Havas Creative Appoints Alex Brown as UK Head of New Business and Marketing

Havas Creative, the world’s most integrated advertising and communications company, has appointed Alex Brown as UK head of new business and marketing. She joins from Vice Media Group’s Virtue Worldwide, where, as head of business development Europe, she oversaw all business development strategy and execution for the region.

Reporting into Havas Creative Global CMO Tracey Barber, Brown will assume responsibility for flagship UK agencies including Havas London (creative) and Havas CX helia (customer engagement). She has also been tasked with driving UK growth of Havas Studios and Havas CX, Havas’ multi-market production and customer experience networks, as well as driving further integration across Havas’ King’s Cross Village. 

Prior to joining Virtue Worldwide, Brown held a range of senior roles at companies including Engine (new business director / client MD), TBWA\London (new business director), VCCP Kin (managing partner), BMB (business director / head of talent), Karmarama (head of account management) and Havas-owned creative agency Host in Sydney (account director).

Also joining Barber’s team is Global New Business Director Amelia Priday, who re-joins Havas having previously spent seven years in a variety of roles across the group’s media division. 

Priday returns to the UK following five years at Havas Media Group Australia, where she rose to the position of Head of New Business and Marketing, winning B&T Australia’s Women in Media ‘agency sales’ award and named an AdNews ‘Future Leader’ in the process. She also spent two years in new business roles at Havas Media Group Middle East. She previously held marketing and PR roles at Conde Nast Publishing, Nota Bene and Jimmy Choo. She will report into Global Managing Partner, Growth and Group Intelligence Laure Ayel.

Tracey Barber, Global CMO, Havas Creative, says: “Alex is a CMO’s dream – she’s got experience both winning and working with some of the biggest clients in the UK, in senior roles at some of its most successful agencies. She also knows first-hand what it’s like to work for a creative agency within a media and entertainment group, as we do with Vivendi. As such, she’s the perfect choice to take on the running of our UK new business, building on the vast success we’ve had over the past few years – which is a great brief if I do say so myself. 

“Amelia knows Havas, our Village model and local market nuances inside out. I can’t think of many people better placed to join our global team and unlock more of the big, multi-market pitches which are so prevalent in the market right now. I’m so excited to welcome them both to a team that’s more than doubled in size in the past couple of years.” 

Brown adds: "Havas has been gaining incredible momentum over the past few years and its successes, particularly in new business, have been impossible to ignore.  I can't wait to get stuck in with Tracey, the team and individual agency leaders to build on that momentum to ensure Havas remains the agency to watch"

Priday adds: “Through its ‘Village’ model, Havas is structurally, culturally and logistically set up to succeed when it comes to, multi-market new business. Having seen that first-hand, I’m incredibly excited to take on a global brief at such an exciting time for a company I know and love.”