Attivo U.S. taps proven industry rainmakers to power next phase of growth

As part of the new structure, renowned media and business executive Sasha Savic has been named CEO, Attivo U.S. and CEO, Attivo Media (U.S), bringing more than three decades of leadership and innovation to the newly created role. Joining him is strategy veteran and growth catalyst Anush Prabhu, who has been appointed CEO of Attivo’s creative agencies, Hill Holliday and DNY. Reporting to Savic, Prabhu has more than 25 years’ experience building and leading creative and media solutions across global agencies.

Award winning creative Dave Weist – previously CCO at Hill Holliday – has been promoted to President and Chief Creative Officer across both DNY and Hill Holliday, providing unified creative leadership in support of Attivo’s integrated vision.

With established agencies in Australia and New  Zealand, Attivo first entered the U.S. market two years ago, when it bought iconic agencies Hill Holliday and DNY (formerly Deutsch NY) from IPG. It has since launched a range of new capabilities and driven strong growth across its consultancy, tech and data offerings within the U.S., while continuing to produce market-leading strategic and creative solutions.

Attivo global CEO Cam Murchison said with ongoing business growth and expanded capabilities within Attivo U.S., a new leadership structure was required to “formalize a new operating model for Attivo – one that brings data, technology, creativity, and media together in a more cohesive and modern way,” he said.

“Sasha and Anush bring a decade-long track record of partnership, having worked closely to drive Mediacom’s spectacular growth over ten years. During their tenure, they helped build Mediacom into one of the fastest-growing global media agencies and the most creatively awarded media agency in the world – an uncommon combination of scale, effectiveness, and creative excellence. That shared history of blending creativity, data, and media innovation now underpins the model they are bringing to Attivo.

“Teamed with Dave’s uncompromising commitment to creativity and its ability to drive business outcomes, this leadership structure reinforces Attivo’s ambition to create an agency built for the realities of modern marketing: faster-moving, more effective, and unburdened by complexity.”

Savic added: “Brands are looking for a more cohesive and effective model, one where data, media, and ideas work together through technology by design. The goal is better outcomes though integrated strategic and creative ideas, with freedom to move faster and smarter. Our promise is to deliver an autonomous marketing communications system that clients can operate on their own, if they choose, which will eventually give them freedom to conduct marketing by themselves.”

At the core of Attivo’s strategy is solving the industry’s long-standing misalignment between media and creativity, explains Prabhu: “Hill Holliday and DNY have a rich history of connecting creativity to real-world effectiveness. We’re on a journey to power that further through technology – without the friction that can often hold agencies back. This is also about pushing modern creativity forward, where we move beyond just ads to creative solutions; ideas, platforms, and performance built for effectiveness.”

Weist concluded: “When technology removes friction, creative teams can focus on what they do best; building ideas that travel further, faster, and with more impact.”

The leadership evolution builds toward the launch of a soon-to-be-announced next-generation media network.

Attivo is a global marketing services group with agencies in Australia, New Zealand and the U.S., including Hill Holliday, Hill Holliday Quest, From To Labs, SOCI Studio, DNY, 303 (formerly 303 MullenLowe), Mediahub, Farrimond and Tonic Communications. For more information visit Home | Attivo

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