Executive exits during restructure: a startup playbook

Agency restructures can look like “industry gossip” until you’re the one trying to ship product, hit pipeline targets, and keep a team calm while the org chart changes under your feet. The news that M&C Saatchi UK chief executive Jo Bacon is departing amid an ongoing restructure is a reminder of something most founders learn the hard way: leadership transitions aren’t a side story—they’re an operational event.

This matters in the Housing & Infrastructure Development world more than in most sectors. Property, transport, and regeneration projects are multi-stakeholder by default: councils, developers, investors, contractors, residents, and regulators. Your marketing and growth function has to translate complexity into trust. When leaders move on, that trust can wobble—internally and externally.

What follows isn’t a rehash of the agency headline. It’s a startup-facing playbook for handling executive change during a restructure—so you protect momentum, keep your narrative intact, and come out sharper.

Snippet-worthy truth: A restructure is only “internal” if customers don’t notice. Most of the time, they notice.

What this leadership change signals (and why startups should care)

A UK agency reshuffle might feel distant from a startup building solutions for affordable housing delivery or infrastructure modernisation. It isn’t. Agency leadership changes mirror what scaling companies go through: shifting priorities, consolidating teams, clarifying decision rights, and rebuilding accountability.

In the Campaign report, the key public detail is straightforward: Jo Bacon is departing, and Marcus Peffers will confirm the UK leadership structure later this year. The subtext is the useful part for founders: when the structure is still being finalised, the business is in a “transition operating system.” That’s when confusion spreads fastest.

The practical implication

If you’re a startup CEO, CMO, or Head of Growth, you should read this as permission to plan for transition like you’d plan for a platform migration:

• there’s a risk window
• there are known failure modes
• there are stabilisation steps that work

And yes—this is as true for a 20-person proptech as it is for a legacy agency group.

Restructures fail in three predictable ways

Most companies get this wrong by treating exec departures as a PR exercise first and an operating problem second. Here are the three failure modes I see repeatedly (and they’re avoidable).

1) The “who decides?” gap

When an executive exits, the org often loses more than a person. It loses decision velocity.

In housing and infrastructure marketing, decision velocity matters because you’re balancing:

• long sales cycles (frameworks, procurement gates)
• compliance-heavy messaging (claims, ESG, public value)
• multiple buyer types (public sector vs private developers)

Fix it in 48 hours: publish a temporary decision map. Not a slide deck. A simple one-pager:

• what decisions are frozen
• who is the interim approver for budgets, brand, comms, and hiring
• what counts as “business as usual”

2) Narrative drift (your market fills the vacuum)

The reality? If you don’t explain change, someone else will—competitors, recruiters, LinkedIn commenters, even customers trying to interpret your signals.

For startups serving housing delivery or transport modernisation, narrative drift is expensive:

• councils worry about vendor continuity
• investors worry about execution risk
• partners delay joint announcements

Fix it in one week: align on a “continuity narrative” that’s specific.

Bad: “We’re excited about the next chapter.”

Good: “Projects and client teams are unchanged; our Q1 roadmap remains the same; interim leadership is X; next structural update will be shared by Y date.”

3) Restructure-as-cost-cutting only

Restructures that are framed purely as efficiency moves tend to trigger defensive behaviour: teams hoard work, hide problems, and stop experimenting.

In infrastructure-adjacent markets, you can’t afford that. Your marketing has to keep learning—policy shifts, funding updates, planning constraints, procurement routes.

Fix it in two weeks: explicitly protect one growth bet.

Pick a single initiative that signals “we’re still building,” such as:

• a monthly pipeline experiment cadence
• a new partner programme with housing associations
• a content engine focused on affordable housing and planning reform

That small commitment keeps the organisation future-facing.

The startup playbook for executive transition (steal this)

Here’s a tight, field-tested approach that works whether you’re replacing a CEO, CMO, or UK GM.

1) Run a 30-day “stability sprint”

Answer first: stability beats reinvention in the first month.

