New CFO for Saatchi & Saatchi Asia Pacific

October 8 2012, 1:03 pm | BY Lynchy | No Comments

xavierj.jpgSaatchi & Saatchi Fallon Group has transferred Johann Xavier (left), CFO of the Group’s EMEA region, to the Asia/Pacific division. He is moving to the network’s rapidly growing Asia/Pacific Rim and Greater China territories. There, he will be forming a strong partnership with the two Regional CEOs, Chris Foster (Asia/Pacific) and Justin Billingsley (Greater China).

“This exciting new role gives Johann the opportunity to fully optimize his entrepreneurial and commercial instincts as he moves to this growth region for Saatchi. There will surely be a great deal of change that will keep him on his toes and we wish him the very best”, said Robert Senior, CEO Saatchi & Saatchi Fallon Group EMEA.

In the opinion of Bill Cochrane, Worldwide CFO: “Johann has proved his ability to work to great effect across many territories. He is ideally suited for his new role in this most vibrant business environment. This is a natural next leg in what seems like Johann’s World Tour!”.

Xavier takes with him invaluable experience and learnings from both his time in North America, as COO of Saatchi & Saatchi Canada (where he turned loss into profit), and also as EMEA CFO, managing the region through uniquely tough economic conditions. Further, Xavier’s cross-cultural experience and his ability to sensitively bridge differences (the EMEA region alone is made up of 17 different countries with very individual ways of working) suits his work style.

Additionally Xavier has proven expertise in mitigating risks and in compliance, having worked as project leader with the Publicis Groupe.

He has successfully executed a number of M&A strategies for Saatchi & Saatchi. He recently initiated the transaction to acquire the South African operation with the Black Empowerment partners.

Xavier, a graduate of the University of Cambridge MBA programme, Judge Business School, recently co-authored a paper on marketing to Baby Boomers: ‘A Golden Opportunity: Marketing To The Future Grey Population’.

Xavier highly values creativity. “I want to be an enabler of a great creative product and help provide the fuel to let the company capture market share, and take it to the next level”.

“In a changing world, client expectations of what marketing means and what agencies provide demands we embrace new technologies and find compensation models that are fair and transparent to all.”