How Kat Ott Plans to Unleash the Secret Talent at Havas Chicago

Last month, Havas Chicago announced that Kat Ott had joined as co-president, partnering alongside existing president and chief creative officer, Myra Nussbaum. 

Previously, Kat was chief delivery officer at Doner, where she produced creatively and technologically bold work for over 40 brands, including Johnson & Johnson, an account she led for Stagwell. Before that, Kat spent several years as general manager at Huge, opening Huge Chicago and Detroit, the latter of which saw its revenue and personnel triple under her leadership.

The move to Havas follows some high-profile client wins for the agency, such as James Hardie and Hilton, as well as notable creative campaigns for Wayfair and others that have elevated the office’s industry presence.

Speaking to LBB’s Ben Conway, Kat shares her vision for continuing this recent momentum, where her “Kat coverage” is going to be best utilised, and her plans to make the agency “the best place that every employee of Havas Chicago has ever worked at.”

LBB> Firstly, congratulations! How did this move come about? How much was Myra a part of that decision to join?

Kat> This was several months of us talking to figure out a role that would be great with my experience. I think the thing they were really attracted to, from my experience, was digital. I’ve worked at Digitas, I ran Huge Detroit, and had a big role in leading Huge in Chicago and Atlanta as well. They were really looking to continue to bolster their executive leadership team with digital-first marketers – someone who knows how to utilise data, how to design with all the different platforms, someone who feels the pulse of emerging technologies and content trends… someone who really understands the space, who knows how to identify consumer friction, who can use behavioural data to come up with strategies for brands to have really meaningful conversations with consumers.

They were also interested because I did a lot for Doner’s culture and revenue. I proudly helped Doner revamp the way we did things and make people's lives easier, including our clients and media partners – plus a tonne of growth. With the Johnson & Johnson account, I started with three brands, and when I left the agency it was 15 brands; I quadrupled that relationship in less than three years. We won Ad Age Agency A-List back-to-back, we had success in Cannes, we won the Grand Clio, we got love at the One Show. 

They were really interested in continuing to drive the momentum at the office with a digital and culture-first leader, and someone who knows how to build meaningful relationships with consumers but also clients.

LBB> And from your perspective, what got you excited about this move?

Kat> The dealmaker for me to come to Havas Chicago was the talent. This is a very, very talented group of people. Myra [Nussbaum], a celebrated, amazing CCO; Lance [Koenig], one of the best strategists in the business; Jamie [Baumann] our head of account management… she doesn't get a lot of airtime but she's wonderful – so smart at marketing, she knows how to push business challenges forward. Surrounding myself with an executive leadership team that is this talented is amazing. 

And I'm so excited for some of these clients, too. Wayfair has been a disrupter in their category… they nailed e-commerce way before covid happened. I love the way we’ve built a synchronous ecosystem for them, and this great awareness with the television work and some really smart social, targeting micro-cultures – all the way through to the way that you shop and buy your furniture. When I see synchronised ecosystems and integrated campaigns pulled off like that, that's very inspiring, that's best in class.

Then, of course, the recent wins with James Hardie and Hilton really align with a lot of my experience too, so it just seemed like a really great synergy for me to come here with the momentum that we have. We've got a little talented dream team over here in Chicago, which is amazing. I’ve got good problems – I just have to elevate everything, not fix anything, which is great.

Above: Hilton - 'For the Fans'

LBB> With you and Myra, Havas Chicago will be led by two female presidents – what does that mean to you as a woman who’s come up through the industry?

Kat> I feel so proud and honoured that this is where we're at. We have two female co-presidents and four of the six people in our executive leadership team are women. [We have] Jamie, our head of account management; Katie [Sloan], our head of HR in Chicago, the global CEO of Havas [Donna Murphy] is female – we have a female-first mindset. There's no glass ceiling, which is very inspiring for me. When I looked around the room at the fellow presidents and CEOs of all the [Havas] agencies, there was a tonne of women representation. 

To be truthful, that was one of my deal-makers here at the agency. I take it really seriously because as I grew up in agencies, there weren't a lot of female leaders. There weren't female department heads, CEOs and presidents. I know that I'm breaking a glass ceiling here, and I know that I'm doing this for my girls, my family. I want to make sure everybody knows that no matter your gender or what colour you are, that there are opportunities at the top for everyone. I'm so happy to open those doors and elevate everyone.

