Rafik Belmesk has been named head of strategy for Taxi Montreal.

Belmesk first joined the agency nine months ago as strategic planning director. He replaces Elisabeth Jamot, who has since moved to Sid Lee.

Prior to joining Taxi, Belmesk worked on a freelance basis for several years and with a number of other agencies in Montreal, including N/A, Edelman and Lg2, as well as Ogilvy’s office in Singapore. During his time there, Belmesk oversaw the “Mums and Maids” campaign around recognizing the rights of Singapore’s domestic workers, which has been awarded at Cannes, D&AD, One Show, Clio and Webby. He has also worked with clients including Fido, McDonald’s, Bell and Unilever.

At Taxi, he will be the lead planner on the Fido account in addition to overseeing the work of the office’s planning team.

“Since his arrival at Taxi nine months ago, I’ve been impressed by Rafik’s go-getter and unexpected approach,” Jacques Labelle, president of Taxi Montreal, told Infopresse. “He has the capacity to identify an advertiser’s core problem in an instant, to present it with clarity and to inspire refreshing ideas. He challenges conventional ideas and always proposes new avenues.”