Havas New York Welcomes Taras Wayner as Its Newest Executive Creative Director

The Flagship agency boosts its creative capabilities as part of a series of new hires and promotions

NEW YORK, March 26, 2024 /PRNewswire/ - Havas New York, the flagship agency of the Havas Creative Network, known for building meaningful brands and creative excellence, is thrilled to announce Taras Wayner as its newest Executive Creative Director. With deep knowledge of the advertising space, Wayner brings a wealth of creativity, strategic insight, and leadership to Havas New York's teams. Within the agency, Wayner will focus on the creative execution for long-term client partner, NewYork-Presbyterian. He will report to Dan Lucey, Chief Creative Officer and Co-CEO of Havas New York.

"Taras is a brilliant creative who knows how to harness the power of integrated campaigns to connect brands with their consumers," said Lucey. "We are excited to have him on board."

In his new role, Wayner will support in driving the agency's creative vision forward, overseeing the development of breakthrough concepts, and ensuring that NewYork-Presbyterian's vision is displayed through memorable campaigns. He will work closely with Lucey, the account, and creative teams. 

"Havas New York has been a long-term creative partner of NewYork-Presbyterian. I have worked with Havas across industries and see their team as an extension of my own," said Devika Mathrani, Chief Marketing and Communication Officer at NewYork-Presbyterian. "Taras is an incredible addition to an already amazing, diverse, and creative team, we're looking forward to creating more life-changing work together to meet the needs of the communities we serve."

Wayner has spent the bulk of this career in NYC working for some of the world's largest brands. Most recently serving as the President of Creative Platforms & Solutions at GroupM and working with brands including FORD, Google, and Tiffany. Prior to that as the Chief Creative Officer of Wunderman Thompson, Saatchi & Saatchi, and R/GA respectively. Wayner has been named one of the most creative people in advertising by Business Insider and his work has been recognized by major industry publications and award shows–notably winning the prestigious Cannes Grand Prix in multiple categories.

"I am a passionate storyteller and as such, I enjoy creating stories that take consumers through a brand's journey," said Wayner. "I am looking forward to joining Havas New York and the NewYork-Presbyterian team to bring effectively creative ideas that can propel the brand to even greater heights–developing purposeful, impactful, and innovative work."   

Wayner's announcement comes at the heels of a leadership boost at Havas New York led by the appointment of Sarah Collinson as CEO, and the expanded remit of Lucey who added Co-CEO to his role. The agency also brought on Havas Middle East award-winning creative Joao Medeiros Executive Creative Director to sit across its portfolio of brands. 

Founded in 1835 in Paris, Havas is one of the world's largest global communications networks, with more than 22,000 people in over 100 countries sharing one single mission: to make a meaningful difference to brands, businesses, and people. Havas has developed a fully integrated model through its 70+ Havas Villages around the world, covering all communication activities. The teams of the three business units, Havas Creative Network, Havas Media Network, and Havas Health & You, work together with agility and in perfect synergy to offer tailor-made, innovative solutions to clients who support them in their positive transformation. Havas is committed to building a diverse culture where everybody feels they belong, can be themselves, and thrive. Havas integrated into Vivendi, a global leader in media, entertainment, and communications, in December 2017. Further information about Havas is available at www.havas.com. 

SOURCE Havas New York