James Wright has been named Havas Group CEO ANZ as Virginia Hyland departs as CEO of Havas Media Network Australia New Zealand (ANZ) following dismissal by consent of legal action against her employer.

According to the official statement, Hyland's departure follows the completion of the buy-out period after Havas acquired her agency, Hyland Media, in 2020.

However, as reported by Mi3 last week, Hyland had begun legal proceedings against her employer last month in the Federal Court over an alleged breach of workplace rights. While the exact nature of the dispute was not made clear, Mi3 understood both parties moved to settle out of court after Hyland filed a Breach of General Protections Claim.

According to documents filed yesterday, the proceedings have now been dismissed by consent.

During her tenure, Hyland led Havas Media AUNZ to secure significant business wins with notable clients including Red Bull, Perfetti, Uniting, Tourism Fiji, and Retail Food Group. The agency's achievements under her leadership were recognised with nominations for the Mumbrella 2025 Media Agency of the Year and the MFA Agency Talent & Culture award for agencies with more than 100 staff. Hyland also spearheaded the launch of Havas PLAY and CSA (Data, Tech & Analytics), and played a pivotal role in the acquisition of Hotglue to bolster Havas Media and Havas PLAY's presence in Melbourne.

In a statement, Hyland expressed gratitude towards Havas and her colleagues: "I want to thank Havas for welcoming Hyland Media and our clients into the fold. It’s been a privilege to work alongside so many creative, driven, and talented people across the local and global network. I’m incredibly proud of what we’ve built together. To my teammates—thank you for believing in our shared vision as a challenger agency to Dare to be Different. To our valued clients—I wish you continued success as you navigate the exciting future of data, tech, and AI. It has been my personal pleasure to be part of your journey, some for as long as 25 years."

Hyland will continue her role as Deputy Chair of the Media Federation of Australia (MFA).

Wright, previously CEO of Havas Creative Network ANZ since his return to Australia in 2023, has been appointed as the new Havas Group CEO ANZ, effective immediately. Wright will continue his responsibilities as Global CEO for Havas Red and Global Chair of the Havas PR Network.

Havas Media Network said it will confirm future leadership announcements in due course, including the recruitment of a new Media CEO who will report to Wright.

Wright acknowledged Hyland's contributions and outlined future plans.

"I want to thank Virginia for an amazing few years of success in the Media Group and wish her every success in the future. Going forward we are strongly committed to driving our pioneering integration as a Group with many bold ambitions to maximise our talents, technology and data smarts that supercharge our teams and clients’ brands. To support this we have a number of significant investments and moves planned to help us play and win differently as the challenger HoldCo in market," he said.

Havas ANZ's portfolio includes agencies such as Havas Host, Havas Media, Havas Red, Havas New Zealand, Havas Blvd, Havas PLAY, CSA, H/Advisors APA, One Green Bean, Organic Publicity, Frontier, Bastion Brands part of Havas Health & You, and Pulse.

Founded in 1835 in Paris, Havas operates in over 100 markets with nearly 23,000 employees.