Havas Play UK chief executive CEO Nick Wright has strengthened the agency’s leadership team to create an all-female line-up to drive the next phase of its culture-first growth.
The move sees Charlie Hugill promoted to chief client officer, Maria Panayi join as head of culture, and Hannah Liu‑Sherman join as managing partner.
The appointments are designed to accelerate Havas Play’s mission to deliver integrated, culture-first work.
As brands increasingly seek campaigns spanning multiple cultural touchpoints – from sport and music to entertainment – the new leadership team will aim to drive forward the agency’s connected approach to deliver holistic activations, partnerships, and experiences spanning the cultural ecosystem.
In her new role, Hugill will ensure brands can access Havas Play’s full range of specialist capabilities to deliver on this proposition. She started at Havas in 2014 before taking on roles at Octagon (FRUKT) and Rankin; Hugill returned to Havas Play in 2021 as live experience director, before being promoted to managing partner in 2024 and group managing partner in 2025.
Hugill has delivered award-winning campaigns for EE over the past 8 years, across sponsorships, live experiences, and integrated activations, alongside leading Havas Play’s relationship with HSBC, and previously JD Sports, Puma and Aston Martin F1.
Panayi, meanwhile, has been tasked with driving the agency’s growing portfolio of culture-led brands and oversee talent and influencer strategy and activation. She joins from TikTok, where she had been head of music marketing, EMEA, since 2020, during the rapid rise of the platform, and has been recognised in the Music Week Women in Music Roll of Honour.
Previously, she led artist partnerships at Sony Music and held roles at M&C Saatchi and Material, delivering campaigns for brands including Spotify, EE (Glastonbury), Red Bull Culture Clash and Notting Hill Carnival.
In addition, Liu‑Sherman will lead Havas Play’s integrated creative partnership with Jet2, building on the agency’s recent work to evolve the brand for new youth audiences. Liu‑Sherman will drive this transformation further, uniting strategy, creativity, and partnerships to deliver work that sets the pace for culture-led growth.
Her career spans agency roles at Saatchi & Saatchi, AMV BBDO, and Fold7, working with brands including HSBC, BMW, Johnnie Walker, Carlsberg, Walkers and Mars, as well as client-side roles at Quintessentially and Channel 4.
These appointments form part of Havas Play’s on-going investment in culture-first growth for clients, including last year’s acquisition of experiential agency Bearded Kitten.
Nick Wright said: “Brands no longer think in terms of sport ‘or’ culture, it’s about the ‘and’ – they want to play meaningfully across both, and everywhere in between. Charlie, Maria, and Hannah bring the perfect blend of expertise, perspective, and passion to drive this forward, creating remarkable work for our clients that cuts-through and sits within this connected world.”
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