Havas Worldwide Chicago’s New Chief Is a Familar Face

Havas Worldwide has installed a new president atop its Chicago office but he's a familiar face at the agency.

Paul Marobella has been group president of Havas Chicago Group, a collection of four specialty shops, since August 2012. He's also chief digital officer for Chicago. Now, he'll also lead the core ad agency, as current co-presidents Jason Peterson and Joy Schwartz shift to other roles.

Schwartz is taking on the new North American position of president of performance marketing. She'll aim to build the discipline of direct marketing, with an eye toward deepening current marketer relationships. Schwartz has been with the agency since 2003.

Peterson, meanwhile, will focus on his primary job as chief creative officer of Chicago and secondarily, co-CCO of North America, along with Darren Moran, the New York CCO. Peterson joined the agency as Chicago creative chief in 2010 and took on co-president responsibilities last summer.

Havas Worldwide CEO Andrew Benett described the moves as "focusing on what people are talented at and passionate about." Benett unveiled the changes internally this morning during a meeting with Chicago's nearly 400 staffers.

Top accounts in Chicago include Dish, Citi, Reynolds, Cracker Barrel, Terminix and Sears (Craftsman, Kenmore, Die Hard).