Havas Group appoints Vineel Agarwal as managing partner of Havas Africa

Vineel Agarwal joined Havas Media 14 years ago as part of the international department in Paris where she managed some of the key luxury and tourism clients of the agency. She has since worked in account management and research and strategy development for various global and local clients. She has also been heavily involved in Havas Group’s Meaningful Brands study and in Mx, its proprietary way of planning and buying media to ensure the best media experiences.

Since 2014, Vineel has worked at Havas Africa with a focus on East and South Africa. She was instrumental in the creation and early stages of many of the 20+ Havas agencies in Africa, and in leading client wins such as Airtel, L’Oréal, Danone, Mentos and Reckitt Benckiser.

Since 2018, Vineel has been based in Johannesburg as Managing Director of Havas Media South Africa which was named fastest growing agency of 2018. In 2019, having been nominated by her team, she was named Most Inspiring Manager by the French South African Chamber of Commerce 2019.

Vineel Agarwal says, “We have taken the meaningful experience approach to the level of problem solving at Havas Africa. Staying close and true to the consumers who are at the centre of our strategies is even more important today. Working with an integrated and partnership focused mindset will be key to successful communication initiatives going forward. I am excited to lead this journey alongside an incredible and talented team across Africa.”

In her new role, effective immediately, Vineel will lead the growth and development of Havas within the African market. She will report to Jorge Irizar, Global COO Havas Media.