• by Joe Mandese  @mp_joemandese, January 15, 2009

In a move that centralizes more of the power for its digital media operations on the European continent, Paris-based Havas is restructuring the top management team of Havas Digital, following the departure of its Boston-based CEO Don Epperson on Jan. 31. Epperson, an entrepreneur with a deep background in finance and technology, joined Havas in 2001 when it acquired HookMedia, an early Boston-based digital shop he founded in 1998, and which became the backbone of Havas Digital's operations.

Havas Digital is staying inside to replace him, naming its next top two executives - Madrid-based COO Gabriel Saenz de Buruaga, and London-based Chief Strategy Officer Anthony Rhind - co-CEOs of the global digital media and marketing services organization.

"Havas Digital network always had a distributed management to ensure global resources are close the operations, however many of the global team are in the U.S., spread across New York, Boston and San Francisco operations," Rhind tells Online Media Daily, noting that over the past year, he has operated out of the U.S. at least once a month.

He also noted that much of the digital unit's operations will continue to be overseen by U.S.-based executives, including:

Nathan Woodman, managing director, Adnetik (Havas Digital's trading unit)
Glenn Robertson, CFO
Mark Egan, director of new business
Katrin Ribant, director of product development for Havas Digital's Artemis system
Marta Martinez, director of corporate development
Jarvis Mak, director of research & insight
Louis Jones, director of service excellence

Rhind adds that he and Saenz de Buruaga will retain their current roles on an interim basis, and will likely look to replace him with a new chief strategy officer.

"We will be absolutely brining additional people into the global team," he adds.

But the trans-Atlantic shift of Havas Digital's top management comes at an interesting time for the organization, whose parent company is once again rumored to be weighing a takeover of London-based rival Aegis Group, whose Isobar unit currently is the largest digital media and marketing services organization in the world.

According to RECMA's December 2007 interactive agency report, the first and last released by the agency billings tracking firm, Isobar ranked No. 1 by a considerable margin over No. 2 Publicis' Zed Digital, and No. 3 Havas Digital on the basis of personnel count. (RECMA deems full-time employees a better indicator of interactive agency rankings than billings.)

Under Epperson's management, Havas Digital has recently made some interesting inroads in the industry, especially in the area of technology - something Madison Avenue often gets a knock on in the interactive space. Leveraging its powerful Artemis database system, Havas Digital now has profiles on about one-third of the world's Internet user population, and has begun spinning of innovative "trading" systems such as Adnetik, which is shifting the power of online audience aggregation back to advertisers and agencies from third-party intermediaries like online advertising networks, and exchanges.

While Havas has yet to make a formal bid to acquire Aegis Group, several European newspapers have been speculating that an offer is imminent. The Financial Times has reported that Havas Chairman Vincent Bollore - already the single largest shareholder of Aegis Group with nearly 30% of its shares - is weighing a $1.31 a share offer to acquire the balance of the company. The speculation is that Havas would spin-off Aegis' prized research operations, Synovate, and would integrate its media services operations, including Isobar, Carat and Posterscope, into Havas Digital and MPG.

The relocation of Havas Digital's top management to Europe is also interesting, because Havas Media already is headquartered in Madrid under CEO Alfonso Rodes. His brother Fernando is CEO of Havas, operating out of Paris, but all of the executives deem themselves global.

Epperson, who quietly devotes much of his time to philanthropy, says he plans to spend some time with his family, before jumping back into a new entrepreneurial role, presumably in the industry.

Havas Digital North America will continue to be headed by Boston-based Regional Manager Ed Montes.