Havas Sports & Entertainment (Havas SE), the brand engagement network of Havas, has appointed Michel Gotlib as the Chief Operating Officer of its French operations. In this role, Gotlib will be in charge of the daily management and development of the agency alongside CEO Gilles Portelle.
With more than 25 years’ experience in marketing and communications, of which 20 were spent with The Coca-Cola Company, Gotlib will leverage his extensive background to strengthen the agency’s offering and thought leadership thanks to his keen understanding of the marketing landscape and vision about opportunities in the areas of entertainment and innovation.
Gotlib brings a wealth of expertise in sports and entertainment thanks to the diverse leadership roles he held at The Coca-Cola Company, beginning in 1988 as Head of Sponsorship and Partnerships for France. He then headed up Coca-Cola’s sponsorship of the 1992 Albertville Olympic Games globally before joining the managing committee of Coca-Cola France as Director of Strategic Alliances and Media where he created a new marketing strategy focused on consumer passions (sports, music, film, etc …). In this role he supervised partnerships with most of the major international events in France, including the 1998 FIFA World Cup, the 2003 IAAF World Championships in Athletics, and the Rugby World Cup in 2007. Most recently, he was Director of Marketing Communications for North West Europe and the Nordics until 2011.
For the past four years, Gotlib has consulted on strategy and organization, management, marketing, innovation and digital transformation for major global brands such as Ferrero, L’Oréal, and Pernod, and start-ups including My Little Paris and Trace TV. He has also acted as a global consultant for Havas Sports & Entertainment.
In his new role, Gotlib will focus on developing key accounts on a global scale, supporting new business efforts, and leading the expansion of Havas SE France’s service offering, particularly in the areas of entertainment and innovation, including all music-related projects in France, such as partnerships with entertainment venues: Olympia, Bercy, Zenith,… music labels, as well as the major music festivals.
Lucien Boyer, Global President & CEO of Havas Sports & Entertainment added:
“I’m thrilled that Michel is joining the Havas SE team led by Gilles Portelle, enabling our Paris office to strengthen its leadership in the French market. Michel knows our business perfectly as we have had the privilege to work with him during his tenure at The Coca-Cola Company, as their agency in France for more than 15 years. Throughout his career, Michel has proven to be one of the most innovative thinkers in marketing related to sport & entertainment. He has also been a pioneer in introducing integrated marketing communication strategy in France, given his many years working for The Coca-Cola Company, renowned for its creativity and innovation in marketing.
Michel will also bring his leadership skills and international background to the agency, which will help to support business development across the network and drive the roll-out of new services in close collaboration with the rest of the Havas Group, also capitalizing on partnerships with Universal Music Group and other Vivendi assets. His positive attitude and out-of-the box thinking make him perfectly suited to expand our French operations, particularly in terms of our entertainment and music offer.
I look forward to celebrating many successes together in the future.”
–ENDS–
CONTACTS:
Havas SE Global: Julia Feldman
julia.feldman@havas-se.com
T: +33(0) 6 83 26 83 74
Havas SE France Sonia Berkani
sonia.berkani@havas-se.com
T: +33(0) 1 58 47 86 37
About Havas Sports & Entertainment
Havas Sports & Entertainment (Havas SE) is the global brand engagement network of HAVAS.
Part of HAVAS MEDIA GROUP, our 35 offices in 24 markets include Havas Sports & Entertainment, ignition and Cake agencies.
Our ambition is to be the best at creating meaningful connections between brands and people via their passions using creativity, media and innovation to deliver experiences, content and social engagement.
Together we are 500+ colleagues with a diverse set of skills and backgrounds, delivering the best in strategy, research, brand communication, activation and social and live experiences globally. This enables us to provide our clients with customized solutions based on a deep understanding of what binds people together into communities: shared passions.
Our deep knowledge of fans also derives from our global study, FANS.PASSION.BRANDS, the largest piece of research ever conducted that aims to understand fans’ engagement with their passions, based on what we term “the Logics of Engagement”.
Havas Sports & Entertainment agencies strategically assess how brands can create emotional relationships with fans and fan communities based around their passion for sport and entertainment through content, SoMe, PR, and social experiences.
ignition is the industry leader in experiential marketing, delivering fully integrated experiences that drive positive actions and attitudes between people and brands.
Our network now benefits from the expertise of five strategic partners: Music Dealers, a global music licensing agency and Independent Artist Community; London-based Seven46, specializing in editorial communications and bid campaigns; Benza, our brand experience partner in Brazil; eventures, an integrated communications agency in Romania, and Seaters, an online platform to fill empty seats at sports and music events.
International clients include: adidas, Atos, Barclays, BMW, The Coca-Cola Company, Danone, Delta Air Lines, EDF, ESPN, Heathrow Express, Hyundai, Kia, LVMH, Mars, Nike, Orange, Procter & Gamble, PSA Peugeot Citroën, Puig, Reebok, Reckitt Benckiser, Santander, the United Nations Foundation, Victoria’s Secret, QTA, and Yahoo! and sports organizations such as Roland Garros, the Argentinean Tennis Association, the English Premier League, FIFA, the French Golf Federation, the International Rugby Board, the International Cricket Council, the Italian Rugby Federation, MLB, the NBA and the NFL.
Further information can be found at www.havas-se.com and www.ignition-inc.com.
Follow us on Twitter at @Havas_SE