Havas Creative Group Team Members

Strong marketing professional, with 12+ year of agency experience in NY on the creative side. I'm now working with the Havas Global network driving new business, growth and marketing effort worldwide.

Senior marketing expert specialising in business development, client growth and pitch management Over 25 years experience both agency and client side with a career which started at Lowe Howard Spink and which includes Kitcatt Nohr and Lloyds TSB. In addition to Board level leadership within the private sector, I hold a number of Non Executive and Trustee roles within the public sector.

Chris Hirst is a change agent, widely recognized as an innovative and inspirational leader. After a decade in CEO positions, he has a proven track record of leading transformation – guiding his businesses to deliver reputational change, growth and a culture of enduring success. Chris is currently CEO and Chairman of Havas UK and Europe. As UK CEO he leads 1,800 people across both Creative and Media disciplines working within the European HQ in Kings Cross. This truly integrated agency is a model many in the industry are looking to emulate and is a move Chris has overseen since he joined the business in 2015. Havas now has an unrivaled breadth and depth of capability under one brand and in a single location, making it one of London’s most exciting and talked about communications businesses. Chris was previously CEO at Grey London. Under his leadership, the agency went from being a failing, ‘safe but dull’ agency to the hottest creative shop in London. During his 6 years as CEO, Grey London was the fastest growing (doubling its size) agency in London – named IPA agency of the year in 2014. Chris went to his local state secondary school in Northumberland, before heading to Brasenose College Oxford to study Engineering Science. After an apprenticeship at Pilkington Glass in St. Helens he embarked on (an unlikely) career in advertising. After a decade establishing his ability in outstanding account management, Chris went to Harvard Business School (2008) where he developed his unique and now proven, approach to leadership. He believes in the principles of an open culture – where people are given permission to thrive and take risks – accepting that mistakes are a necessary part of success. He is actively engaged in broadening the appeal of the advertising industry and sees diversity and social mobility as key factors in the future health of the creative industries in the UK and Europe. Chris is the current Chairman of the IPA Effectiveness Leadership Group, holds a seat on the council of the Creative Industries Federation and the IPA Council; is a member of the board at Vivendi and a trustee of the MOBO Foundation. He also holds a number of non-exec positions within the startup community. Chris is a regular speaker at industry events and commentator in national press including BBC News, ITV News, The Politics Show, Evening Standard, FT and Sky News.

As CEO of Havas New York, Laura Maness leads the North American flagship agency of Havas Group, driving a culture of creativity and innovation, and creating deeper meaning for some of the most recognized companies in the world including ADP, TD Ameritrade, GNC, IBM, Keurig Dr. Pepper, RB, conEdison and Rite Aid. Since taking the helm in early 2016, Laura has been a catalyst for growth, steering an enterprise-wide turnaround and transformation of Havas that earned the agency Digiday’s Most Innovative Culture and Ad Age’s 2019 Best Places to Work. By boldly breaking the traditions of advertising, Laura and the executive leadership team she formed are collectively raising consciousness and are on a journey to becoming a certified @BCorporation; as the first U.S. agency to become a B Corp, Laura is committed to making a meaningful difference by placing equal balance on people, planet and profit and using business as a force for good. #BTheChange Prior to Havas NY, Laura served as U.S. Chief Growth Officer for Havas Worldwide North America and Managing Director of Havas Chicago Group. With over 20 years of strategic marketing experience ranging from digital pure-play agencies to globally integrated ad networks, Laura spearheaded growth resulting in three consecutive years of more than 35% revenue growth and a >300% increase in profitability. Before Havas, Laura was SVP and CMO of Propane Studio, one of the fastest growing independent digital agencies with offices in SF and NY. Prior to that, Laura led a period of explosive growth for IPG-owned FCB West across SF, Seattle and LA, and previously held management positions with Chicago-based digital shops including WPP/Wunderman-owned Designkitchen (now Blast Radius), Black Dog Interactive and Publicis-owned Giant Step (now Arc Worldwide). Laura ignites meaningful change as a Board Member of the 4A’s, ACT Responsible, Grid News Bureau and Alembic. She’s also a Village Global advisor to early stage VC-backed companies, a founding member of Chief, an executive mentor of 3% Conference and SheRunsIt, an original signer and Steering Committee member of TIME’S UP™/ADVERTISING, and a recognized industry voice through keynote speeches at S.H.E Summit, USACE Women in Business Summit, Michelin’s Women in Leadership Summit, Digiday and more. A proud alum of Loyola University Chicago (where she delivered the 2019 Commencement Address) and School of Communication Board Member, Laura was recently named a Working Mother of the Year by She Runs It, and named a Campaign US Female Frontier honoree for Championing Change.