Havas Worldwide Announces New Leadership Team In Canada

Havas Worldwide announced today the integration of the Canadian operations of the Group and a new leadership team for all of Havas Worldwide Canada. Ann Bouthillier has been promoted to CEO of Havas Worldwide Canada, while Helen Pak has been appointed President and Chief Creative Officer for the Canadian team. These key appointments mark complete integration of the Montreal and Toronto offices under Bouthillier and Pak’s leadership.

“Havas Worldwide sees Canada as a high potential market,” said Andrew Benett. “Today’s announcement represents a pivotal step toward implementing our vision for the benefit of our client partners in Canada. The Havas strategy, which truly integrates creative, media and innovation, has already delivered great results globally under the Havas Village team structure,” he added.

An established leader within the Havas Worldwide network since 2005, Ann Bouthillier was formerly the CEO of PALM + HAVAS and has been a key driver of growth for the agency in Canada. Under her direction, the agency has won numerous national and international awards, including W3 Awards, WebAwards, Golden Awards of Montreux and Cannes Lions. Her promotion to CEO of Havas Worldwide Canada brings her guidance and oversight to all operations across the Toronto and Montreal offices.

“Ann has a great track record of building brands in Canada. Under her leadership, PALM + HAVAS has become a leading agency and driven success for all our client partners. Her remarkable leadership skills with our people and clients make her the perfect candidate to lead the Canadian operations of Havas Worldwide,” Andrew Benett said.

Working alongside her will be Helen Pak, formerly the Global Creative Strategist at Facebook Canada. At Facebook, Helen led the organization’s Creative Shop in Canada, working with the world’s largest brands across all verticals. Prior to Facebook, Helen was Executive Creative Director at Saatchi & Saatchi Canada, where she had tremendous success in transforming the agency; her leadership helped the agency win the coveted Advertising and Design Club of Canada’s Agency of the Year award in 2014. She also brings more than 15 years of experience working at multiple top-tier agencies in Canada, including TAXI, Ogilvy and JWT, and previously StrawberryFrog in Amsterdam.

“Helen brings a unique background to Havas. Her experience includes a deep track record of creative excellence and innovation. She is one of the most respected leaders in our industry, and we are extremely fortunate to have her on board,” commented Ann Bouthillier.

“Havas has digital and innovation at its core and that is what attracted me to come back to the agency side,” said Helen Pak. “With the growing importance of mobile and digital consumption, how we communicate and connect is also rapidly transforming. I’m excited about leveraging media and technology to produce big, bold ideas,” she concluded.

“With Alex Chepovetsky continuing to lead our digital offering across Canada and Tom Olesinski remaining head of our media offering, we are confident that Havas Canada will continue to grow through new and existing clients, pushing the boundaries on integrated and collaborative work, as well as be a great place to work,” said Benett.
 
Bill Sharpe, Chairman of Havas Worldwide Toronto, will step down at the end of December 2014. “We would like to thank Bill for the many contributions he has made to the agency over the past 13 years and wish him much happiness in his future endeavours,” Benett added.