Dentsu Creative Canada Appoints Kevin McHugh as Chief Strategy Officer

The Dentsu Creative Canada CSO appointment is bolstered by the arrival of award-winning strategist Stephanie Gyles as vice-president, strategy. 

As chief strategy officer, Kevin leads a team of future-focused strategists responsible for growing brands through brand positioning, communications, cross-functional innovation and strive to understand the role brands play in people’s lives, building new points of connection between culture and commerce. Kevin joined Dentsu Creative in 2020 and has played a pivotal role on key accounts across Automotive, CPG and Finance in addition to helping Canadians combat the rising cost of food with Inflation Cookbook, which took home Gold at Cannes last year.  

Kevin’s appointment follows the news that former CSO, Rafik Belmesk moved to an expanded role within Dentsu Creative across the Americas region as executive vice-president, strategy. 

Kevin McHugh, chief strategy officer at Dentsu Creative, on his appointment, “The inherent strength of our network is collaboration. It's an honour to be elevated into a position where I can help integrate our skills, capabilities and perspectives to drive genuine transformation and bring fresh insights to the industry and our clients. We talk a lot about transformative creativity, the idea of bringing craft and technology together through tailored data and insights to unlock new growth opportunities. In order to deliver on that, we're bringing in more people across more capabilities to make it happen. I'm looking forward to furthering our integration, unlocking the best insights, and making the best use of data with the help of our talented, passionate and curious team.” 

Stephanie Gyles joined the agency late in 2024 as vice-president of strategy bringing over a decade of experience in strategic leadership within the creative agency landscape, notably at FCB Canada, ZAK and Wunderman Thompson. Stephanie aims to champion inclusivity and representation within dentsu and the wider advertising industry to drive cultural change. Within this role, Stephanie has been tasked at leading the creative strategy on key QSR and CPG accounts. 

Stephanie Gyles, vice-president of strategy at Dentsu Creative Canada, shared, “I’m thrilled to have join the dynamic team at Dentsu Creative. My focus has always been on helping brands tap into cultural insights to address real-world challenges and create meaningful connections with audiences. I look forward to continuing the momentum since my arrival in driving innovative strategies that not only elevate brand narratives but also turn cultural understanding into opportunities for positive change.” 

Dimitra Georgakis, chief client officer, Dentsu Creative, said on the recent appointments, “Kevin is such an incredible talent who has been at the centre of our most innovative and award-winning work over the past 4+ years. He has an unrelenting commitment to world class strategy and solving business problems in rigorous and smart ways. In Stephanie we have an award-winning strategist known for her compelling insights and strong mentorship and we’re so lucky that she has chosen Dentsu Creative to launch her next awarded campaign.”