SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA — Following the announcement of the evolution to the Havas global strategy and a significant investment of $400 million EU into data, tech, and AI, Havas Media Australia has promoted Alastair Baker to Chief Planning Officer, a newly created role. Alastair was previously Head of Planning, where he championed the development of innovative work that drove client growth.
In his new role, Alastair’s remit is to develop the local client-centric approach, unlocking the full potential of Converged capabilities, which deliver marketers the ability to activate hyper-personalized solutions. Havas is looking to prepare for a new chapter in the future to provide solutions to marketers who need a single customer view. Alastair’s role will see him develop tools, processes, and structures that support seamless integration of all the agency’s capabilities, including modeling, e-commerce, search, content, and multi-channel activities.
His focus will be on driving profitable growth for Havas’ clients in the short and long term, helping brands achieve a competitive edge by delivering greater numbers of returning high-value customers.
Alastair’s career spans more than 15 years, during which time he has worked across media, creative, and digital agencies in the UK and Australia. He has worked at agencies including Dentsu X UK, Vizeum UK, and iProspect (a Dentsu company) in Melbourne.
Virginia Hyland, CEO of Havas Media Network, said, “We are at a critical time in our industry where marketers are feeling the loaded pressure from their businesses to do more with the same or lower budgets, do more with the same team. Our goal is to simplify the complicated for them. This challenge creates an opportunity for Alastair to develop customer solutions that enable clients’ businesses to deliver meaningful growth through understanding how to best utilize content in the most effective media channel and deliver influential always-on engagement. Alastair’s role will mean that Havas Media continues to transform into the agency that is needed by marketers who are constantly faced with new challenges on a daily basis. He is such a talent, and we are excited to elevate him as a pivotal leader.”
Alistair commented, “I’m energized by Havas’ investment in technology and data to deliver best-in-market solutions for clients. This new role is an exciting part of that commitment and a personal chapter I’m looking forward to greatly. It’s an unprecedented opportunity to work with clients to help them better understand their customers’ behaviors across the entire purchase journey and deliver effective growth solutions.”
He will start his new role as Chief Planning officer effective immediately. He will introduce an integrated Converged planning process and improved data and tool strategy to drive smarter, profit-driven decisions for clients.
