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Havas London has appointed Britt Iversen, the former Mother strategy director, as its new executive strategy director.

Iversen, who hails from Copenhagen, will run and oversee the strategy department of Havas London and sit on its leadership team. She will take over the top strategy position within the shop from Mark Sinnock, who was promoted in May to global chief strategy officer, and she will report to him.

Commenting on joining the agency, Iversen pointed to its link with parent company Vivendi and the strength of its leadership team, which includes ±±¾©Èü³µpk10 Agency of the Year award winners, chief executive Xavier Rees and chief creative officer Vicki Maguire.

“Havas’ rise, spearheaded by its London office, hasn’t gone unnoticed,” she said.

“And it’s no surprise – in people like Xav, Vicki and Jennifer [Black, MD], it’s got some of the best at what they do in the business. But it’s not just the people – my passion lies in innovation and storytelling, and Havas’ partnership with Vivendi and its many entertainment properties is a fascinating proposition. I can’t wait to get started.”

This is Iversen’s first permanent role in the agency sector since a two-year stint ending in 2017 as strategy director at Fabula London – where she worked with Black, who was managing director and now holds the same position at Havas. At Fabula, Iversen worked with brands including Made.com, Ovo Energy and Unilever’s tea portfolio.

Before this, she spent nine years from 2001 to 2010 at Mother, where she won D&AD awards for Unilever and spearheaded Diageo’s innovation portfolio. 

In 2009, she co-founded storytelling-based creative shop Visual Editions, which has worked with brands including Google, H&M, Penguin, Mereces and WeTransfer. From this, she partnered Google to create Editions at Play, a digital book initiative she co-created with Google Creative Lab in 2015 that won a for excellence in digital storytelling in 2017.

“We’ve been looking for the right person to lead Havas London’s strategy department for some time, so I am absolutely thrilled that Britt has accepted the offer to join our crew,” Sinnock said. 

“Her background speaks for itself, and combined with her stunning intellect, enduring positivity and client smarts, she really is one of a kind. I’m proud to say she’s now also one of us.”

Havas reported Q2 revenue growth of 15.8% after bouncing back from last year's Covid slump.