Humanise Collective has named Shari Walczak as the first president of Humanise Toronto, marking a major strategic expansion for the Collective and responding to clients seeking an alternative to the increasing consolidation of traditional holding companies.
Walczak, a strategist with more than 25 years of experience, will lead Humanise Toronto with a mandate to elevate its profile and deepen its problem-solving capabilities. She will continue to serve as co-founder and chief strategy officer of The Garden, which joined the Collective in 2024.
Walczak’s appointment comes at a time of massive industry disruption, defined by rapid AI adoption and the merger of global agency giants. Her vision for Humanise Toronto is to offer a distinct “third lane” for clients–positioned between the operational rigor of management consultancies and the execution power of creative agencies.
“We are entering an era where AI can handle the probable, but business growth requires the possible,” said Walczak. “As technology accelerates, the premium on original, lateral human thinking only increases. Clients today don’t just need a campaign; they need partners who can enter the process upstream–using strategic sensemaking, cultural foresight and problem architecture to decode complexity before a brief is even written.”
This upstream approach is strengthened by Humanise’s ability to bring senior talent and entrepreneurial business owners together from across the Collective, giving CEOs the strategic clarity of a multi-disciplinary consultancy paired with the creative agility and problem-solving acumen of leaders who run their own companies.
Walczak holds a Master of Science in Creativity and Change Leadership, grounding her approach to transforming organizations from the inside out. Combined with the Collective’s founder-led model, it gives clients direct access to business owners who understand the pressures of leadership firsthand.
“Shari is a transformative strategist with a deep understanding of how creativity and business performance connect,” said Jean-Sébastien Monty, co-founder and COO, Humanise Collective. “Her leadership strengthens our Toronto presence at a moment when clients are looking for partners who can apply creativity to the pressing challenges of today, not just deliver campaigns.”
The Collective Model
Humanise Toronto is comprised of specialized, founder-led independent companies, including:
–The Garden: brand strategy, design and creative; known for upstream strategy, emotionally resonant ideas, and transformation work
–Glassroom: media strategy and planning; experts in audience insight and media effectiveness, ensuring every dollar counts
–GSM Project: experience strategy and spatial design; specialists in translating complex ideas into immersive, human-centred environments for museums, brands and cultural institutions
–BrandBourg: brand strategy, identity and packaging design; CPG specialists blending marketing and design to help consumer brands win on shelf
–L’Institut Idée: strategic consulting and facilitation; creators of a proprietary connected intelligence and Structural Mapping approach to clarify complex business and brand challenges
A strategic partnership with Nascent, a digital product studio specializing in product strategy, design and engineering, extends the Collective’s upstream problem-solving into digital environments, with Nascent contributing deep expertise while remaining fully independent.
Shari Walczak
Under Walczak’s strategic leadership, The Garden is celebrating its 10th anniversary as one of Canada’s top independent agencies. Her portfolio includes the viral “Tell America It’s Great” campaign—described by The Washington Post as “the most inspiring message” of the 2016 U.S. election. The work received global media attention, and its cultural significance led to its inclusion in the U.S. Library of Congress’s digital archives.
Prior to founding The Garden, Walczak spent two decades at Leo Burnett, Cossette, John st. and Zulu Alpha Kilo, leading brand and creative strategy for global brands including Coca-Cola, Astrazeneca, Audi, Samsung, and Kraft. At Zulu Alpha Kilo, she established the agency’s first strategy practice and guided major rebrands for Interac, Cineplex, Corona, and ParticipACTION.
