Havas announces two senior management appointments

Havas Sports & Entertainment (Havas SE), the global brand engagement network of Havas, and part of Havas Media Group, has today announced two senior management appointments to its global team: Fredda Hurwitz, currently Global VP of Strategic Planning, Marketing & Communications for Havas SE, has been named Global Chief Strategy Officer where she will oversee the development and execution of all global strategic initiatives and key global pitches, along with her current responsibilities leading new business development, marketing and communications.

In a second move, Thiago Bersou has been appointed Global Creative Planning Director, where he will help lead on global pitches, supporting the planning process and the development of global creative tools and processes.

A multicultural marketing professional with over 14 years’ experience both in agencies and in-house, Bersou joins Havas SE from Aurora Media Worldwide, where he was head of Brand Content. Previously he spent four years at Diageo where he led participation marketing, developing brand engagement campaigns around football for Guinness Africa, and supporting Diageo’s strategy in Latin America. Before that, he was a senior strategist at Saatchi & Saatchi in Brazil where he worked on a number of top international and local brands including Nike, Claro, Skol and Unimed. He began his career at Pernod Ricard in Brazil.

Hurwitz is an industry veteran who joined Havas SE in 2009 after having held senior level strategic and management positions at Cunning, Momentum Worldwide, Redmandarin, NFL International, NHL International and Disney Consumer Products EMEA.

Speaking on these two key roles, Lucien Boyer, Global President & CEO:

"The Havas Sports & Entertainment network is in the midst of a number of important developments: First off, we have just wrapped up the first year of our Fans.Passions.Brands study about global football fans and we are launching a new edition focusing on music; we’re also collaborating globally with Universal Music through the Havas Media Group partnership announced early this year; Fredda has played a crucial role in these game-changing initiatives. She’s truly a strategic thinker and can spot new opportunities and trends that will take us in the right direction. This new role signifies our commitment to strategic innovation and vision which will help spur new business momentum and growth.

A big welcome to Thiago, whose significant international experience and award-winning work make him a big asset to our network globally and to Havas Media Group. He brings a wealth of knowledge in building effective brand engagement platforms that can touch fans around the world. I am confident that he will take our creative output and new business efforts to new heights."

Fredda Hurwitz, Global Chief Strategy Officer, added:

"We were looking for someone who had the right mix of strategic thinking and creative ability to bolster our global new business development efforts and creative output. It was not an easy task. Thiago has precisely the right combination for the role, thanks to his track record driving brand growth through digital, branded content, and social strategies. Further, his insight-led approach and understanding of fans and brand challenges will enhance the strategic guidance we offer our clients. I look forward to working closely with Thiago as we support our global clients and our network, in communicating to their target audiences through their passions and look forward to achieving great things together."

Both Hurwitz and Bersou will be based out of London, where Havas SE has a global hub.

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