the right audiences, at the right time. Her energy, clarity and cultural instincts will be a huge asset.”

Amaya Alvarez, managing director, M+C Saatchi Talk, concluded, "My reputation is founded on solving brand problems through impactful, bold, culturally connected creative work that wins fans. Joining M+C Saatchi, a creative-first agency with Cultural Power at the heart of its proposition, feels like a homecoming. Talk was one of the original disruptors in beauty and lifestyle comms, and disruption runs through its DNA. There is enormous potential for pushing boundaries for our existing and future clients, and I can’t wait to get started.”