Patrick Affleck Appointed CEO of Havas UK and Ireland Village
Havas has unveiled the next evolution of its UK & Ireland Village, bringing its businesses together under a strengthened leadership model designed to meet the growing client demand for more seamless, integrated solutions that accelerate growth both locally and globally.
As part of the new structure, Patrick Affleck, currently CEO of Havas Media Network UK & Ireland, has been appointed in the newly created role of CEO of Havas UK & Ireland Village, encompassing Havas Villages in London, Manchester, and Dublin, working alongside Mark Whelan, who continues as chairman and group chief creative officer of Havas Village UK and global creative partner of Havas Creative Network. Patrick will assume responsibility across Havas’ media, creative, data, CX, PR, consulting, employee branding and design capabilities, bringing the full breadth of Havas closer together around client needs.
The evolution builds on Havas’ distinctive Village model to create a more connected growth hub, giving clients seamless access to talent and end-to-end marketing expertise across disciplines while reinforcing London's position as one of Havas' most important global hubs. The model reflects Havas’ global ambition to deliver Growth Powered by Desire, combining creativity, media, technology and human expertise to build more desirable brands and drive sustained business growth.
The new structure will also accelerate adoption of Converged.AI, Havas’ proprietary operating system, to enable more integrated, client-centric solutions across the customer journey.
Since joining Havas in 2020 Affleck has led the business transformation of Havas Media Network UK & Ireland, expanding and diversifying capabilities across data, technology, B2B, content, social marketing, experiential, connected commerce and creativity. Under his leadership, the business has doubled in size and has evolved to operate in a more integrated and agile way for clients, helping attract and retain globally influential brands including Red Bull, Ocado, Domino’s and the BBC.
He will report into Peter Mears, global CEO of Havas Media Network, and Donna Murphy, global CEO of Havas Creative and Health Networks.
Havas has also appointed Gaetan Durocher as COO of Havas UK & Ireland Village, while continuing in his role as CFO and COO of Havas Creative Network, with Dominique Bergantino moving into the newly created role of head of integration. Together with Patrick and Mark, they will work alongside Ewen MacPherson, chief people officer, and Rosie Kitson, chief impact officer, to foster the cultural, collaborative and entrepreneurial spirit that define Havas’ unique Village model.
Havas chairman and CEO, Yannick Bolloré, said, “As our third-largest country worldwide, with more than 1500 talented professionals, the UK represents a critically important growth market for Havas. It is also home to a rich heritage of Village collaboration, best-in-class talent and delivery of groundbreaking client work that pushes the boundaries of creativity, innovation and effectiveness. Based on this foundation, we’re excited to unveil a new model and leadership for the market that deepens this collaboration and harnesses the power of integration excellence to benefit client growth. Paddy’s ability to unite talent around client challenges makes him the natural leader to accelerate our integrated strategy across the UK and Ireland.”
Partick, CEO of Havas UK & Ireland Village, said, “In the face of increasing complexity, brands need strategic partners who unify thinking across disciplines, drive commercial clarity and bring pace, accountability and efficiency to execution. This is where Havas truly comes into its own. We have an extraordinary mix of talent across media, creative, CX, production and specialist disciplines that are united by a common entrepreneurial culture that thrives on collaboration, creativity and a strong desire to solve challenges. My priority is to build on our strengths to create even greater opportunity for our clients, their customers and our people who make this happen every day.”
