Getting to know... Rosie Holden, Havas Cake’s first chief exec in 4 years
The Drum catches up with Rosie Holden, the new chief executive of Havas Cake whose appointment ushers in a new chapter for the agency. She tells us about how Cake is helping brands change the world of sport from the inside and why flexibility remains her priority.
Rosie Holden has taken up the role of CEO of Havas Cake/ Image courtesy of Havas Cake
At Havas Cake, the role of chief executive officer has been vacant for four years. Rosie Holden stepping up to the plate not only marks a return of the role, but she’s also the first woman in the agency’s history to hold the position.
Holden has been at Cake for several years. She joined in 2019 as managing director at the start of a three-year evolution that saw the agency pivot from a PR and sports sponsorship agency into a full-service creative agency spanning communications, social, influencer and culture marketing, partnerships, sponsorship strategy and activation, live and digital experience and production. It was “something of a restructure,” she tells The Drum.
“It was also an opportunity to really assess what direction we were sailing in and, at the time, there just wasn’t a need for any more senior roles. But it’s exciting that the work I’ve been doing at the agency in terms of growth and its success means that this promotion is a reflection of the work I’ve been doing over the last 18 months.”
The growth to which Holden modestly refers is year-on-year revenue up by 45% and a run of new business success spanning major brands and rights holders including Major League Baseball, Arsenal FC, Aston Martin F1 Team, Diageo brands Captain Morgan and Gordon’s, Sport England, the FA and JD Sports – for which Cake created its fully-integrated Christmas 2021 campaign, which was named by YouTube as the most engaging Christmas ad of the year.
Despite working across such historically male-dominated brands and industries, Holden says the landscape has changed dramatically over the course of her career.
“Before, these companies were heavily male, both on the brand and agency-side, but that has changed a lot,” she says. 68% of the Cake team, for example, are women.
Citing Cake’s work with the BT home nations partnership, which aimed to “leave football in a better place” by turning its focus to women’s football and the representation of disability within the sport as an example, Holden tells us: ”That representation means we are well placed to deliver because we are so passionate.”
This passion is not only reflected in the team’s output, but also in its retention, which has stayed at a steady 80% over the past three years. No mean feat in the face of the so-called ’great resignation’.
“It’s down to a number of factors,” says Holden, adding that Cake’s culture favors inclusivity and that it prides itself on offering growth opportunities to junior creatives. “We treat them as adults, like they should be, and I think they feel empowered by that.
“We offer heaps of training, both internal and external, and if anyone ever comes to me with an idea we will always try to look at it and make it work.” Cake also boasts a mentorship scheme.
“We’re also constantly evolving, which comes with being a young agency, but I think that combination of working with brilliant clients and having a supportive team is what makes a real difference.”
Holden adds that this flexible and supportive culture is reflected across Havas with its hybrid and flexible working policies, which, she says, “allows working mums, like me, to do the school drop off”.
Looking at the future of her tenure, Holden says she is most excited about building on the sound foundation she established as managing director. “You know, last year we won six consecutive pitches and our clients are really our partners. I want to make sure we continue this growth in a managed and sustained way so that our people can be rewarded by that.
“In the last few years, it has been so easy to get burned out and I feel like, in this new chapter, doing away with presenteeism will be vital. I think that’s what has helped drive Cake’s growth, to be honest. We really are better when we just embrace flexible working, so we’ve never had any problems getting people in the office. Plus, we really are more creative when we’re together.”