NEW YORK, June 4, 2024 — HAVAS announced today the appointment of Dara Busch as CEO, HAVAS PR North America. Busch will oversee the strategic growth and vision of the network’s PR offering in North America, which includes HAVAS Formula, helmed by Tara Reid (PR) and Adrienne Cadena (HAVAS Street, experiential), and HAVAS Red U.S.
Busch comes to HAVAS from independent public relations firm 5W, where she oversaw all agency functions as co-CEO, including human resources, marketing and business development. Under her leadership, the agency was named one of Inc. Magazine’s Best Workplaces, a Top 50 Global PR Agency by PRovoke Media, a top three New York City PR agency by O’Dwyers, and won multiple American Business Awards, including a Stevie Award for PR Agency of the Year.
“I’m thrilled to be joining HAVAS’ mission of making a meaningful difference to brands, businesses and people,” said Busch. “I look forward to working with teams across North America to uphold these client-centric values while growing the HAVAS Formula and HAVAS Red footprints.”
“It’s an honor to welcome Dara into the HAVAS family,” stated Donna Murphy, Global CEO of HAVAS Creative Network and HAVAS Health Network. “As HAVAS’ PR capabilities continue to evolve and develop, the strength of this leadership team reflects our commitment to remain at the forefront of innovation in global communications.”
James Wright, Global Chair, HAVAS PR Network and Global CEO, HAVAS Red added, “We want to bring in the best talent to achieve our ambitious goals to become bigger, better, bolder and more borderless. In this next stage of our development, we are looking to maximize the potential for the HAVAS PR Network across North America, and we believe Dara has the ideal experience and enterprising attitude to help us achieve this.”
The announcement comes on the heels of exponential success for the HAVAS PR Network since 2019 across both agencies. Since being acquired by HAVAS in 2014, HAVAS Formula has experienced double-digit year-over-year growth and is projected to continue their evolution throughout 2024. The agency was named an Inc. Power Partner and PR News’ Agency of the Year in 2023.
Over the past four years, HAVAS Red has also grown significantly and expanded to 18 countries around the world. It now operates in Australia, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Ivory Coast, the Middle East, the Philippines, Singapore, South Africa, Spain, the U.K., the U.S., as well as Vietnam. The agency was named Campaign’s Global PR Network of the Year in 2023, PR News U.S. Agency of the Year 2022 at its Platinum Awards and Provoke Media’s Mid-sized Agency of the Year 2024 for EMEA at its Sabre Awards.
ABOUT HAVAS
Founded in 1835 in Paris, HAVAS is one of the world’s largest global communications networks, with more than 22,000 people in over 100 countries sharing one single mission: to make a meaningful difference to brands, businesses, and people. HAVAS has developed a fully integrated model through its 70+ HAVAS Villages around the world, covering all communication activities. The teams of the three business units, HAVAS Creative Network, HAVAS Media Network, and HAVAS Health & You, work together with agility and in perfect synergy to offer tailor-made, innovative solutions to clients who support them in their positive transformation. HAVAS is committed to building a diverse culture where everybody feels they belong and can be themselves and thrive. HAVAS integrated into Vivendi, a global leader in media, entertainment, and communications, in December 2017. Further information about HAVAS is available at www.havas.com.
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