Havas London appoints new CEO
Havas London has promoted chief client officer James Fox to the position of CEO, following the elevation of Xavier Rees from CEO to UK group CEO of Havas Creative. While Fox will continue to report to Rees, the pair will lead the B Corp-certified agency alongside chief creative officer Vicki Maguire, head of strategy Britt Iversen, and global chief strategy officer Mark Sinnock.
According to Havas, as chief client officer Fox has been instrumental in a series of successes for the agency, defending The Open University account, winning the DofE’s Further Education business and helping the likes of Molson Coors and Asda grow. The new CEO joined Havas after spending seven years at Omnicom-owned agency Lucky Generals where he was appointed as its first managing director.
M&C Saatchi appoints head of integrated production
London agency M&C Saatchi has strengthened its integrated production capabilities by appointing former Marks & Spencer production head Rachel ‘Chops’ Amess to the newly-created role of head of integrated production.
Having started her career with DDB London, Amess has amassed extensive industry experience working at a range of top agencies including VCCP, Droga5, adam&eveDDB, Grey London and AMV BBDO.
Amess has also worked on numerous highly impactful pieces such as VCCP’s “Meerkats” work for Compare the Market and a domestic violence charity film for FKA Twigs.
VMLY&R poaches VCCP strategy director
VMLY&R has appointed Kate Nettleton as its new UK head of planning, who will report to UK chief strategy officer Anna Vogt.
Nettleton will leave her role as group strategy director at agency VCCP and will soon be responsible for leading VMLYR’s integrated strategy department.
While working for VCCP, Nettleton looked after the Transport for London (TfL) account and also led work for brands such as Dominoes.
Prior to her time spent at VCCP, VMLYR’s new UK head of planning worked for Bartle Bogle Hegarty (BBH) and Sky Creative Agency.
Weber Shandwick appoints new head of public affairs
Global strategic communications and consulting firm Weber Shandwick has today named Ella Fallows as its new UK head of public affairs.
The government relations and public affairs expert joins the firm after five years at US tech giant Meta. Her new role will be centred around driving Weber Shandwick’s public affairs offer for the market.
On her new role, Fallow commented: “Weber Shandwick has a strong strategic approach to integrated public affairs and is uniquely positioned to bring together expertise across the political spectrum, whether that’s through local engagement or agenda-setting campaigns.
BGN appoints new head of strategy
Manchester-based agency BGN has bolstered its senior leadership team with the appointment of Louise Kennedy as its new head of strategy.
Joining from Brandon Consultants, Kennedy brings over two decade’s-worth of experience to BGN, having previously held insight and strategic planning positions at Kellogg’s, Kerry Foods and MyTravel.
In her new role, Kennedy has been tasked with overseeing all elements of strategic thinking and planning across the agency’s client portfolio, which includes Slumberdown, Victoria Leeds, Burgess Excel, Total Fitness and Rustlers.
“I was keen to join BGN as they have strong growth ambitions which is an exciting prospect. It was also obvious that Paul, David and Antonio value the role strategy can play in the creative process,” Kennedy said.
Avantgarde Group announces senior team promotions and new hire
Brand experience agency Avantgarde has promoted two senior team members and hired a new global business development director.
Stuart Bradbury, who has held the role of managing director of Avantgarde London for over 13 years, has been promoted to the position of executive director of strategic and creative chapters, where he will sit on the management board and oversee all international managing directors.
Client services director of the London office since September 2022, Rachel Lewandowska, has also been promoted to head of Avantgarde London. While taking on many of the responsibilities from Bradbury’s previous role, Lewandowska will also continue to be the client services team lead and will have oversight of all clients at Avantgarde London.
RAPP UK taps internal talent for new social director role
Customer experience agency RAPP UK has promoted Jamie Marks to the newly-created role of social director as it looks to expand its social offering.
Created to address increased demand from clients in the social, influencer and brand partnership sphere, the new role will see Marks take on responsibility for expanding the agency’s social capabilities. He will report into client leadership director, Ed Lee.
“As an agency that stands up for individuality, I’m delighted to see Jamie’s talent and expertise recognised with this new, crucial role at RAPP UK,” Lee said.
