40 Under 40 2021: Thierry Lalchere, Havas

Thierry Lalchere

Chief people officer
Havas
Australia

“I’m a huge fan and I think she has a gruelling, exhausting, at times thankless and possibly a little under-acknowledged role in making us who we are,” says Simone Gupta, CEO of Havas PR, of her colleague Thierry Lalchere. Such is the reality of the many talent and culture leaders in our industry. Despite being vital cogs in the machine, they remain very much behind-the-scenes in business-related growth and industry awards.

However, for Thierry Lalchere, this has not stopped her from delivering ace results and making progressive, industry-first changes. In the last year, the company managed to maintain a high retention rate and increased representation of BIPOC in the company by 20%, staff with disabilities by 20%, and LGBTQI+ staff by 30%. In 2020, only a quarter of parents at Havas were women, but Lalchere worked hard to improve that number to 48% this year. She has also formed relationships with Australia’s indigenous community, specifically with Peter Kirk, indigenous advocate and advisor at Advertising Council Australia, and creator and connector at consultancy Campfire, from Jerrinja land. Kirk, who is also a film director, works closely with Havas to create opportunities for indigenous talent. 

Outside of oiling the network’s everyday machines, Lalchere also chairs a CSR committee, which recently launched a diversity statement that covers six key pillars: ageing; parental equity and opportunity; anti-racism; active reconciliation; education; and creating meaningful policy for people and planet. More recently, Lalchere was a key player in implementing leave entitlements for staff covering fertility treatments, pregnancy, adoption, surrogacy and miscarriage. Leave is also extended to those undergoing gender affirmation or transitions, and those who may be experiencing family or domestic violence. 

From a business perspective, when Havas acquired media agency Hyland last year, Lalchere made sure that attrition rates across the media business were 20% below industry average. All the above accomplishments (and plenty more) have indirectly resulted in some Havas businesses recording up to 100% engagement on key metrics.