Havas bolsters CX leadership with UK CEO appointments

Havas has today announced the appointment of two new CEOs to lead its flagship UK CX agencies – with David MacMillan named CEO of customer experience agency Havas CX helia and Dominique Bergantino named CEO of digital experience agency Inviqa.

Both MacMillan and Bergantino have been promoted from within, with the pair previously sharing the title of Managing Director, Havas CX helia – a role in which MacMillan led the agency’s Cirencester office and Bergantino its office within Havas Village London in King’s Cross. These new appointments, effective 1 December, mark the first time either has held a major CEO position. They will report into Havas Creative UK Group CEO Xavier Rees, who oversees both agencies. Both Havas CX helia and Inviqa have been without a dedicated CEO since 2022.

MacMillan’s appointment consolidates leadership of Havas CX helia into one CEO. The move is explicitly designed to bring its sites in London and Cirencester – which recently underwent a £1m refurbishment – closer together, and to better exploit their complementary specialisms across a wider range of clients. It will also allow its people, and its clients, to more easily tap into expertise and opportunities across the wider Havas, Havas CX and Vivendi networks through Havas’ King’s Cross Village. He will split his time between both locations.

Bergantino’s appointment marks almost two years since Havas acquired leading independent agency Inviqa, merging it with Havas’ existing digital experience practice to create today’s 150-strong experience design, ecommerce, technology and software engineering specialist. Since its successful integration into Havas, the agency – headquartered in Havas Village London with additional locations across the UK, Germany and Hungary – has reshaped its team and proposition, with Bergantino now tasked with unlocking and accelerating growth, expanding the role the agency plays within Havas CX and across the wider Havas network. She will work alongside Chief Operating Officer Dominic Feenan, who has overseen Inviqa’s integration into Havas and day-to-day running throughout 2023.

David MacMillan, CEO at Havas CX helia, says: “For nearly four decades, Havas CX helia has been at the forefront of creating the modern customer experience discipline we know today. It has also played a huge role in my own life. I’m incredibly proud of the opportunity to lead it, and our more than 150 dedicated people.”

Dominique Bergantino, CEO at Inviqa says: “I am extremely proud, and very excited, to be leading such a talented team of strategists, researchers, designers, and engineers across the UK, Germany and Hungary – all singularly focused on creating world-class digital experiences for clients such as Starbucks, Arsenal FC and the Aston Martin F1 Team. Having worked closely with the Inviqa team over the past few years, I’m convinced they are Havas’ best-kept secret – and I’m determined more clients benefit from their exceptional skills.”

Xavier Rees, UK Group CEO at Havas Creative adds: “Huge congratulations to David and Dom. Both have played fundamental roles in Havas CX helia’s recent successes – the most powerful of which come when the agency operates as one. We’ve been moving in this direction for some time, but ultimately we concluded one leader, bridging the physical divide between our locations, was key to unlocking the best of both. I can’t think of anyone better suited to that role than David.

“Equally, I can’t think of anyone better to go for growth than Dominique. Her track record of winning and growing clients speaks for itself. With her leading Inviqa’s team of brilliant people alongside [COO] Dom [Feenan] – who has expertly navigated Inviqa’s integration into the Havas CX network – the agency is primed to realise its considerable, and untapped, potential.

“Crucially, David and Dominique make a great team. Their agencies both sit within the Havas CX network, each boast complementary skillsets, and already work together across a number of brands. Now, they are set to work together even more closely – a considerable benefit for us, but even more so for our clients.”

MacMillan has spent the past decade at Havas CX helia – first as Managing Partner and then Client Services Director, before being promoted to Managing Director in 2017 His background spans agencies including Wunderman, several in-house roles, and a separate three-year spell at Havas CX helia (when it was known as EHS), where he sat on the Tesco Clubcard steering committee and Tesco Direct task force. He has worked on and run major accounts including o2, Volvo, Diageo, easyJet, Compare the Market, The Royal British Legion, Unilever and Royal Mail.

Bergantino joined Havas in 2018, first as Managing Partner at Havas London before being promoted to Managing Director of Havas CX helia in 2019 – where she was key to a run of major account wins including Starbucks, Compare the Market and Volkswagen Group. She previously spent a combined 12 years over two spells at OgilvyOne, leading accounts including British Airways, Public Health England and BT, as well as a stint at AIS as Business Director on O2.