Holly Ripper is CEO of creative agency Havas London. An experienced, progressive and entrepreneurial leader motivated by the transformational power of commercial creativity, she joined the King’s Cross-based agency in May 2025 following a decade at BBH London, most recently as Managing Director.
Ripper joined BBH in 2015 to help drive the brand-led turnaround of Tesco, Britain’s biggest retailer. Under her watch as business lead, BBH helped Tesco create culture-shaping work, delivering an estimated £644m of incremental profit at a ROMI of £3.54 and winning an IPA Effectiveness Grand Prix.
Over the following seven years, Ripper held roles including Head of Account Management, Managing Partner and Head of Growth, before being promoted to MD in 2022 – a role in which she promised to ‘make good things happen’. That she did: retaining Ribena, shaping a new output of work with wins like Netflix and GIRLvsCANCER and helping bring F&F Clothing into BBH alongside Tesco Mobile. Alongside key partners, she established BBH’s upstream brand transformation offering and delivered growth across the Health by BBH portfolio, helped drive operational agility and profitability, and held responsibility for account management, new business, PR, HR, and culture, as well as leading key core client relationships.
Prior to BBH, Ripper spent spells at start-up Green Cave People as Managing Partner (2013-2015), Ogilvy UK as business director (2012-2013), Havas Sydney as Group Account Director (2009-2011), and Ogilvy UK and Sydney as Account Director (2006-2009).
She is a NABs committee member, sits on the All In Gender Working Group, and is a BRiM sponsor. AT BBH, she established BBH Influence, a manager training programme to promote a ‘feedback culture’, HERd, a programme designed to accelerate the next generation of female leaders, and rebooted Homegrown, a four-month placement with an above London Living Wage starting salary.