Virginia Hyland departs as Havas Media ANZ CEO; James Wright appointed Havas Group CEO ANZ

Havas has formally announced today that Virginia Hyland, CEO of Havas Media Network Australia New Zealand (ANZ) has stepped down following the successful completion of the buy-out period after the acquisition of her independent agency, Hyland Media, in 2020.  James Wright, CEO Havas Creative Network ANZ, has been named Havas Group CEO ANZ effective immediately.

Legal proceedings in Australia by Hyland over her exit have now been settled by consent. Hyland had begun legal proceedings over an alleged breach of workplace rights.

A respected leader in the media industry and current Deputy Chair of the Media Federation of Australia (MFA), Hyland has played a pivotal role in shaping Havas Media AUNZ into a bold, high-performing agency team. Under Hyland’s leadership, the agency has helped secure major new business wins, including Red Bull, Perfetti, Uniting, Tourism Fiji and Retail Food Group. Collaborating with the wider Havas Village, reflecting a truly converged, integrated model. The agency’s innovative and strategic momentum has attracted top-tier talent and earned recognition as a Mumbrella 2025 Media Agency of the Year finalist and an MFA Agency Talent & Culture finalist (for agencies >100 staff).

Hyland also led the successful launch of Havas PLAY and CSA (Data, Tech & Analytics). In August 2024, she helped spearhead the acquisition of Hotglue to strengthen both Havas Media and Havas PLAY’s Melbourne presence.

In a Havas statement today, Hyland says: “I want to thank Havas for welcoming Hyland Media and our clients into the fold. It’s been a privilege to work alongside so many creative, driven, and talented people across the local and global network. I’m incredibly proud of what we’ve built together. To my teammates—thank you for believing in our shared vision as a challenger agency to Dare to be Different. To our valued clients—I wish you continued success as you navigate the exciting future of data, tech, and AI. It has been my personal pleasure to be part of your journey, some for as long as 25 years.”

Wright becomes Group CEO ANZ after an incredibly successful return to Australia in 2023 that has seen the Creative Network develop and extend its footprint in creative, PR and publicity, Public Affairs and Health. He will also continue in his transformative role as Global CEO for Havas Red and Global Chair of the Havas PR Network.

Says Wright: “I want to thank Virginia for an amazing few years of success in the Media Group and wish her every success in the future. Going forward we are strongly committed to driving our pioneering integration as a Group with many bold ambitions to maximise our talents, technology and data smarts that supercharge our teams and clients’ brands. To support this we have a number of significant investments and moves planned to help us play and win differently as the challenger HoldCo in market.”

The Group extends its sincere thanks to Virginia for her vision, leadership, and lasting impact. Havas values her energy and commitment during her time and wish her the very best as she plans to take a well-earned break for the remainder of 2025. Havas Media Network will confirm future leadership announcements in due course, including the recruitment of a new Media CEO who will report to Wright.

Havas ANZ agencies include Havas Host, Havas Media, Havas Red, Havas New Zealand, Havas Blvd, Havas PLAY, CSA, H/Advisors APA, One Green Bean, Organic Publicity, Frontier, Bastion Brands part of Havas Health & You and Pulse.