Havas announces two key senior management appointments: Andrew Benett to Global President of Havas Worldwide; Robert LePlae to Global CEO of Arnold Worldwide

NEW YORK, Jan. 8, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- David Jones, Global CEO of Havas, today announced two key management moves. Andrew Benett, currently Arnold Worldwide Global CEO, is appointed to the new role of Global President at Havas Worldwide (previously known as Euro RSCG). In this new role Benett will assume responsibility for leading the day-to-day management of the global network. Benett will report to Jones, who will remain Global CEO of the Havas Worldwide network.

In a second key move, Robert LePlae, previously Arnold Worldwide's Global President, will now become its Global CEO. LePlae will also report to Jones.

Jones commented: "This is an incredibly exciting time for our industry, presenting fantastic opportunities for big talents like Andrew and Robert, who are motivated by change. The momentum at Havas is very strong at the moment, following the successful rebranding of Euro RSCG to Havas Worldwide, the unique co-location of all our media, creative and digital teams into one building in Paris and in New York, and a great fourth quarter of new business wins and digital growth. These senior management moves represent another important step in delivering our strategic plan."

Benett has been with Havas for nearly a decade. Prior to his role at Arnold Worldwide, he served as Global Chief Strategy Officer for Euro RSCG Worldwide and CEO of Euro RSCG New York. He has a track record of building strong teams that deliver great results. During his recent three-year tenure leading Arnold Worldwide, he and his team grew the agency by more than 30%, winning and growing relationships with clients including The Hershey Company, Jack Daniel's, Unilever, Volvo, American Eagle Outfitters and fab.com. The team also dramatically enhanced the agency's digital capabilities, while expanding the micro-network's offerings in Amsterdam, London, Moscow, Shanghai and Sydney. 

"I am very proud of what we've accomplished and delivered together. The leadership team at Arnold is one of the most passionate and committed I've seen, and they are further strengthened by the expertise and experience Robert brings," Benett said. "I am looking forward to my new role. Havas Worldwide's digital strength and leadership in the areas of social media and social responsibility have put the agency at the cutting edge of the industry and we have high expectations of what we can accomplish in 2013."

Robert LePlae brings a wealth of experience to his new role.  He spent 11 years at TBWA, including five years as CEO of TBWA\Chiat\Day Los Angeles, leading to his appointment as President of TBWA North America.  He also spent two years in Japan as founding CEO of an international joint-venture company to run the Nissan business globally.  He is considered to have been a cornerstone in the emergence of TBWA Worldwide as a leading global creative network.  Immediately prior to joining Arnold, he served as North American President at McCann Worldgroup.

"When I joined Havas last year, its reputation as the most agile, entrepreneurial and integrated of all the big communications groups was incredibly appealing. Stepping into the CEO position at Arnold is an inspiring chance to deliver results for a first-rate group of clients, and to lead a world-class, innovative team at Arnold," added LePlae.

"Both Robert and Andrew will have a similar focus in their new roles — making successful businesses even more successful. When we moved Andrew to Arnold, we put him there to develop and execute a plan to turn around the agency — he's done that very successfully. The move to Havas Worldwide provides a different opportunity as the agency is coming off one of the best new business streaks in its history, having in the last few weeks won the global Unilever data business, the European Central Bank account, Louis Vuitton globally, Berluti globally, and Citibank CRM and eCRM as just a few of the highlights. His key focus will be leveraging his strategic strength to lead the business to even more rapid growth. Arnold's spectacular turnaround also means that Robert is facing the same task. I look forward to them both delivering for our clients and, in turn, for their agencies," concluded Jones.

Benett will retain his Chief Strategy Officer role at Havas Creative Group. All other titles and roles remain unchanged.

About Havas
Havas (Euronext Paris: HAV.PA) is one of the world's largest global advertising, digital and communications groups. Headquartered in Paris, Havas operates through its two Business Units, Havas Creative and Havas Media.  Havas Creative Group incorporates the Havas Worldwide (www.havasworldwide.com) network - formerly Euro RSCG Worldwide - (316 offices in 75 countries), the Arnold (www.arn.com) micro-network (16 agencies in 15 countries on 5 continents) as well as several other strong agencies.
Havas Media (www.havasmedia.com) is the world's fastest growing media group, operating in over 100 countries. A multicultural and decentralized Group, Havas is present in more than 100 countries through its networks of agencies and contractual affiliations. The Group offers a broad range of communications services, including digital, advertising, direct marketing, media planning and buying, corporate communications, sales promotion, design, human resources, sports marketing, multimedia interactive communications and public relations. Havas employs approximately 15,000 people. Further information about Havas is available on the company's website: www.havas.com

About Havas Worldwide
Havas Worldwide, formerly known as Euro RSCG Worldwide, is a leading integrated marketing communications agency and was the first agency to be named Global Agency of the Year by both Advertising Age and Campaign in the same year. The Havas Worldwide Network is made up of 11,000 employees in 120 cities and 75 countries, with 316 offices and provides advertising, marketing, corporate communications, and digital and social media solutions to clients, including Air France, BNP Paribas, Charles Schwab, Citigroup, Danone Group, IBM, Kraft Foods, Lacoste, Merck, Pernod Ricard, PSA Peugeot Citroen, Reckitt Benckiser, Sanofi, and Volvo. Headquartered in New York, Havas Worldwide is the largest unit of the Havas group, a world leader in communications (Euronext Paris SA: HAV.PA)

Contact:
Lorella Gessa
Communications Director
Havas Group
+33 (01) 58 47 90 36
[email protected]

Yvonne Bond
Global Communications Director
Havas Worldwide
(212) 886-2035
[email protected]

SOURCE Havas Group