Our People

One of the most recognized agency heads in the world, James is global CEO of Havas Red, a global micronetwork of merged media agencies, and is global chairman of the Havas PR Global Collective agencies that comprise 1,300 consultants across 40+ offices. Before taking on his global role, James was group CEO responsible for PR agencies across the Asia-Pacific region between 2011-2018. He advised brands including AWS, Capgemini, Coca-Cola, Heineken, Mondelēz, Novartis, Toyota, Yahoo! and the Australian government. He also served as chief commercial officer for Havas Group Australia/New Zealand, working across advertising, PR and media.​

Linda joined Havas Red in 2015 to spearhead the agency’s digital, social and measurement practice areas. With more than 15 years of experience, she specializes in providing strategic counsel and tactical implementation of integrated communications programs, incorporating PR, media relations, social media, content partnerships, influencer marketing, thought leadership and advertising. Her work includes a variety of sectors including financial services, economic development, pharma and corporate responsibility. Previously, Linda was managing director and global head of content marketing and social media at Citi, where she launched numerous digital firsts and served as president and CEO of Women & Co., the bank’s award-winning financial lifestyle community for women. Her honors include PR News’ 2018 PR Professional of the Year, 2018 Campaign U.S. Digital 40 Over 40, 2014 Fox Information Technology Distinguished Alumni Award from the Fox School of Business at Temple University, 2014 Pinnacle in Leadership Award from the Girl Scouts of Greater New York, and 2013 Changing the Game Award from Advertising Women of New York (now known as She Runs It).  Linda also served as a judge for The Content Council Pearl Awards in 2018 and 2017. Linda serves as a capstone mentor and advisory council member for the Fox School of Business M.S. in Digital Innovation in Marketing program. She currently serves on the board of directors of New York Women in Communications (and is a past president) and Servo Annex, a digital consultancy.

Melanie joined Havas Red in November 2017 as senior vice president of media relations, providing counsel to corporate and consumer clients. She has more than 15 years’ experience in the lifestyle, food and beverage, and travel and hospitality industries, as well as expertise with corporate reputation, issues management, cause, sustainability and education. Melanie specializes in results-oriented strategies and creative public relations tactics that bring fresh perspectives to client messaging.

Before joining Havas Red, Melanie was at Finn Partners and managed New York State’s I LOVE NY Tourism campaign, including the launch of the TASTE NY program. She has secured client coverage in national outlets, including The New York Times, Bloomberg TV, Reuters, Forbes, Wall Street Journal, Associated Press, Wine & Spirit, Wine Spectator, Beverage Media, Nation’s Restaurant News and Tasting Panel.

Karina enhances strategic processes agency-wide. Her guidance has become essential for most of our projects, from top-level initiatives to new-business pitches, across all sectors. Named to PRWeek’s 40 Under 40 list for her strategy work at Havas Red, Karina joined the company as a junior planner in 2004, then quickly rose to lead planner on the Nestlé Frozen Foods business and planner on Charles Schwab. She drove significant strategic change for Nestlé’s Lean Cuisine in 2007 by moving it from a diet brand to a key player in the wellness space. This shift resulted in Lean Cuisine’s reaching its goal: becoming a billion-dollar brand. More recently, she worked on Coty Inc. when its CEO left in the midst of the company preparing for its IPO. She helped launch Havas Red’s youth marketing think tank and developed unique marketing research approaches to gain an in-depth knowledge of the youth target for brands such as Clearasil and Pepsi. Karina is a graduate of Brown University.

Lesley leads the agency’s Pittsburgh office and works as a key member of the company’s Global Collective, helping to coordinate the agency’s cross-border work with Havas teams around the world. Lesley joined the agency (formerly known as Havas PR North America) in 2006, and since then has been immersed as strategist, content and speech writer, media relations specialist and trainer. Lesley has been recognized in the industry for her expertise in crisis and corporate communication and regularly trains clients and teams on crisis communication. She has been recognized in the industry with several awards and accolades, including the 2016 PR News PR People Awards as Agency PR Professional of the Year and in 2018, as a member of the Cannes Lions Grand Jury in the PR category and as Jury President for the 2020 Lisbon PR Awards. Lesley works on several of the agency’s long-standing and high-profile clients, including Transitions Optical, IPEMA and UNICEF. She has supported global work for Sodexo and Kellogg’s and for a number of additional consumer, corporate and B2B clients over the years. Prior to joining Havas Red, Lesley worked for a decade in U.S. government and politics, serving in press secretary and national communications roles for several elected officials, for a national political party and in battleground states during two presidential races. She received her bachelor’s degree in communications from the University of Dayton in Dayton, Ohio, and her master’s degree in communications from the Annenberg School for Communications at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, PA.

