O’Connor and Sethebe will be taking over from Eoin Welsh, who will be leaving the agency group at the end of 2017 to pursue passion projects. Welsh had been the chief creative officer at Havas since 2013.

Lynn Madeley, CEO of Havas Southern Africa, says, "We are grateful for everything Eoin has done for the group, and we will certainly miss him. His departure gives us the opportunity to flatten our structure further and become even more focused on being future-fit."

"Our people are at the core of our business and, as such, we looked inside the organisation for talent that would take our agency to the next level. Tumi and Fiona have proven themselves with their incredible work ethic and are well deserving of this promotion," adds Madeley.

Madeley says, "I’m particularly excited to see them leading the creative team, and I’m positive that their different perspectives will lend our work the right amount of tension needed to maintain and continue asserting our excellence."

"I’m grateful for the dual recognition that both Tumi and I have been given. It’s an exciting time to lead brands through this maze that is the consumer landscape, and it demands a new kind of clever from us as custodians. Two heads are certainly better than one, and I believe that Tumi and I have both the smarts and the grit needed to lead our creative team to success," adds O’Connor.

O’Connor started her career in 1997 as an art director at Ogilvy & Mather and has worked with various agencies that include Lowe Bull and Leo Burnett, on various local and international brands.

Her portfolio of experience includes brands within the FMCG category like Crosse + Blackwell, Kit Kat, Sprite, Axe, Sunlight, Veet, Durex, and Harpic; and quick service restaurant brands like KFC and Chicken Licken. She has also worked with automotive brands including Peugeot, Volvo, Fiat, and Mercedes Benz and financial services houses like Nedbank, Sasfin, and RMB.

Sethebe says, "It is an honour to be appointed along with Fiona, whom I have incredible respect for. This is a huge moment for us, the business, and our clients, as it represents a new chapter that will redefine how we navigate and stay on course, doing great work for our clients in this ever-changing world that we live in. I am a serial collaborator and so I am very excited about what Fiona and I will achieve given our very diverse backgrounds, experiences, and points of view."

Sethebe began his career in 2001 as an art director and has worked on household brands such as SABC, DStv, Wimpy, Standard Bank, MTN, Tiger Brands, Castle Lite, South African Airways, and international brands such as Land Rover, BMW and Miller Genuine Draft.

He started his career at Young & Rubicam and over the years has worked with TBWA/ Hunt Lascaris, Metropolitan, and before he came to Havas, was creative director at Ogilvy Cape Town.

O’Connor and Sethebe start as joint executive creative directors from Tuesday, 2 January 2018 and will be based at the Havas Johannesburg office.

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