Cossette Toronto’s convergent creative director Bill Durnan is leaving the company to form a new strategic brand renewal company called JDS.

The move has been planned for a year now, as Durnan transitions from Cossette into his new venture with retail brand strategist Joe Jackman and research specialist David Saffer.

‘Bill has had a tremendous influence on Cossette and the strength of our product, as we move towards a new generation headed by Pete and Dave, is his legacy,’ EVP and Toronto managing director Brett Marchand says in a release. ‘We owe a great deal to Bill.’

A much-awarded veteran, Durnan has worked as an account manager, copywriter, CD, strategist and agency president. He joined Cossette as a senior strategic consultant in 2001. He advanced to become president of strategic planning group Nucleus, and even served as interim president.Over the past three years, he has focused on revitalizing the creative product at Cossette – a effort that has recently been paying off with awards at home and abroad, including a Silver Lion last summer at Cannes.

‘My most recent role has been to help in the transition towards a new generation of creative leadership in the company and my work is done,’ says Durnan in the same release.

A prominent and much-awarded Canadian advertising professional, Durnan began his career as an account person, moved on to become a copywriter, a creative director on two occasions, and has also worked as a strategist and an agency president at various agencies, including his own agency.