Havas Media Network has named Kunal Chakravarty as Head of New Business & Marketing for Australia and New Zealand, a newly expanded remit that places one leader across several specialist units.
What the role covers
Chakravarty will oversee new business and marketing across Havas Media, Havas Play, Consumer Science & Analytics (CSA), and Prose on Pixels in the ANZ region. The remit brings together commercial development and marketing activity spanning media, analytics, entertainment and content capabilities.
Chakravarty, also known as KC, moves into the role from Havas People, where he led new business across Asia-Pacific. Earlier, he served as Head of Integration at Havas India, working across agencies within the Indian Havas Village.
His experience covers new business development, agency integration, marketing strategy, partnerships and client-facing growth initiatives. During his India tenure, Havas India was named Campaign’s South Asia Agency of the Year in 2024, and its new business team was recognised as New Business Development Team of the Year.
Why a single growth remit matters
The appointment follows a wider shift among media agency networks. Networks are moving new business, marketing, partnerships, thought leadership and communications closer together under one leader, rather than treating each as a separate function. The intended payoff is faster, better-coordinated client acquisition.
For marketers, the structure matters in two ways:
- It changes the client front door: one growth conversation replaces disconnected approaches from different specialist teams.
- It packages the pitch around a broader story, connecting media, analytics, entertainment and content under one commercial narrative.
Chakravarty’s move from Havas People to Havas Media continues his work within the wider Havas network, but shifts his focus from APAC new business to a broader ANZ remit. The appointment adds dedicated leadership for new business and marketing across Havas Media’s ANZ operations as the network aligns its media and marketing capabilities in the region.
The India connection
The appointment is also a continuation of talent flow from Havas India. Chakravarty’s stint as Head of Integration came while Havas India was picking up South Asia-level recognition. Moving from an India integration role to APAC new business and now to an ANZ growth role suggests Havas is reusing integration skills across its own network.
What marketers can take from this
Agency restructures like this are worth watching because they signal how a network plans to pitch and package services. When one leader owns both new business and marketing, the pitch promise and the market positioning are more likely to stay consistent.
For marketing and agency leaders, the practical takeaway is to map growth responsibilities across specialist teams and look for overlaps. In Havas’s case, the leadership seat deliberately spans media, analytics, entertainment and content, which removes some of the silos that can fragment a client pitch.
The ANZ appointment is a regional leadership move rather than a global reorganisation. But it shows where agency structures are heading: one growth leader coordinating multiple specialist capabilities.
Source: MediaNews4U
