London, 23rd May 2022 – Havas Media Group has promoted Jo Butler to managing partner, Havas Media, making her the second Femmes Forward participant to reach senior management at Havas Media Group UK following Julia Nicholls’ promotion in late 2018.
Havas’ Femmes Forward programme was launched in 2018 to help advance the careers of women in Havas Group, and provides skills training, leadership sessions, talks with female leaders, career advancement planning and more to support them on their journey to senior management roles within the Group. Butler’s promotion now means women make up 45 percent of managing partners in the business.
Earlier this month, Havas Media Group’s Talent team headed up by chief people officer Ewen MacPherson was awarded IPA Gold CPD Accreditation for contribution to professional development. Meanwhile, MacPherson, Havas HQ concierge manager Ari Humirang and Havas Boost founder Gerald Appau-Bonsu also made the IPA’s iList which celebrates the top thirty inclusivity change-makers in the industry.
On Femmes Forward, Butler said: “Femmes Forward provided me with excellent leadership development and workshops to promote self-reflection that helped me focus on my development but also identify what drives me to strive for further success. What was most valuable was the opportunity to connect with other women across the Havas network. It’s really important we continue to push for more female role models in senior leadership positions and it’s great to see Havas’ investment in advancing this.'”
Joining Havas Media Group from OMD as client partner two-and-a-half years ago, Butler has led client teams including Dreams and Hyundai helping them to emerge from the pandemic to one of their strongest years ever in 2021. In her new position, her remit will be to bring best-in-class leadership to clients, inspire teams to deliver their greatest work and drive client growth. She will also play a critical role in growing the commercial operations of Havas Media.
On her promotion, Butler said: "What keeps clients up at night gets me up in the morning. I thrive on solving clients’ business problems, so I am really excited to unearth new and innovative ways to deliver meaningful outcomes for both my existing and new clients.’’
Butler will report into Ailsa Buckley who was promoted into her chief client officer role in March 2022.
Buckley, said: “Havas Media Group is a place anyone can thrive and I’m delighted Jo’s the latest to receive their just reward for their achievements. It’s been clear she has a natural flair for what clients expect from their managing partner. Her deft stewardship of Hyundai and Dreams in particular shows that any client can be confident they’re in good hands.”
With 15 years’ experience in media roles, Butler began her career in the publishing team at Carat. She has also held positions at Dentsu Aegis Network where she worked across the Asda, Diageo and UK Government accounts and at OMD UK where she handled the McDonald’s business.
