Havas Melbourne drops Worldwide and Media branding

Havas has appointed Naked New York MD, Matt Houltham (pictured left) as its new group managing director to lead a combined integrated Village offering in Melbourne.Houltham’s appointment will see Havas drop its Worldwide and Media branding to become Havas Melbourne, making it the first Havas operation in APAC to operate as a single P&L combining creative, media, digital and employer brand. Havas Melbourne will be supported by PR, with Havas-owned Red Agency operating from the same office.Havas aims to be the most integrated global marketing and communications group worldwide. The move signals a major strategic shift for Havas Melbourne and fully embraces the group’s village strategy to aggressively integrate creative, digital, PR and media to provide more effective and efficient solutions for clients.Houltham joins the Havas Melbourne team on 27 January 2016. He will report directly to group COO James Wright (pictured right), and also work alongside Havas creative group CEO Anthony Gregorio and Havas Media CEO Mike Wilson, who he previously worked for as the MD of Naked in Melbourne.He steps into the role with more than 14 years leadership experience. Most recently, Houltham was managing director of Naked Communications in New York where he transformed the business into a strategy-led creative agency. Prior to this he held a number of leadership roles at Naked Communications in Australia, ZenithOptimedia and Mojo and Publicis Digital.Houltham said, “The industry is evolving and we need to put client and consumer needs above siloed business units to create programs that drive growth for brand. I’m looking forward to bringing our Melbourne teams together to drive our business forward in 2016.”