Havas Play UK, the group’s experiential marketing agency, is beefing up its culture-first creative leadership by promoting group ECD Ross Taylor to the new role of chief creative officer.
His promotion is the latest in a series of recent leadership changes, which the agency says are designed to provide clients with “best-in-class creative leadership in support of their commercial ambitions”.
Taylor has been briefed to strengthen strategic creativity and integrated solutions across partnerships, experiences, social and content, fostering greater cross-agency collaboration, and cultivating future creative leaders.
His promotion follows a series of other top-level changes at the agency, including the promotion of Charlie Hugill to chief client officer, the appointment of Maria Panayi as head of culture, and Hannah Liu-Sherman as managing partner.
Since joining Havas Play in 2024, Taylor has played a critical role in accelerating the agency’s growth, leading to client wins and retained accounts with brands including Adidas, HSBC, Renault, Jet2 and Asahi, alongside successfully extending Havas Play’s 27-year relationship with EE.
His recent work includes Jet2’s Nothing Beats football shirts, which turned a social meme into a sold-out cultural phenomenon; adidas’ Three Stripe Social Club at the Women’s Euros, drawing 10,000+ visitors in five days; and EE’s Bafta Hologram experience, projecting fans from Bath directly onto the red carpet via 5G+, bringing them closer to the action than ever before.
Before joining Havas Play, Taylor spent nearly 8 years at Iris, ultimately becoming group creative director. He has also worked at Havas, Digitas and Grey London.
Taylor will report into Havas Play UK chief executive Nick Wright, who said: “Ross has had a transformational impact on Havas Play in a short space of time – elevating our creative offering, attracting exceptional talent and shaping our culture inside and out. As we’ve grown in scale and ambition, promoting him to chief creative officer is about making the work, work: building reputation, creating fame and ultimately powering growth for clients. Ross will be central to delivering that for Havas Play.”
Taylor added: “What excites me most is that we’re building the kind of creative agency the industry needs next. Havas Play has an exceptional team and a unique model that brings together creativity, culture and partnerships to help brands grow. We’ve built real momentum, but I genuinely believe we’re only getting started.
“My ambition is to keep raising the creative standard, champion brilliant talent and create the kind of work that people remember because it shaped culture as much as it shaped our clients’ businesses.”
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