Leo Burnett UK Strengthens Strategic Offering with 2 Senior Hires

Leo Burnett UK has strengthened its senior strategy team, led by chief strategy officer (CSO) Josh Bullmore and deputy CSO Tom Sussman, with the appointment of two new planning directors, Ipeknaz Erel and Rebecca Priest. 

Ipeknaz, an industry rising star and diversity champion named on the IPA iList 2024 shortlist joins from McCann London and will lead strategy for McDonald’s. During her six-year stint at the agency, including time at its New York office, Ipeknaz led planning and strategy for campaigns for brands including eBay and Just Eat. For the latter, she was instrumental in developing the 'Did Somebody Say' brand platform and led the recent 'The Joy of Everyday', which instigated a step change in Just Eat UK’s strategy. 

Rebecca also joins from McCann London, where she spent eight years crafting strategies for clients including Nurofen, Mr Kipling and Nestlé Cereals. As strategy director, Rebecca led Nurofen's 'See My Pain' campaign, making women's pain more visible through clinical research, product innovation, and a regular commission of the Gender Pay Gap Index. At Leo Burnett, she will bring her expertise to Allwyn, operator of The National Lottery, and Morrisons. 

Rebecca Priest, planning director, Leo Burnett said, “Leo Burnett UK is an agency I’ve admired for a long time, both for their consistently brilliant creative output and their unwavering dedication to populism. They’re absolutely killing it right now and they’re a lovely bunch of people to boot. What more could you ask for?”

Ipeknaz Erel, planning director, Leo Burnett said, “I am thrilled to be joining an amazing agency with great momentum and ambition. The work from Leo’s keeps proving its world class creative excellence and I am so pumped to get in on the action!”

Tom Sussman, deputy chief strategy officer, Leo Burnett added, “Ipek and Rebecca are both exceptional talents and their perspectives will only enhance the work our fast-growing team is delivering. This is an incredibly exciting time for the agency, and I can’t wait to see what we can do together.”

The appointments follow a busy six months for Leo Burnett’s strategy department, which has welcomed a number of new talents in the first half of 2024, including Omari Green as planner, Ilana Green as senior social planner, Imo Gowen as senior comms planner, and Alisya Rozhan as planner.