Leo Burnett UK has appointed two new planning directors, Ipeknaz Erel and Rebecca Priest. They strengthen the agency’s senior strategy team, led by chief strategy officer (CSO) Josh Bullmore and deputy CSO Tom Sussman,
Erel, a 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, Erel 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.
Priest also joins from McCann London, where she spent eight years crafting strategies for clients including Nurofen, Mr Kipling and Nestlé Cereals. As strategy director, Priest 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.
The hires 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 and Alisya Rozhan as planners, Ilana Green as sr. social planner, and Imo Gowen as sr. comms planner.
