R/GA APAC appoints ex-Host/Havas ECD Seamus Higgins to VP CCO role; Rob Chalmers and Niklas Lilja move into regional executive CD roles

R/GA has today announced that its continued growth in APAC has paved the way for changes to regional creative structure, including the appointment of former Host/Havas ECD Seamus Higgins to the role of VP chief creative officer.   

Higgins steps into the newly-created CCO role in April, assuming overarching creative leadership of the agency’s Singapore, Shanghai, Tokyo, Sydney, and Melbourne offices. Last month R/GA announced that their Regional VP executive CD Bob Mackintosh was leaving the network.

Recently included in Ad-Age’s 2018 Creative All-Stars list, Higgins has more than 20 years of industry experience across three continents. Throughout his career, he’s been behind campaigns that have won nearly every major award, notably ten D&AD pencils (including two black), three Cannes Lions Grand Prix (including Titanium), and two Grand Clios. Most recently, he served as ECD at Host/Havas, driving a creative resurgence that earned the agency the Spikes Asia Agency of the Year award, and a No.7 ranking in the Cannes Lions 2018 Global Creativity Report. At Host/Havas he was co-ECD on the multi award winning “Palau Pledge”.

Says Tuomas Peltoniemi, EVP managing director, APAC: “Seamus has built his career championing ideas that often don’t feel like advertising, and ensuring uncompromising craft when it comes to their delivery. We’re excited to welcome him to R/GA and to a role which speaks to his talent and passion for driving change, as well as our growth and the opportunities for transformation we’re seeing here.”

Says Higgins: “APAC is a hugely dynamic region where anything is possible, and R/GA is perfectly poised to push the boundaries of creativity and innovation here. I can’t wait to get going with this incredibly talented team.”

R/GA’s regional creative leadership will be further bolstered by two key internal promotions.

R/GA Australia ECD, Robert Chalmers (left) becomes ECD – head of experience design, APAC, charged with deepening XD capability and growing teams across the five offices. R/GA Tokyo ECD, Niklas Lilja (right) becomes ECD – head of stories, APAC, heading up the development and expansion of the region’s creative teams.  

Says Sean Lyons, global CEO, R/GA: “We are growing at speed in APAC, opening two new offices in as many years, a host of new business wins and organic growth from long-standing relationships, and hitting our stride creatively.

“The seamless and extraordinary collaboration between our people in the region is a differentiator sought out by clients, and something the teams in APAC already do so well. By bringing in a talent the caliber of Seamus, and combining his talents with Rob, Niklas, and other regional creative leads, APAC is poised to grow even further.”