Davitha is a strategic leader, subject-matter expert and senior strategist with in-depth knowledge about all areas of the social realm. Having grown up in Amsterdam, Davitha has gained life and work experience across multiple markets including Europe (Amsterdam, Istanbul), Australia (Sydney) and most recently New York, where she heads Havas Red’s social media offering across North America and the U.K. Davitha is a regular social media guest lecturer for educational entities and is co-author of the world’s first government-accredited social media degree, developed in partnership with Social Media College.

With a skill set spanning channel selection, content strategy, production, community engagement, crisis management, performance analysis, insights development, paid social amplification and influencer marketing, Davitha has developed and implemented successful social media and integrated communications strategies for brands across a wide variety of categories. These include travel, tourism and hospitality (Southern Great Barrier Reef, South Australia Tourism, Caravanning Queensland, Pancakes on the Rocks); FMCG (Vegemite, Hungry Jack’s, Yoplait); automotive (Toyota); alcohol (Moet & Chandon, Heineken, Veuve Clicquot, Chandon, Cellarbrations, Bottle-O, Dan Murphy’s); beauty (Revlon, SinfulColors, Goodness Beauty Lab); healthcare (Aspen Pharmaceuticals, Sanofi); and technology (Reckon, Fix it Faster).

Sharon brings more than two decades of experience in strategic public relations and corporate communications to her role at Havas Red. Her leadership experience spans top agencies and corporates, including Rubenstein Public Relations, Evins Communications, Development Counsellors International, RLM Public Relations, Metia as well as The Vines of Mendoza, BASF, and KeyBank/Champion Mortgage.

Sharon has a breadth of merged media experience, gleaned from working with a variety of organizations, from large corporations to agile startups in North and South America, in sectors ranging from agriculture to travel to technology, to name just a few. A wine specialist, Sharon holds WSET III certification. She received her master’s degree in corporate and public communication from Seton Hall University in addition to a bachelor’s degree from Calvin College.

Combining experience in business-to-business, consumer, healthcare and technology with a background in art and design, Courtney provides clients a unique perspective on branding and public relations. From strategic counsel and planning to execution, she advises clients on public relations, CSR programs, brand development, company vision, thought leadership and direct marketing campaigns. Courtney is responsible for the ongoing management and development of a range of tactics for clients using traditional, broadcast and social strategies, including media relations, brand and message development, speeches and multi-media presentations, print and video creative, trade shows and special events, and digital marketing. Her efforts have resulted in numerous industry awards for media relations, social media and creative CSR tactics, including the 2013 Bronze Anvil for speeches and Silver Anvil for special events. She has also been named the PR Practitioner of Year by the Pittsburgh Chapter of the Business Marketing Association. Courtney graduated from Carnegie Mellon University with a bachelor’s in industrial design.

Named among the 2019 “Women to Watch” by PRWeek, Melissa has 16 years of experience working in the communications industry. She heads the national Health & Wellness practice for Havas Red. During her 14 years at Havas Red, Melissa has contributed to results-driven programs for numerous clients, including Braintree, Butterfly, Inc., the Gout Education Society, LivaNova, MilliporeSigma, Mylan, PPG Industries, Transitions Optical, Vitamin Angels and more. With a specialty in healthcare communications, Melissa plays an integral role in program strategy and project management, working with her clients every step of the way—from initial planning and program conception to tactical execution to analysis and delivery of results. Melissa has a knack for bringing client messages to life through content creation for multimedia materials. She has vast experience developing programs and content geared toward technical, professional and consumer audiences.

Melissa’s work has been recognized regionally, nationally and internationally—with programs she has touched earning more than 100 honors over the years. Some of these recognitions include first place in Community Affairs for the 2018 PRNews CSR Awards; first place in Media Relations for the 2018 PR Daily CSR Awards; “Best in Show” at the 2016 IABC Golden Triangle Awards for Marketing Communications; The International Public Relations Association’s 2013 Community Relations Campaign of the Year; PRWeek’s 2012 Multicultural Marketing Campaign of the Year; and the Hispanic Public Relations Association’s 2009 Healthcare Campaign of the Year. Prior to joining Havas Red, Melissa worked as an on-air television news reporter for local Fox and ABC affiliate stations in Central Pennsylvania.

Pattie applies her strategic counsel, media insight and award-winning writing to clients in diverse industries. She helps to build and strengthen brands through smart and targeted integrated programming. Pattie leverages her journalism background to develop and deliver crisis communications and media training modules that help prepare clients to communicate using traditional and social media channels. Prior to joining Havas Red in 1997, she spent several years as a technical editor and business reporter. She has won a number of writing awards throughout her career, including three awards for writing excellence from the National Federation of Presswomen’s Pennsylvania Chapter and was named PR Practitioner of the Year by the Pittsburgh Chapter of the Business Marketing Association. Pattie graduated from Duquesne University with a bachelor’s degree in journalism.