Rethink is promoting three planners – Julian Morgan, Crystal Sales and Nicole Rajesky – to group strategy director roles, taking a joint approach to leading the offering in its Toronto office.

Morgan (pictured, left) joined Rethink in 2017 and has led work for many brands across the agency, which most recently included all Kraft-Heinz brands across North America. He was also recognized as the third-ranked planner in strategy’s Creative Report Card.

Sales (centre) joined the team in 2021 and has been leading the repositioning and new creative work for Scotiabank, playing a key role in the development and launch of Scotia’s recent “Hockey For All” campaign. 

Rajeksy (right) joined Rethink in 2020 and has been the strategic lead for Molson-Coors and snack brand RXBar, amongst others, across North America.

All three have been tasked with steering the strategy team in Toronto, helping to mentor, guide and grow the group. Rajeksy will also be handling some work in the agency’s New York office.

McDonald tells strategy Rethink has grown organically both locally and globally (McDonald says there are some new accounts at Rethink that will be revealed closer to their work coming to market). Handling that client work is part of what drives this opportunity, but that it’s also part of a deliberate leadership and development strategy.

“We have made the choice not to hire a head of planning, but to instead let the leadership grow from within the agency,” says Sean McDonald, Rethink’s managing partner and chief strategy officer.

McDonald adds that the three promotions are emerging leaders who embody that “grow from within” approach, but they also reflect the agency’s “long hallway” approach, and are expected to have an impact outside of their home base.

“These three will be leading our Toronto strategic practice while helping us to grow everywhere,” he says.