Why It Takes Two Presidents to Step Into Sid Lee’s Future
Earlier this year, Sid Lee made news in Canada when it announced the appointment of not one, but two new presidents: Zemina Moosa and Geneviève Boulanger. Underlining the agency’s commitment to fostering a new generation of Canadian leadership and intended trajectory in the industry, the two will be running the Toronto and Montreal offices respectively, while working with Canadian CEO, Martin Gauthier.
In both cases, their commitment to the agency across the past few years has been tremendous, and played a pivotal role in Sid Lee’s recent national and international success. Zemina’s five year stint as executive vice president, head of account management was key for the Toronto team’s ability to secure new clients – several of which will be announced in the coming months – while Geneviève’s six years as vice president, head of account services has really given her a firm understanding of the Quebec market and demonstrates the extent of her creative acumen.
LBB’s Jordan Won Neufeldt sat down with the pair to discuss their appointments, goals for the future, and what they’d like more people to know about them, especially given their new forward-facing positions.
LBB> Zemina, Geneviève, congratulations both on your new positions! What do these appointments represent to you, and the agency?
Zemina> The reaction to the appointments have been rather surprising, although perhaps I shouldn’t have been too surprised. There’s been a huge outpouring of wishes and ‘it’s about time’. What this means to me, and, I believe, what the responses have meant, is a signalling to a new era of leadership – one where we act with empathy, are active listeners, and are vulnerable when guiding the next generation to grow their careers, do the most incredible work and succeed.
On a personal level, I am hoping I am now able to drive significant systemic impact for Sid Lee, and to continue building the incredible culture we have in Toronto.
Geneviève> We are at a pivotal moment in Sid Lee’s growth trajectory and we represent a new generation of leadership in Canada. We’re definitely committed to continue building on our creative strengths, and also continue bringing innovative thinking to evolve in this changing world.
LBB> Although it’s early days, what are your main aims and ambitions for both your respective offices, but also Sid Lee as a whole?
Zemina> As a collective, our ambitions are to grow Sid Lee with a laser-focussed view on better servicing our clients. Our entrepreneurial spirit has been a part of our DNA since day one, and that hasn’t changed. We’re leaning in and playing a stronger role in driving business impact. We’ve always been about breaking the rules, being outsiders, and being atypical. We’re doubling down on this.
LBB> Obviously, overseeing cities like Toronto and Montreal takes up a lot of time, but you also emphasised that your appointments mark a pivotal moment in Sid Lee’s growth trajectory. So how will you be working together to help further that?
Geneviève> Zemina and I have worked closely together for more than five years already, and I’m thrilled to continue to do so. Many of our clients are national and we do help them with their ambitions, regardless of which city we live in. What matters is creating a team that is best fit for their needs. In this regard, both teams have strengths in different areas, and our intent is to better lean on those strengths and collaborate more between offices.
This mindset goes beyond ‘Zemina and Geneviève’, however. The entire organisation is embracing it, and we’re also working closely with our US colleagues. It comes to life through a deep understanding of our clients’ needs and expectations, but also a deep understanding of our talents across offices.
LBB> As a whole, where do you think Sid Lee’s place is within the Canadian market at the moment? And what are your opinions on the state of Canadian advertising in general?
Geneviève> I think everyone in the industry acknowledges that advertising and all its peripheral disciplines are in transformation. Some of what we’ve known up until this point is no longer relevant or serving us as an industry, and we all have big questions to answer.
That being said, we feel strongly that Sid Lee’s core values and successes were built outside of usual conventions. We want to continue to leverage this ability to innovate that lives in every corner of our organisation – ensuring creativity contributes to our clients’ successes.
Zemina> I agree with Geneviève, and would add that Sid Lee’s place within the Canadian market is the same as it’s always been. Sid Lee is 30 years strong, never has been static, and has continuously transformed, keeping at the forefront of this industry while producing impactful work and growing talent that has gone on to do remarkable things.
LBB> Let’s talk a bit more about you! How would you describe your respective leadership styles, and what do you think you bring to the table as presidents?
Geneviève> This is always humbling to answer. What people around me say is that I highly value authenticity and I’m an empathetic leader. I deeply care about fostering genuine relationships with those around me. In this changing environment, I believe this allows me to listen better, stay curious, and nurture a strong team, to allow us to stay relevant
Zemina> I try to be kind and compassionate, and to listen more than I talk. I have always been a person that listens first and, interestingly, at the earlier stages of my career, I thought this was a weakness and that talking was success. I have since learnt it is actually a super power. The people around me would describe me as pretty relaxed, but my goal is to always bring leadership and clarity.
LBB> What have been some of the biggest lessons of your careers, and how do they influence the work you do today?
Zemina> Be yourself, and work hard. It will be hard, but stay motivated!
Geneviève> Know yourself and be clear on your values. When staying close to my values, it creates greater potential to succeed, and the few times I doubted those foundations or strayed away from those values, life gently (or not!) reminded me.
LBB> For some of the people in your agency who might be hoping to get to know you better, or figure out how to best work under you, is there any advice you’d like to offer?
Geneviève> I love reading or discussing forward-thinking topics, enjoy a good debate to make an idea stronger, and am genuinely open-minded.
Zemina> If anyone at the agency is reading this to get to know me better, let’s go out for coffee now!
I solicited the answer to this question from some of the people I have worked with for a number of years. This is what they had to say:
“Be transparent. Zemina will provide a safe space for you to share things as they actually are.”
“Come as you are. There’s no need to fit into some sort of mould or answer things the way you think they should be answered. Just be you. No BS.”
LBB> Finally, work isn’t everything. So what do you like to do outside of office hours, be it for fun, or to destress after work?
Zemina> Being with family and friends. I am so lucky to have a group of friends that I’ve known for decades, through university and through work. I love music and small live concerts. One of the best evenings after work is spending time being completely enraptured about products we could invent, what we would name them… there are some mighty gems in there!
Geneviève> Being with my kids and learning to see the world through their eyes is priceless. Travelling to understand the world and people around me better is also one of the things that fills me. In the day-to-day, exercising has always been a big part of my life. Sometimes it’s hiking, skiing, mountain biking, a walk around, or just playing soccer with my kids.
