Bruce Sinclair has left Vancouver’s Rethink after just five weeks, saying the “fit” wasn’t right.
It’s the most recent of several changes for the Vancouver-based digital creative director. Last April he split from Burnkit, a website design company, because of philosophical differences with his two partners, president Josh Dunford, and Adam Neilson, director of production. The trio launched Burnkit in September 2006 and built it to around 14 staff members doing work for clients that included Playstation in the U.S., Hemlock Printers in Vancouver and project work for local Vancouver ad agencies.
Prior to Burnkit, Sinclair served four years as national creative director for the Vancouver and Toronto offices of Tribal DDB.
“[Joining Rethink] was like a Las Vegas wedding,” said Sinclair. “It seemed like a brilliant decision at the time.”
Sinclair said part of the problem was that he and two of the agency principals had a very different approach to the business.
Founding partners Chris Staples and Ian Grais have a strict practice of making all decisions, he said. “The best way to describe it is I thought I was joining a hockey team and then I find that they play basketball.”
Hired in June, Sinclair filled one of three newly created creative director positions along with longtime Rethinkers Rob Tarry and Rob Sweetman.
“We have a very specific way of approaching idea generation, and the pace is pretty intense,” said Staples reached via e-mail. “He’s a great guy and we wish him well. We’ll be adding more people to our Internet area in the weeks ahead—probably at a less senior level.”
Sinclair plans to freelance until at least the end of the year.
