Bleublancrouge has named a new president and partner, promoting France Wong, formerly the VP and general manager of its Montreal office.

Wong joined BBR in 2019, originally tasked with managing its account services team in the Montreal office specifically. In her new role, her mandate will expand nationally and she will bring her background in account services to bear. She has been tasked with further developing and strengthening the agency’s relationships with existing and prospective clients across the country and both of its offices in Montreal and Toronto.

“The main challenge is to make sure we’re growing as one agency with the same culture and same creativity, even with the difference in markets, culturally,” Wong tells strategy. “We also want to grow two strong, independent offices, because I don’t believe in having one office that is a satellite of the other. We want to have national and international clients, but also more local clients at each office, to make sure they’re connected to the culture of their markets.”

Wong says one challenge unique to BBR is the difference in its maturity across markets. While the agency is well-established in Montreal, where it has existed for nearly four decades, it has existed in the Toronto market only since 2016. The agency has set ambitious goals for growth in both of its offices, however.

In her previous role, Wong oversaw the expansion of BBR Montreal, which grew by more than 20%, particularly adding new creative and strategic talents. The agency has also added new client partners including Bombardier, Unwrapped Life, Aero Montreal and Aristocrat Digital.

While her role will not be formally filled following her promotion, other BBR employees will be taking on some of her previous responsibilities, she says.

“France is a marathon runner, a force to be reckoned with and a gutsy strategist with unmatched integrity who is driven to achieve ambitious goals. She’s the best person to carry on the agency’s pursuit of excellence,” said Sébastien Fauré, CEO of BBR and co-founder of the Humanise Collective, to which it belongs.