Executive Finance Director

AKQA New Zealand appoints new executive partner. AKQA NZ executive product director Matt Townsend, new executive partner Viv Baartman and managing director Dave Bentley. AKQA New Zealand has appointed Viv Baartman as its new executive partner. In this role, Baartman will lead the strategic direction and growth of the Wellington studio, strengthen relationships across the government and enterprise sectors and support the evolution of AKQA's national go-to-market transformation offering. She will report to AKQA New Zealand managing director Dave Bentley and work closely with executive product director Matt Townsend and the wider leadership team to shape digital, customer experience and AI-led transformation initiatives. Strong reputation. "Viv brings a rare combination of strategic thinking, operational leadership and deep human understanding," says Bentley. "She has built a strong reputation for helping organisations navigate complexity, align teams and deliver meaningful transformation. As organisations rethink customer experience, digital products and AI adoption, Viv's leadership will be incredibly valuable for both AKQA and our clients." Townsend adds: "Viv has a calm, grounded leadership style and an ability to bring clarity to ambitious transformation programmes. She understands how to connect strategy, delivery and people in a way that creates momentum and lasting impact." Where creativity and technology meet. Baartman joins AKQA with more than two decades of experience leading digital transformation, customer experience and operational strategy initiatives across government, health, finance, tourism and technology sectors. On her appointment, she says: "AKQA sits in that rare space where creativity and technology come together to deliver impact. "It's exactly the kind of work I love being part of - helping organisations navigate change while creating experiences that matter. What drew me here was not just the ambition of the work, but the calibre of the people behind it. I'm super excited to work alongside such a talented, thoughtful and creative team."

Havas London names Seamus Higgins chief creative officer. Mar 11, 2026 Seamus Higgins, who joins from AKQA, boasts 25 years' experience across three continents and is best known for landmark campaign 'The Palau Pledge' Havas London has appointed multi-award-winning creative leader Seamus Higgins as its new chief creative officer. Seamus, who boasts 25 years' experience across three continents and multiple disciplines, returns to Havas for a second spell, having spent an award-laden six years with the group in Australia from 2013-2019 where he created landmark campaign 'The Palau Pledge' and led a creative turn-around to become Agency of the Year. He joins from AKQA, where he was executive creative director of its London studio. He will start at Havas on 26th March and report into Havas London CEO Holly Ripper. Seamus has built his career on a love of creative solutions that don't feel like advertising, and the uncompromising craft of their delivery. It is this approach, as executive creative director of Havas Host in Sydney, where he led world-first immigration initiative 'The Palau Pledge' - which saw visitors to the island nation mandated to act in an ecologically and culturally responsible way to help curb the environmental impact of booming tourist numbers. In addition to being awarded D&AD's Design Black Pencil of the Decade, it picked up two D&AD Black Pencils and three Cannes Lions Grand Prix, becoming the most globally awarded campaign of the year. At Havas Host, Seamus also led one of Australia's largest accounts, Defence Force Recruiting, to the most successful two years in its history, winning a Grand Effie. He oversaw some of the agency's most significant relationships, including Reckitt, Sony and Peugeot, and helped win brands including eBay. Havas Host was subsequently named Agency of the year by the Australian Writers and Art Directors (AWARD) Awards - APAC's benchmark for creative excellence - in 2018. After leaving Havas in 2019, Seamus spent three years as VP chief creative officer, APAC at creative innovation company R/GA, before going to Uncommon Creative Studio, where he won awards for work on accounts including British Airways and B&Q. He re-joined R/GA Australia as chief creative officer in 2023, before returning to London with AKQA in 2025. He has been recognised on Ad Age's Creative All-stars list, judged at multiple shows, including AWARD Awards, Cannes Lions, New York Festivals, D&AD, One Show APAC, was jury president for digital and mobile at Spikes Asia, and has spoken at numerous local and international events, including New York Advertising Week and Cannes Lions. Holly Ripper, CEO at Havas London says, "Seamus is a creative unicorn and an ambitious and generous leader. His diverse background spans big brand thinking, digital, design, social and innovation and his eclectic, unignorable body of work is testament to this. Importantly, this is work that works - as reinforced by the pile of creative and effectiveness awards he's accumulated along the way. He comes highly-rated by peers and colleagues alike." "Ours felt a meeting of minds of what a progressive, modern creative agency should look like - Seamus knows first-hand what Havas at its entrepreneurial best can do, and how to unlock the power and potential of the Village model. I said Havas had the potential to be a little bit dangerous when I started and I am so excited to welcome him into that mission as our new chief creative officer." Seamus Higgins adds, "Holly has a clear and bold vision for the next era of Havas London. I feel privileged and incredibly excited to help bring that to life with the team. The remit is clear and the opportunity is huge. I've long believed in the power of the Havas Village model, and I'm excited to put that to work in London. When you bring the right people together behind a shared ambition, incredible things can happen."