Havas Mulls Aegis Links Through Management Reshuffle
Vincent Bollore, chairman of French advertising giant Havas, has outlined plans to appoint the company’s Fernando Rodes Vila, currently head of Havas’s media planning arm, as the next group chief executive, potentially forging closer ties with Aegis.
According to a report in today’s Telegraph, Bollore, who also holds a 25% stake in Aegis, has already asked Rodes Vila to succeed Philippe Wahl as group chief executive, relinquishing his current role as head of the company’s Media Planning Group (MPG).
The move could, according to speculation, force closer links between Havas and Aegis, building on Bollore’s stated desire for the two firms to work together, and echoing the sentiments of Aegis’ chief executive, Robert Lerwill (see Lerwill Sees Logic To Havas/Aegis Partnership).
Last year saw Lerwill warming to a partnership in media with Havas. Speaking in October, he said: “There is a certain logic to a partnership with Havas and its MPG subsidiary, but for the moment no concrete project is being studied.”
Separately, Bollore has stated that his interest in Aegis is a purely financial one, rather than a strategic holding (see