MAM
Mike Wilson to spearhead new Australia operations for Havas
MUMBAI: Havas, one of the world’s largest advertising groups, has announced the launch of a new fully-owned media agency in Sydney, to be spearheaded by award winning media personality Mike Wilson.
Wilson joins the group after nine years with multi service agency Naked, which he co-founded, and nurtured into an award winning hot shop claiming several Cannes Lions and Effie wins. Wilson’s immediate mandate is to manage the Group’s existing pool of blue chip clients, including new wins LG Electronics and Emirates. He has also been tasked with expansion of the Havas Media Group in Australia and launching specialist brands to provide a strong, integrated offering to clients.
Mike Wilson will work out of the agency’s Sydney office and report into Vishnu Mohan, CEO Asia Pacific Havas Media Group. His appointment is effective from 25 November 2013.
On his new role as Havas Media group Australia CEO, Wilson said, “The communications landscape has changed beyond recognition over the past decade, particularly with the advent of digital and mobile, yet there has been very limited innovation in the media agency sector. The time is right. Clients demand a 21st century media agency is available to help navigate this confusing landscape. There also needs to be a media agency destination for hungry young media professionals aiming to forge a career which is rewarding and epoch-shaping. With this new way of working Havas Media will be the agency of choice for the ambitious, where they will be supported, nurtured and challenged to be the industry’s very best.”
Havas Media Group Australia will replicate the simplified global structure designed to channel the group’s digital, data and content teams into the heart of clients’ teams. Earlier this year, Havas announced the restructuring of its global media operations, which saw the creation of Havas Media Group – consisting of just two media brands Havas Media (formally known as MPG) and Arena.
Commenting on the new operations, Havas Media Group global MD, Dominique Delport said: “Australia is one of the most dynamic and exciting markets in the world and we are committed to replicating the success that our creative agency Havas Worldwide has witnessed under the leadership of Anthony Gregorio, CEO of Havas Worldwide. Mike’s introduction came to us at a pivotal time for our Australian operations. Vishnu Mohan, our Havas Media Group CEO for the region, has known and respected Mike for years and, as the wider restructure at Havas developed, it became essential that we brought in someone who has worked across the specialist disciplines within the industry. Mike’s broad minded and cross disciplined approach to media will be instrumental to our success in this important region.”
MUMBAI: In India’s fast-moving payments race, Visa has just swiped in a new leader. The company has named Suresh Sethi as its India country head, marking a key leadership shift as it sharpens its focus on digital payments growth in the market. Sethi steps into the role following his recent exit from Protean eGov Technologies, where he served as chief executive officer. He succeeds Sandeep Ghosh, who has moved on after more than four years at Visa to pursue an external opportunity.
The appointment comes at a time when Visa is doubling down on its expansion strategy across India and the wider region, deepening partnerships and accelerating adoption in an increasingly competitive digital payments ecosystem.
Sethi brings with him a broad, cross-market perspective shaped by decades of experience across corporate banking, retail financial services, mobile money and large-scale government technology initiatives. He began his career at Citigroup, where he spent 14 years working across India, Africa, South America and the United States, focusing on transaction banking services within the corporate bank.
His appointment signals a blend of institutional experience and market familiarity qualities that could prove critical as Visa navigates a landscape where fintech innovation, regulatory evolution and consumer adoption are all accelerating at once.
As digital payments in India continue to scale rapidly, the leadership change underscores a simple reality, in a market where every tap, scan and swipe counts, who leads the charge can matter just as much as the technology itself.
