About

Dara A. Busch recently took the helm of Havas’ Public Relations’ agencies in North America overseeing Havas Red and Havas Formula as North America CEO. With her acute understanding of agency leadership and the everchanging world of earned and social media she is tasked to work with Havas’ agencies on their new model of service, merged media. Her instinctive ability to see shifts in the market and create new areas for growth, set her apart as a true visionary. Dara will also look for acquisition and growth opportunities throughout the North American region to support the needs of Havas and agency clients.

Previously Dara was the Co-CEO of 5W, and leader of its award-winning Consumer division, which was comprised of Health and Wellness, Lifestyle, Beauty, and Consumer Packaged Goods practices. She launched and built a digital team to deliver full-service marketing capabilities to the agency’s new and existing clientele. Dara provided counsel and support to 5W’s Corporate and Technology teams while overseeing the agency’s operations functions, including Human Resources, Marketing, and Business Development. Over the course of her tenure, she was instrumental in taking the agency’s revenue from approximately $15MM to $62MM in under 10-years.
Under Dara’s leadership, 5WPR was named one of Inc. Magazine’s Best Workplaces, a Top 50 Global PR Agency by PRovoke Media, a top three NYC PR agency by O’Dwyers, and has been awarded multiple American Business Awards, including a Stevie Award for PR Agency of the Year.

Dara built 5W’s into an industry powerhouse known for its ability to craft and execute strategic communications plans that build brands, drive sales, and cement clients at the intersection of consumer behavior and cultural moments.

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 such as 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.

Nancy is passionate about all things brand and buzz, from ideation to delivery, portraying a brand’s mission with a clear and consistent voice and visual identity. She has worked across paid, earned, social, and owned media on a local to global level, bringing her experience in launching unique content series and campaigns that engage key stakeholders and establishing the processes that drive these projects to success.

With experience working in-house at Sony Corporation of America, Marsh & McLennan, and Coty Inc, Nancy has developed a keen understanding of client needs and corporate demands. This insight enables her to serve as an exceptional client partner and account lead, adept at navigating complex organizational structures and fostering collaboration. Her background includes launching global communication plans and campaigns that prompt engagement, as well as originating content and presentations for an Initial Public Offering and a milestone merger in the beauty industry.

As the social team lead at HAVAS Red, Nancy successfully drives projects and accounts across a diverse range of clients and scopes, ensuring strategic alignment and impactful execution. She has led the development and implementation of 360-degree social media and integrated communications strategies for notable brands such as Opill, Galderma, GetYourGuide, OGX, Sanofi, Skillsoft, WEX Health, and Teva Pharmaceuticals.

Erick is a senior vice president across social, influencer, and earned media, overseeing HAVAS Red’s large-scale health and wellness clients.

Erick is a seasoned integrated communications leader in the healthcare space. He takes a strategic and collaborative approach and has vast experience in leading cross-functional teams to meet business objectives. He has a proven track record of success, particularly in the HCP and DTC aesthetics space—having previously supported the Galderma U.S. team for their Restylane and franchise business as one of the business leads at a global healthcare agency.

Erick has also worked with other industry-leading companies in the space—including Eli Lilly, Boehringer Ingelheim, Teva, Allergan Aesthetics, Endo Aesthetics and MiraDry—supporting product launches, FDA approvals, and navigating regulatory milestones.

Most recently, Erick worked at a global public relations agency where he led all components of the business for the U.S. AstraZeneca lung oncology franchise and the Johnson & Johnson cardiovascular portfolio.

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.

Courtney graduated from Carnegie Mellon University with a bachelor’s degree in industrial design and minors in psychology and fine arts. Not your typical PR degree. But her academic achievements have given her a unique perspective in how to create, communicate and visualize a brand identity. Converging content creation, visuals and PR she has helped Transitions Optical build their brand around the world. She has been named the Business Marketing Associations PR Practitioner of the Year, has been inducted into the PRSA Hall of Fame, and has numerous awards for media relations, social media and creative tactics including a Bronze Anvil for speeches and Silver Anvil for special events.

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.

Pattie is a seasoned communicator with a natural talent for storytelling and a passion for clear and effective communication. Since her days in grade school, where she took on the responsibility of grading her classmates’ English papers and serving as a peer tutor, Pattie has demonstrated attention to detail and a knack for engaging storytelling.

Today, Pattie channels her expertise in strategic counsel, media insight and award-winning writing to clients in diverse industries. With a focus on building and fortifying brands, she employs smart, targeted and integrated programming to move the needle for her clients. Drawing from her educational background in journalism, Pattie also excels in developing and delivering crisis communications and media training modules that help prepare clients to communicate using traditional and social media channels.

Prior to joining HAVAS Red, Pattie honed her skills as a technical editor and business reporter, gaining valuable experience and knowledge about multiple vertical industries. She has been recognized with numerous writing awards, including three for writing excellence from the National Federation of Presswomen’s Pennsylvania Chapter. Her contributions to public relations led to her being named PR Practitioner of the Year by the Pittsburgh Chapter of the Business Marketing Association.

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’ 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.