LBB> You have plenty of leadership experience, whether in your previous role at Doner, or running offices at Huge. What have been some of the standout moments that shaped you as a leader?

Kat> My first job running an office and being in agency leadership was at Huge, which was now nine years ago, can you believe it? I have learned so much [since then]! 

I think I'm a better listener now. When I was newer to leadership, I was really like: ‘I figured it out!’, ‘Let's do this!’, and now I actually sit on my hands. Even though I might know what the answer is, it's more about creating an opportunity for my team to figure that out, helping guide them there versus telling them what needs to be done. That's one of the skills I've really honed. 

One thing I've always had as a leader is that I advocate for the work. I’m actually consumer-obsessed. I want people to love the work we create. I have a huge digital product and UX background, creating apps and experiences - it's all about how we can eliminate friction in people’s lives, and make daily tasks better. 

LBB> Being consumer-obsessed, will it be hard to sit on your hands in this new role? How hands-on do you plan on being with the creative work day-to-day?

Kat> I manage at the speed of trust. And I trust my team, they’re rock solid. They don't need me in their business, in the weeds. However, I'm on a listening and learning tour with every single employee and all of our key network partners, and after I’ve finished that, I’ll know how I can make the most impact for my team. 

[I’ll know] where they need me, what their blind spots are… where they could use a little bit of ‘Kat coverage’. I’ll establish a vision and action plan, but I trust my team… I'm not planning on getting in the weeds and project managing, account managing or building strategy decks. 

However, I will when I need to. I believe there is no job too big or too small. I used to joke at my last agency, if we needed an intern: ‘I'll be that person! Put me in, coach!’ – that’s the kind of leader I am. 

Above: Wayfair - 'Welcome to the Wayborhood'

LBB> How would you like your impact on Havas Chicago’s shape and output to be remembered, years from now?

Kat> I want this to be the best place that every employee of Havas Chicago has ever worked at. Why not? I want people to say: ‘That was the best experience. We worked hard, we worked smart, we won new clients, we did award-winning work’ – all the things that any president wants for their agency. But at the end of the day, I want people to say that I really cared for them. That I cared for their careers, the work and the relationships with our clients and our partners, and through that care, that it was the best place that they'd ever worked at. I’m setting the bar really high. I’m just going to go for it all.

LBB> And how do you go about cultivating that healthy culture, today?

Kat> You listen. What do people need? From a process perspective, did you make their lives easier? [Did you] give them thinking time to do the work? 

Work-life balance is very important to me. One of the big things I did at Doner was put in systems that help provide a work-life balance – from simple stuff to revamping how we forecasted resources, to having a no-meeting policy during certain hours of the day. I would tell this to all of our clients and they were like, ‘We love this, we're taking this into our own culture’. 

So you really have to listen to what your team needs, and then you have to have the courage to do it. To say, ‘It might be something new or unconventional, but it's needed and we're going to do it’.

LBB> What are you particularly excited to get your hands on at Havas Chicago? Is there anything new you haven’t experienced in your previous roles?

Kat> We have a very sophisticated operational model and tool set for what we can do with data here. It's more sophisticated than at my previous company, and I'm very excited about that – to understand how we utilise that data to have deeper consumer insights and find friction in consumer journeys. 

We’re completely embracing emerging technologies in a sophisticated way here with AI, which is right where I wanted to go. Havas North America is investing and bringing in the SMEs and [doing] the work to future proof themselves using data and AI, and I want to stay sharp on that. I want to stay a step ahead.

LBB> It’s obviously early in your Havas Chicago journey, but do you have any top lines or long-term goals you can share from your action plan for the agency?

Kat> I want this to be the best place anyone at Havas Chicago's ever worked. And I want to make a splash. I want to generate some buzz. Havas Chicago is like a little secret. I don't think people know how forward-thinking we are, from the social content [perspective], or how we've embraced data, AI and emerging technologies. I need to unleash the talent here and make it something that people know about. So we need to make a splash, we need to generate some buzz, and we need to grow and expand our relationships. That's what I plan on accomplishing in this role.

I’m still getting to grips but what I do know is that we have something very special here. I've worked at some great A-plus shops and you just know it when you walk in the building that this is a hungry, excited team that really cares about their clients, and they really care about the work. And I think we're just getting started.