Xavier Rees

In 2022, Xavier Rees was promoted to UK Group CEO, Havas Creative. It was reward for transforming Havas London, which he’s helmed since 2016, from relative obscurity into one of the UK’s leading agencies – and saw him handed a broader remit leading Havas’ creative agencies in the UK. Responsible for 500 people and £60m in revenue, it cements him as one of UK advertising’s most visible and respected agency leaders.

Rees’ approach is steeped in a belief that business should be a force for good. Under his leadership, Havas London – now a progressive, confident agency that’s firing on all cylinders, and still the industry’s only major B Corporation – had a barnstorming year. The agency won Christmas with Asda and Buddy the Elf – the culmination of 12 months’ populist creative work for its biggest clients – while five major account wins, strong organic growth, and no losses helped grow overall revenue by 17%, and domestic revenue by a staggering 34%. The agency also won Channel 4’s prestigious £1m Diversity in Advertising Award alongside Vanish, and was named Sustainability Agency of the Year the Ad Net Zero Awards.

Rees’ remarkable year ended in fitting style, as he was profiled in Campaign’s Annual.