New Appointment – Dentsu Quebec
Dimitra Georgakis has been named managing director of Dentsu Quebec, tasked with strengthening the agency’s reputation within the province.
Georgakis has spent the past eight years with Dentsu, working her way up to managing director with the company’s creative agency, Dentsu mcgarrybowen. Her portfolio includes work with clients like Lexus, CPA, Birks, Canada Dry Mott’s, and Transat.
“We have such a unique opportunity for our clients in Quebec,” said Georgakis. “Media, creative, and data teams work hand in hand to deliver campaigns that are relevant on the local level but are also, in an instant, able to bring in the scale of Dentsu.”
The agency will be launching new work for clients including Céragrès, a leader in the tiling industry, as well as Yokohoma Tires.
New Hire – Zulu Alpha Kilo
Zulu Alpha Kilo has bolstered the leadership team at its Vancouver office with the appointment of Erica Shalinsky as executive strategy director.
Shalinsky, who grew up in Vancouver, was formerly VP, strategy director at BBDO New York, where she helped steer Ford’s future technologies division globally, building new brand platforms and consumer experiences for electric and autonomous vehicles.
Her hire brings Zulu’s headcount in Vancouver to 10, servicing clients including a2 Milk, Destination BC, Save-On-Foods, Subaru Canada’s western dealers, ToursByLocals, and The Vancouver Island Ferry Company. “I’ve had my eye on Zulu for some time now, so it was pretty incredible when I heard they were coming here to Vancouver,” said Shalinsky. “The team is super strong and it’s a thrill to join at a time when there’s so much momentum.”
“Finding a talent like Erica with global experience to join our growing Vancouver team is beyond exciting,” said Zulu Alpha Kilo president and CEO Mike Sutton.
New Hires – The Hive
The Hive has added two new executive creative directors to its team: Jung Ahn in Toronto and Sacha Ouimet in Montreal. The additions follow several months of growth and new business for the agency, including expanded mandates for OLG, Lactalis and Metro, as well as the addition of EQ Bank.
Ahn brings more than 15 years of creative industry experience to The Hive, including roles in Toronto, New York City, Los Angeles, Amsterdam and Seoul. She was most recently the creative director at Dentsu One, while past agency stops include Cossette, John St. and Leo Burnett.
Ouimet joins from CCM Hockey, where he served as global creative director. He also has deep agency roots, having held senior creative roles at McCann, kbs and Cossette.
“The scope of our agency has grown immensely this year, both in terms of the number of brands we’re working with and the depth of our service offerings,” said CEO Jared Stein. “Our ability to continue to offer world class creative and strategic thinking, rooted in culture, meant we absolutely had to build our services out in Quebec and across North America. Bringing in two talents like Jung and Sacha will only serve to enhance and expand our ability to do so.”
New Clients – Leo Burnett Design
Leo Burnett’s design studio Leo Burnett Design has picked up rebranding assignments for several clients: 3Commas crypto platform, Gemina Labs, and Daily Bread Food Bank. The wins follow the completion of major rebrands for ROM and Virgin Mobile.
“We are very excited for the future of these incredible organizations,” said Man Wai Wong, VP group creative director of Leo Burnett Design. “Each of these assignments has goals that can define the category, rally its community or dominate the industry, and we can’t wait to get started.” The agency has hired four new designers over the past six months, who will play what Wong described as “a critical role” in their evolution.
VP group director Kim Le said there’s an emerging trend with brands seeking “significant changes” to overcome shifting business environments. “Rebranding is a powerful demonstration of an organization’s commitment to these changing needs, and we believe the power of design can drive transformative brand growth,” said Le.
New Hires — Dentsu Canada
Dentsu Canada has made a series of hires across its media division, with (from left) industry veterans Sophie Labarre, Charlie Farrell and Boris Cho all joining the company.
Labarre, who joins Dentsu X as chief creative officer, has a long history as a strategist and planner at media agencies and was most recently a VP at Cossette. Working from Montreal, the “client relationship guru” will lead and support the leadership team at Dentsu X.
Farrell had been appointed VP of search, with a mandate to accelerate the transformation of Dentsu’s offerings. He joins the agency Rogers, where he was part of the company’s in-house performance marketing team. He will oversee integrated search for Dentsu clients.
A well-known figure within the Canadian media industry, Cho joins Dentsu media as director of growth, overseeing organic and new business development. He was previously at GroupM.
“Media is where the world works, shops, plays, and so much more This continued convergence requires radical collaboration,” said Dentsu Media president Sarah Thompson. “In each, we have found a leader who expertly understands the foundations of the rapidly evolving media landscape, while also serving as an agent of change who is not afraid of taking risks to identify future paths to growth through media transformation.”
