HAVAS ANZ ELEVATES OLLY TAYLOR TO GROUP CHIEF STRATEGY OFFICER TO DEEPEN INTEGRATED VILLAGE VISION

Havas Group ANZ has appointed Olly Taylor as Chief Strategy Officer, expanding his remit to lead integrated strategy across creative and media agencies. The move strengthens the Group’s Village model and “Deliberately Different” positioning, unifying strategic thinking to help brands cut through attention scarcity with cohesive, impact-driven communication.

Havas Group ANZ has expanded the role of seasoned strategist Olly Taylor, appointing him Chief Strategy Officer for the Group in a move designed to deepen integration across its creative and media agencies and reinforce the foundations of its Village model.

The elevation signals more than a title change. It reflects a structural and philosophical shift in how Havas ANZ intends to approach strategy at a time when brands are grappling with one of the most persistent modern marketing challenges: earning and sustaining attention.

Taylor, who has spent over a decade in senior leadership positions within Havas Australia, brings more than 25 years of experience in brand and communications strategy to the expanded role. Widely recognised for blending creativity with commercial effectiveness, he has shaped some of the region’s most influential campaigns—work that has earned top honours at global award shows and been recognised not only for creative excellence but for measurable effectiveness, including APG and Effie Grand Prix awards.

In his new capacity, Taylor will oversee integrated strategy across Havas’ creative and media agencies in Australia and New Zealand, bringing together what have traditionally been distinct strategic disciplines into a single, cohesive function. The aim is to ensure that media and creative strategy operate as one unified system rather than parallel tracks.

“Getting noticed is harder than it has ever been,” Taylor said. “Most messages disappear instantly, rendering the majority of them ineffectual. The real challenge is creating communication that captures attention and stays with people.”

That focus on attention sits at the heart of his expanded remit. For Taylor, the issue is not simply about reach or frequency, but about designing communication that is structurally capable of breaking through what he describes as a landscape of sameness. The role, he believes, offers a rare opportunity to rewire how strategy is conceived and applied within a large communications group.

“Bringing the strategic strength of media and creative together, properly together, as one team is rare in this industry,” he said. “But it’s what brands need today. And it’s completely aligned with our ambition to be Deliberately Different—not different for the sake of it, but different with intent, backed by ideas that challenge expectations and drive impact.”

The expanded position also directly supports Havas ANZ’s ‘Deliberately Different’ positioning, launched last year. That platform outlines the Group’s ambition to become the region’s most integrated and strategically intentional communications network. Central to that ambition is the Havas Village model, which seeks to combine the agility and entrepreneurial spirit of an independent agency with the scale, technology, and global resources of an international network.

The Village model is designed to remove the silos that often separate disciplines within agency groups, allowing teams to collaborate fluidly across creative, media, data, and technology. Taylor’s appointment formalises the strategic integration that the model has long aspired to achieve, embedding it at the leadership level.

James Wright, Group CEO of Havas ANZ, said the move reflects both Taylor’s influence within the organisation and the broader strategic direction of the business.

“Olly is one of the region’s most respected strategic thinkers, and he has been instrumental in shaping how we think and work across the Village,” Wright said. “His expanded remit as CSO for Havas Group ANZ reflects both his influence and the strategic direction of our business.”

Wright noted that marketers today face a unique challenge: differentiation in an environment where brand communications often blur into one another. In that context, unifying media and creative strategy is not simply an operational improvement but a competitive advantage.

“He deeply understands the challenge marketers face in a landscape of sameness, and he’s uniquely equipped to unify media and creative strategy into one deliberate, cohesive system,” Wright said. “This role strengthens our commitment to being the most integrated and deliberately different agency group in the region.”

For Havas ANZ, the decision to consolidate strategic leadership under Taylor’s guidance is also about ensuring that ideas are conceived with their delivery environment in mind from the outset. Rather than developing creative concepts and media plans in isolation, the Group intends for both to be shaped by a shared strategic lens that considers attention, context, and effectiveness simultaneously.

Taylor’s career trajectory has positioned him well for this task. Over the years, he has developed a reputation for championing strategy that is as commercially rigorous as it is creatively ambitious. His work has consistently demonstrated that bold ideas, when underpinned by deep strategic insight, can drive measurable business outcomes.

That philosophy now extends to how the entire Havas ANZ network will approach its clients’ challenges. By integrating the thinking that informs where messages appear with the thinking that shapes what those messages are, the Group aims to deliver work that is not only distinctive but purpose-built for impact.

The appointment also underscores Havas ANZ’s belief that the future of communications lies in deliberate integration rather than incremental coordination. In elevating Taylor to oversee strategy across the Group, the company is betting that a unified approach to attention, creativity, and effectiveness will better serve brands navigating increasingly fragmented and competitive media environments.

As the marketing landscape continues to evolve, the pressure on brands to be seen, remembered, and valued grows ever more intense. Havas ANZ’s response is to place strategy at the centre of its operations, ensuring that every discipline within the Village works from the same strategic blueprint.

For Taylor, the challenge is clear: to turn the idea of integration into a daily operating reality and to help brands create communication that does more than fill space—it earns attention and leaves a lasting mark.