Havas appoints ANZ chairman from within

Havas has appointed Anthony Freedman to a newly created role as chairman of Havas Group Australia and New Zealand.

Freedman has been with Havas since 2011 following the acquisition of 51 percent of Host and One Green Bean, which he founded in 2000 and 2007, respectively. He has remained as CEO of both until this promotion.

He will oversee almost 500 people across Havas Sydney, Havas Melbourne, Havas New Zealand, Havas Media, Host, One Green Bean and Red Agency, with offices in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, and Auckland.

He will have five CEOs reporting to him:

• Anthony Gregorio and Mike Wilson continue as group CEO of Havas (the creative network) and group CEO of Havas Media
• James Wright, CEO of Red Agency
• Carl Ratcliff, CEO of One Green Bean
• Laura Aldington, who has been promoted from MD to CEO of Host.

Wright will also assume additional responsibilities with the rollout of Red Agency across APAC and a newly created role as chief commercial officer for Havas Group Australia/New Zealand.

"We have ambition for significant growth fueled by closer collaboration between our agencies, allowing us to leverage the true scale of the group in Australia and New Zealand," Freedman said. "We are also planning a number of investments with particular focus on data, content, brand tech and healthcare.”

Mike Amour, CEO of Havas APAC Group, said, the group is "committed to creating a real challenger to the established larger players in Australia and New Zealand" and praised Freedman as one of the "most pioneering entrepreneurs in Australia".