A stability sprint is a short period where you prioritise:

• maintaining delivery
• protecting customer confidence
• keeping internal throughput steady

Your stability sprint checklist:

1. Freeze major rebrands, martech migrations, and ICP pivots for 30 days
2. Review the top 20 revenue opportunities and assign clear owners
3. Audit customer touchpoints (renewals, QBRs, onboarding) and double-cover the top 10 accounts
4. Publish a weekly internal update (short, factual, predictable)

This is especially useful in housing and infrastructure startups because one missed stakeholder meeting can push timelines by months.

2) Decide whether you need an interim leader (and be honest)

Answer first: interims aren’t a compromise; they’re a risk-control tool.

Many founders try to “share” responsibilities across the team. That works for a week. Then it becomes nobody’s job.

A good interim leader should:

• own the operating rhythm (weekly priorities, approvals, reporting)
• have authority to say no
• communicate calmly to clients and partners

If you can’t identify that person, that’s a signal you have a bigger structure problem than the departure itself.

3) Protect the marketing system, not just the marketing people

Answer first: your pipeline is a system; systems hate disruption.

When leadership changes, teams often pause campaigns “until we know the new direction.” That’s how leads dry up in 6–10 weeks.

Protect these system components:

• Messaging: one source of truth for your positioning in affordable housing, regeneration, or infrastructure delivery
• Cadence: weekly performance review with the same inputs (spend, CPL, SQLs, conversion rates)
• Ownership: named owners for website, paid media, partnerships, PR, and bid support

If you’re in a procurement-heavy market, also protect your bid library and case study pipeline. Those assets compound.

4) Use the restructure to simplify, not to add layers

Answer first: the best restructures remove handoffs.

Startups often copy “grown-up company” structures: too many verticals, too much matrix, too many meetings.

If your business touches housing and infrastructure, simplification looks like:

• one clear owner for “public sector growth” (frameworks, councils, combined authorities)
• one clear owner for “private sector growth” (developers, contractors, consultants)
• shared brand and content function that supports both

Clear lanes reduce internal conflict and speed up deal cycles.

How this ties to Housing & Infrastructure Development

Housing and infrastructure organisations buy confidence, not just products. That’s why leadership transitions can hit harder in this sector than in, say, consumer apps.

Here’s what buyers in this space typically want reassurance on:

• Delivery continuity: Will the team still be there in 12–24 months?
• Governance: Who signs off? Who’s accountable?
• Risk management: Are you stable enough to be on a long-term programme?
• Public value narrative: Can you credibly talk about affordability, sustainability, and outcomes?

A well-managed restructure strengthens your ability to sell into this world. A messy one does the opposite.

One-liner you can reuse: In housing and infrastructure, your org chart is part of your product.

People Also Ask: quick answers founders need

How do you announce an executive departure without spooking customers?

Lead with continuity and specifics: what stays the same, who is responsible now, and when the next update is coming. Avoid vague optimism.

Should startups pause marketing during a restructure?

No. Pause only irreversible moves (big rebrand, platform rebuild). Keep demand generation and customer comms running to protect pipeline.

What’s the first metric to watch after a leadership change?

Watch sales cycle friction: meeting-to-proposal time, proposal-to-close time, and renewal sentiment. These move before revenue does.

When should you hire externally vs promote internally?

Promote internally if you need speed and cultural stability. Hire externally if you need a clear strategic shift and have 90+ days runway for onboarding.

Next steps: turn disruption into a controlled pivot

The headline about M&C Saatchi’s UK leadership change is just one example of a wider truth in the UK marketing industry: restructuring is a normal response to shifting demand, margin pressure, and changing client expectations. Startups feel those same forces—just faster.

If you’re scaling in housing and infrastructure, don’t treat executive transitions as awkward HR moments. Treat them as risk-managed operational projects: define decision rights, protect your narrative, and keep the marketing engine running.

If you’re planning a restructure—or you’ve just had a senior departure—what would change for you if you wrote down, today, the three decisions you can’t afford to slow down?