AMV CEO Sam Hawkey in surprise return to Publicis as Digitas head

AMV BBDO CEO Sam Hawkey is making a surprise return to Publicis Groupe after just two years as head of the Omnicom agency.

Hawkey, former CEO of Publicis-owned Saatchi and Saatchi, is the new CEO of Digitas EMEA.

Loris Nold, CEO of Publicis Groupe EMEA, says: “Sam is an incredible talent and it’s great to have him back. He is a forward-thinking leader who values talent and creativity and understands how to connect different skillsets for the benefit of clients. Digitas is already growing fast, including in the UK led by Jennifer Berry, and there are clear opportunities to expand and accelerate further across the region.

“Digitas is an agile agency that crosses multiple disciplines, partnering with our creative and media agencies. Sam has digital in his bones, and an entrepreneurial spirit which makes him perfectly suited for this role.”

AMV has had a succession to CEOs in the last decade, none of whom have been able to restore it to its one-time eminence when it was by far the UK’s biggest agency by billings. It first lost this spot to Omnicom sibling adam&eveDDB and latterly to VCCP.