Havas Group Appoints Peter Mears as COO of Media Business

Havas Group has announced the appointment of Peter Mears as the new Chief Operating Officer for Havas’ network of media agencies, effective immediately. In this newly created role, Mears will oversee operations and strategy of all Havas media units. In addition, he will support regional and local leadership for agency management, new business and local client strategy. He will report directly to the CEO of the Havas media business, Alfonso Rodés, as well as to the Havas Media executive committee. Mears will also work closely with Yannick Bolloré, CEO Havas Group, to further promote integration.

On the heels of the company’s recent merging of its creative and media divisions into one client-centric model, Yannick Bolloré said, “Our goal is to be the absolute best at serving clients through creative excellence and smart media accountability. This requires an organisation that is best-in-class at agility and efficiency. Peter’s 20 years of experience as a global business leader and his strong collaborative nature result in a leadership style rooted in modern marketing know-how – the perfect leader to further accelerate our Together Strategy.”

Mears says, “As Havas continues to build out their integrated model, I'm excited to join the Group and reinforce the organisational structure that’s already in place. I’m impressed with the strides that the teams around the world have made so far, and can’t wait to further develop our truly differentiated approach for clients.”

An industry veteran, Mears has extensive experience in advertising and media, with a track record of driving both business growth and cultural change. Previously, he served as Global Chief Operating Officer at Initiative, during which time he oversaw the entire network and local offices, driving operational excellence and executing on the overall vision of the global executive board. Earlier in his career, he spent many years at Omnicom’s PHD where he was responsible for managing all global client relationships.