Havas ANZ promotes Olly Taylor to broader Chief Strategy Officer position

Havas ANZ is reinforcing the strategic backbone of its Village model by broadening Olly Taylor’s responsibilities and naming him Chief Strategy Officer for the Group.

In his expanded position, Taylor will oversee integrated strategy spanning both Havas’ creative and media networks.

With more than a decade in senior leadership roles at Havas Australia, Taylor brings over 25 years of experience in brand and communications strategy. He is widely recognised for combining creative thinking with commercial outcomes and has helped shape some of the region’s most impactful work. His career includes campaigns that have secured top honours at major global award shows and earned recognition for both strategic excellence and effectiveness, including APG and Effie Grand Prix awards.

A long-time proponent of addressing one of modern brands’ toughest hurdles attention Taylor believes the broader remit signals a critical evolution in the role of strategy. “Getting noticed is harder than it has ever been,” he said. “Most messages disappear instantly, making the majority ineffective. The real task is creating communication that grabs attention and lingers with people.”

Taylor added that leading a fully unified strategy function across the Group is both rare and well-timed. “Properly uniting the strategic strengths of media and creative as one team is uncommon in this industry. But it’s what brands need now. And it aligns perfectly with our ambition to be Deliberately Different not different for the sake of it, but different with purpose, driven by ideas that challenge expectations and create impact.” The expanded remit underpins the Group’s ‘Deliberately Different’ positioning, introduced last year, which outlines Havas ANZ’s ambition to be the region’s most integrated and strategically purposeful communications group. It further strengthens the Havas Village model, which combines the agility and entrepreneurial mindset of an independent agency with the scale, technology and resources of a global network  enabling teams to deliver bold, meaningful work that drives brands forward.

James Wright, Group CEO Havas ANZ, said: “Olly is one of the region’s most respected strategic leaders and has played a key role in shaping how we think and operate across the Village. His expanded remit as CSO for Havas Group ANZ reflects both his influence and the strategic direction of our business. He has a deep understanding of the challenges marketers face in a crowded, lookalike landscape and is uniquely positioned to bring media and creative strategy together into one deliberate, cohesive system. This role reinforces our commitment to being the most integrated and deliberately different agency group in the region.”

Taylor’s broader role comes as Havas Group ANZ continues to invest in integrated capabilities, AI-enabled strategy and collaboration across the Village, supporting its goal of setting a new benchmark for strategic and creative effectiveness.