Leon Berger

Advertising by Leon Berger, one of the most awarded creatives in Canada and the U.S. in the 1980s and '90s, isn't seen much in Canada these days.



That's because Berger, 58, has led Chinese agency Oriental and Rende (known as O&R) as president since 2003, traveling regularly from his home in Montreal to spend half his year in Beijing to lead major agency projects and mentor the growing staff in the expanding agency.



Berger doesn't live in China full time, since part of his job is to bring global experience with new ideas and fresh marketing concepts to O&R - something he feels he can't do that if he's always in China. Further, his long-time partner Cristiane Bourbonnais operates a brand consultancy in Montreal. And he likes to indulge his passion of writing novels in the quiet of their home, filled with photos and mementos from their travels.



British-born Berger learned Asian culture when he spent several years based in Singapore as senior vice-president executive creative director at Dentsu Young & Rubicam, with responsibility for the Pacific Rim. In his early career, he worked at several London agencies and then took the international route, moving to Montreal as the senior creative at, progressively, Ogilvy, JWT and Y&R producing memorable ads for such clients as Kodak and Lipton. Then it was on to New York as Y&R's international creative director with worldwide responsibility for Colgate-Palmolive in 60 countries, followed by his stint in Singapore.



He won the Cannes Grand Prix in 1996 for Volvo Japan, along with two other golds and three silvers at Cannes. He also has won Y&R International Campaign for the Year for KFC, a UNDP Gold from the United Nations in New York, in addition to various Clios, Obies, Mondials, and a long list of awards in Hong Kong, Singapore, Bombay, Bangkok, and Kuala Lumpur.



He returned to Montreal to head creative and strategy at Marketel McCann-Erickson and worked with Cohésion Strategies in brand identity and development while becoming a published author. When time permits, he's now working on his fifth novel.