Serviceplan Group is strengthening its creative ambition in France with the appointment of Olivier Apers as chief creative officer and partner at Serviceplan Paris. Apers joins the agency from more than twenty years at BETC, vice-president in charge of creative for the last seven-and-a-half.

At Serviceplan, he joins CEO and partner, Thomas Derouault, to become part of a leadership team built around the shared belief that creativity is not only the foundation of great communication, but the most valuable asset an agency can offer brands in an era increasingly shaped by technology and AI.

“After more than twenty years at the same great and incredible agency, I wasn’t simply looking for a new destination. I needed an adventure different and ambitious enough to make me want to write a new story. With Thomas and Serviceplan, I found both the freedom to build and the means to match our creative ambitions,” Apers stated.

The move begins a new chapter for Serviceplan in France. With Olivier Apers, one of the country’s most respected creative leaders, and Thomas Derouault, a CEO with a creative background and strong agency leadership experience, Serviceplan Paris is sharpening its creative ambition and setting the course for its next phase of growth.

“Creativity is the product and the service we sell. In the age of AI, our role is more than ever to cultivate creative intelligence: accelerated by AI, never replaced by it. Brands have access to more content, more data and more technology than ever before. What they need most is original thinking, creative judgment and ideas that people will remember,” stated Thomas Derouault and Olivier Apers.

Thomas Derouault also began his career as a creative before progressively combining creative leadership with agency management, notably at Havas 360, JWT Paris and Wunderman Thompson Paris.

“Olivier and I are creatives first and foremost. He kept pushing the creative standard higher, while I progressively broadened my role into agency leadership and business. Today, we are bringing those two experiences together to build an agency where creativity runs through everything: the work, the culture and our clients’ business,” Derouault commented.

Apers arrives with one of the strongest creative track records in the French market. Over the course of his career, he has led work for brands including CANAL+, McDonald’s, Leroy Merlin and E.Leclerc, earning international recognition through Cannes Lions, D&AD, One Show, Clio and ADC awards, while also serving as a juror at many of the industry’s most prestigious award shows.

The appointment reflects a broader conviction across Serviceplan Group: that while AI is transforming how ideas are produced, creativity is becoming an even more valuable differentiator for brands and agencies alike. The group has repeatedly stated that technology can accelerate exploration, analysis and production, but that human imagination, judgment and creative courage remain the decisive factors behind distinctive work.

This belief is reflected in Serviceplan’s recent creative momentum on the global stage. The group was named Independent Network of the Year at Cannes Lions 2025 and remains the leading independent network in the WARC Creative 100, with Serviceplan Munich ranking among the world’s most creative agencies.

“AI can generate options. It cannot create conviction. The more possibilities technology gives us, the more valuable human judgment becomes. Clients don’t come to agencies because they want more ideas. They come to us because they need confidence in the right idea. Olivier embodies that combination of creative excellence, judgment and ambition, making him a perfect fit for where Serviceplan is heading – in France and globally,” stated Alexander Schill, global chief creative officer of Serviceplan Group.

Cover image l-r: Olivier Apers & Alexander Schill