Xavier Rees’ meteoric rise through the advertising industry has reached new heights with the Havas Creative group CEO returning to Omnicom as boss of AMV Group, overseeing AMV BBDO and Redwood BBDO.
Having started his career client-side as a product manager at Boots, Rees worked at a number of agencies, including Grey, BBH, Wunderman, and Archibald Ingall Stretton, before joining RMG/JWT as business director.
He then switched to Claydon Heeley, which merged with Targetbase in 2008, before joining fellow Omnicom DAS agency DDB in September 2010. The agency merged with Adam & Eve two years later.
Rees then went to Havas London as CEO, moving up to lead Havas Creative, including its creative agency Havas London and customer engagement agency Havas CX Helia.
Credited with being a key driver of significant growth since joining Havas in 2016, Rees has overseen a transformation of its reputation and business performance – leading his agencies to new accounts including Asda, Volkswagen Group UK, the Department for Education, Starbucks, Compare the Market and Molson Coors.
He also sits on the IPA Council and chairs its Talent Leadership Group, the Ad Net Zero steering group, and Effies’ UK board. He has actively supported the Creative Mentor Network, the Modern Masculinity initiative, Bloom’s reverse mentoring programme and Creative Equals’ Diverse Minds programme, prompting conversation and action around neurodiversity.
Rees is also an ardent Crystal Palace FC fan, although he is likely to be spending much more time in his garden over the next few months rather than at Selhurst Park.
In his new role, Rees will report to BBDO Worldwide president and CEO Andrew Robertson, who commented: “I met Xav three years ago and was immediately impressed by his thoughtful, imaginative vision for creating value in this business and his quiet, determined approach to leading change. I’m really looking forward to working with him.”
Rees added: “I’ve had an incredible seven years at Havas but, the lure of AMV, Redwood and BBDO was just too great. BBDO is a business that truly understands the power of creativity to drive growth and change. I can’t wait to roll my sleeves up with such a talented bunch of people, and help shape a compelling new chapter for BBDO and its enviable roster of clients.”
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