Yanik Deschenes has resigned from the post of president and general manager of the Association des agences de publicité du Québec (AAPQ).
Deschenes tendered his resignation to the board on Tuesday, after serving three years with the association.
On his time at AAPQ, Deschenes says he’s most proud of getting the entire industry together behind Montreal.Ad, which promoted Montreal as a creative hub of agencies through initiatives such as those surrounding YUL-LAB, encouraging marketers in outside markets (such as New York or Chicago) to use Montreal as a testing ground for campaigns.
“I really believe in the talent here in Montreal,” he says. “There are 69 agencies. It’s a very large scope of organization, with different goals and different day-to-day realities, so I think my greatest accomplishment was to bring all the people together and get their confidence to implement this project.”
The AAPQ board has not begun to search for a new director, but has appointed Dominique Villeneuve, former director of corporate affairs, as the interim general manager. Villeneuve has been with the organization for four years, and says she’s honoured to serve the industry on the interim basis. No date has been set to fill the position.
Deschenes says he’ll announce his new position on Jan. 30, adding, “my next journey is something that is unique in Canada, I believe.”
He says that he’ll miss his staff the most – who, he says, have been the best team he’s ever worked with.
