Havas Media Group (HMG) announces the appointment of Joanna Lawrence as Executive Vice President of Global Agency Development and the promotions of Mark Bauer and Courtney Cherry to the respective positions of Executive Vice President, Global Head of Client Leadership and Global Chief of Staff. These appointments come on the heels of a period of continued growth for HMG’s global network as it seeks to transform its strategic offerings to deliver meaningful, outcome-driven, and data-led media experiences.
“I’m proud to welcome Joanna to our team and elevate Mark and Courtney for their innumerable contributions to our agency and clients,” said Peter Mears, Global Chief Executive Officer, Havas Media Group. “With this additional infusion of global leadership, we’re exceptionally well-positioned to deliver upon our growth ambitions within data, content and e-Commerce, and accelerate our continued transformation as an agency network.”
Joanna Lawrence joins HMG in the newly created role of EVP, Global Agency Development, where she will play a key role in developing the agency’s future-forward growth capabilities including content, e-Commerce and data. Based in London, she will focus on cross-functional, long-term strategic development projects to deliver against the agency vision.
Lawrence brings over 20 years’ experience working with agencies, most recently serving as a Senior Consultant at Flock Associates, supporting global brands on their internal media transformation agendas. She previously worked at the UK news brand, The Telegraph in a commercial leadership role evolving their proposition for brands as they transformed from an ad-led to subscription-based business model. Earlier in her career, Lawrence spent 11 years in leadership roles at OMD EMEA where she worked across strategy, client leadership, agency management and new product development.
Mark Bauer is elevated to the role of EVP, Global Head of Client Leadership, where he will deliver meaningful client experiences across HMG’s global clients. Based in London, Bauer will implement innovative models that offer new value propositions for current and potential clients. Bauer will work cross-functionally to strategically resource client leadership, ensure integration and connectivity across the organization, and play an active role in developing HMG’s client proposition.
Bauer joined HMG in 2021 as Managing Director of Global Business. He has over 30 years of client and agency experience within media, creative and consultancy environments, leading multi-disciplinary and multi-agency teams in the delivery of commercial and relationship growth. His experiences include serving as Chief Client Officer, EMEA for GroupM agency network Maxus Global, as well as consulting for IPG, WPP and other global media groups on the transformation of their client proposition.
Courtney Cherry is elevated to the role of Global Chief of Staff. Working in collaboration with HMG’s global leadership team, Cherry will propel agency transformation initiatives forward, including evolving the agency’s strategic offering, cultivating a high-performance culture and surfacing opportunities that unlock incremental value. Based in Chicago, Cherry previously served as Managing Director of Global Communications, and in her new capacity will continue to oversee marketing and communications function, ensuring connectivity with executive leadership’s vision, growth strategy and transformation agenda.
Prior to joining HMG in October of 2021, Cherry served as Senior Vice President, Director of Global Communications at Publicis Groupe’s Starcom, where she developed and led brand marketing communications programs, driving growth, client engagement, and agency differentiation across more than 100 global markets. Cherry’s 20 years of strategic communications experience includes leadership roles at Chicago-based corporate communications agency Reputation Partners, preceded by experiences in journalism and public affairs before entering the agency world.
Lawrence and Bauer will report into Greg James, Global Chief Transformation Officer, to further the development of the agency’s transformation agenda, while Cherry will report into Mears to drive the delivery of the agency’s future-forward vision. Their appointments are all effective immediately.