Seamus Higgins has left a short stint as ECD at AKQA to become chief creative officer of Havas London. It is a return to Havas for Higgins, who spent six years as executive creative director at Havas in Australia (Host/Havas after a merger). This included leading multi-awarded campaign, The Palau Pledge, in which visitors to the island nation mandated to act in an ecologically and culturally responsible way to help curb the environmental impact of booming tourist numbers. The campaign exemplified Higgin’s love of creative solutions that don’t feel like advertising and the uncompromising craft of their delivery. In addition to being awarded D&AD’s Design Black Pencil of the Decade, The Palau Pledge won two D&AD Black Pencils and three Cannes Lions Grand Prix, becoming the most globally awarded campaign of the year and the agency being named Agency of the Year.
At Host/Havas, Higgins also led one of Australia’s largest accounts, Defence Force Recruiting, to the most successful two years in its history, winning a Grand Effie. He oversaw some of the agency’s most significant relationships, including Reckitt, Sony and Peugeot, and helped win brands including eBay. Havas Host was subsequently named Agency of the year by the Australian Writers and Art Directors (AWARD) Awards – APAC’s benchmark for creative excellence – in 2018.
After leaving Havas in 2019, Seamus spent three years as VP chief creative officer, APAC at creative innovation company R/GA, before going to Uncommon Creative Studio, where he won awards for work on accounts including British Airways and B&Q. He re-joined R/GA Australia as chief creative officer in 2023, before returning to London with AKQA in 2025.
Higgins has been recognised on Ad Age’s Creative All-stars list, judged at multiple shows, including AWARD Awards, Cannes Lions, New York Festivals, D&AD, One Show APAC, was jury president for digital and mobile at Spikes Asia, and has spoken at numerous local and international events, including New York Advertising Week and Cannes Lions.
Higgins will start at Havas on March 26 and report into Havas London CEO, Holly Ripper.
Holly Ripper stated, “Seamus is a creative unicorn and an ambitious and generous leader. His diverse background spans big brand thinking, digital, design, social and innovation and his eclectic, unignorable body of work is testament to this. Importantly, this is work that works – as reinforced by the pile of creative and effectiveness awards he’s accumulated along the way. He comes highly-rated by peers and colleagues alike.
“Ours felt a meeting of minds of what a progressive, modern creative agency should look like – Seamus knows first-hand what Havas at its entrepreneurial best can do, and how to unlock the power and potential of the Village model. I said Havas had the potential to be a little bit dangerous when I started and I am so excited to welcome him into that mission as our new chief creative officer.”
Higgins added, “Holly has a clear and bold vision for the next era of Havas London. I feel privileged and incredibly excited to help bring that to life with the team. The remit is clear and the opportunity is huge. I’ve long believed in the power of the Havas Village model, and I’m excited to put that to work in London. When you bring the right people together behind a shared ambition, incredible things can happen.”
Cover image: Holly Ripper & Seamus Higgins
