Garry Lee is trading in his BMW for a Hyundai, and he couldn’t be happier.
The former president and chief strategic officer at Cundari (which has the BMW business in Canada) is joining Hyundai Canada’s in-house agency, Innocean Canada, as executive vice-president of client business. As the top executive on the business, Lee will oversee everything from creative, account management, strategic planning and media. His first day is Wednesday.
Lee had spent the past 12 years with Cundari, but said the opportunity at Innocean was simply too good to pass up.
“I always believed that I would never leave Cundari – it was just an absolutely remarkable experience,” said Lee. “But this was just something incredibly special that came along, that I would be able to help the Hyundai brand to greater success over the next few years, and to build the Innocean brand as well.
“It was a very tough decision, but so exciting and such a great opportunity, that I thought would be good for me.”
Lee first worked with Hyundai as an account supervisor at Bates Canada in the mid-1980s. The automaker was little more than a Pony at the time, but Lee has watched from a distance as the company grew into an automotive thoroughbred.
“I’ve always been really excited to see how this brand is evolving and they came really hard at me to help with the future trajectory of the brand,” said Lee. “After some great chats with the Innocean people and Hyundai I knew it was the right opportunity for me.”
Lee called Hyundai “one of the greatest brand stories,” in the automotive sector at the moment, noting that the Korean automaker has done a “tremendous job” of changing consumer perception of the brand.
“Just in terms of product quality and design and innovation, it’s one of the most remarkable automotive innovation stories, and we’ve got a big story to tell,” he said.
