Havas Media Appoints Molly Blacker as National Head of Strategy

Havas Media has appointed Molly Blacker to the newly created role of National Head of Strategy for Australia and New Zealand, effective immediately, as the agency reshapes its senior leadership team under new CEO Kate O'Ryan-Roeder.

A New Strategy Structure Takes Shape

Blacker joins Havas Media after 13 combined years at two major agencies. She spent eight years at Slingshot, including three as Head of Strategy and Creative, leading work for Australian Pork, Hamilton the musical, and the Goodman Fielder portfolio. Before that, she spent five years at UM Australia, working with clients including Johnson and Johnson, Tourism and Events Queensland, H&M, and the NSW Government.

How Initiative Is Consolidating Leadership Ahead of Omnicom Integration

Initiative promotes Paige Wheaton to National Managing Director, consolidating Sydney, Melbourne, and Perth operations as the agency integrates into Omnicom's network.

Mission MediaMission Media

Her role is newly created, not a direct replacement. Following the January 2026 departure of former Chief Strategy Officer Mitchell Long, Havas restructured its strategy function into two tracks. Olly Taylor was elevated to CSO across the entire Havas ANZ Group, covering both creative and media agencies. Blacker now leads strategy specifically within Havas Media, reporting into Taylor's broader integrated strategy team.

O'Ryan-Roeder described Blacker as "a rare combination of a people-first leader and a highly respected craft expert," adding that her ambition is to bring the agency's "Deliberately Different" philosophy to life through strategy that delivers "genuine growth and impact for clients."

Taylor said Blacker "understands that modern media cannot rely on reach alone and that impact is everything."

Leadership Build-Out Follows Rapid Growth

Blacker's appointment is part of a coordinated leadership push at Havas ANZ since late 2025. O'Ryan-Roeder, who joined from Mindshare ANZ, was appointed CEO on October 23, 2025, effective January 2026. Around the same time, Alastair Baker was promoted to Chief AI Officer for Havas ANZ, overseeing the group's AI strategy and its Converged.AI platform, which received a group-level investment of €400 million.

The agency's headcount reached 450 staff across ANZ following the 2025 acquisition of independent media agency Kaimera. New business wins in late 2025, including Emirates, Perfetti Van Melle, Tangerine, and More, expanded the client roster Blacker's team will service from day one.

Blacker said the broadening media landscape is what draws her to the role. "Some people shy away as the media landscape broadens, but this expansion is what I love about media," she said. "The best strategic thinking and creativity comes from diversity of thought."

Strategy and AI Now Operationally Linked

Blacker's appointment places her strategy function in direct coordination with Baker's AI operations. The Converged.AI platform covers planning, analytics, and content production across Havas Media's client work, meaning strategy decisions are increasingly data-adjacent from the outset.

This mirrors the direction set at the global level. Havas Media Network's 2026 Media Imperatives report, built on 156,000 consumer insights, identified a shift away from reach-based media planning toward what Global CSO Joanna Lawrence describes as "a living system built with consumers, blending context, creativity, and intelligence."

Blacker's mandate is to translate that global framework into locally relevant client solutions across the expanded ANZ network.

Havas Media's full announcement was reported by Mumbrella and B&T.