Young & Rubicam Parts With 2 Senior Strategy Leaders

Y&R global strategy officer Sandy Thompson and North America chief strategy officer Dick de Lange are both leaving the agency.

“After six years, Sandy Thompson has decided to start a new chapter as a consultant and is leaving Y&R at the end of the year. During her tenure, among her many achievements, she hired, nurtured and championed great talent across all our regions,” a Y&R spokesperson said in a statement.

“Separately, Dick de Lange has also announced his departure at the end of January to pursue another opportunity,” the agency spokesperson added. “We thank them for their many contributions and wish them the very best in the future. As we assess our plans going forward, we have a deep bench of talent, both locally and globally, that will continue serving our clients.”

Thompson joined Y&R in 2010, succeeding John Gerzema as global planning director at the time. She formerly served as global strategic planning director at Saatchi & Saatchi, following regional planning director roles with the agency.

De Lange joined Y&R New York as chief strategy officer in 2014 and was elevated to chief strategy officer for North America the following year. Before arriving at Y&R, he served as a group strategy director with R/GA, working with clients including Samsung, State Farm and Nike. He also held senior planning roles for Saatchi & Saatchi New York and JWT New York.