May, 2026.- In the 2026 advertising ecosystem, speed and execution capabilities have become the new benchmarks of excellence. Cam Boyd, recently appointed Executive Creative Director at Thinkingbox, takes on the challenge with a philosophy that defies decades of tradition at agencies like Leo Burnett and GUT: the idea that those who imagine the work must be the ones who build it. By collapsing the gap between concept and production, Boyd leads a model where creativity is not just delivered but manufactured with technical rigor from its inception. Boasting 60% year-over-year growth and a roster including giants like Adobe, Microsoft, and Pinterest, Thinkingbox proves that an entrepreneurial mindset and horizontal collaboration among its creative leaders are the antidote to the stagnation of traditional structures.
In this exclusive interview with Roastbrief, Cam Boyd breaks down how his experience as an independent founder and his tenure at the world’s most respected networks converge in Toronto, North America’s fourth-largest creative hub. Boyd reflects on the strength of working in a four-ECD team where individual strengths in design, film, and experiential media empower one another, ensuring global consistency never sacrifices local boldness. Discover why, in a market that seems to be contracting, Thinkingbox expands with both humility and ambition, and why the key to attracting top talent in 2026 lies in offering a space where creatives are not just authors, but actual architects of contemporary culture.
1. “The Making and Thinking Belong in the Same Hands”: You were drawn to Thinkingbox’s philosophy that the people who dream the work should be the ones who make it. How is this different from the traditional agency model you’ve experienced at places like GUT, john st., and Leo Burnett? What does this model enable that traditional creative departments cannot?
To start, I have to say I greatly appreciated my time at those agencies. I did work I’m proud of with people I respect. The projects I enjoyed most and performed best were the ones where people involved became personally invested in the outcome. What’s different at Thinkingbox is that the people who’ll actually build the thing are in the room when the idea is born. That collapses a gap most agencies spend their whole lives trying to bridge. Decisions can be made faster when everyone is in the room at the idea’s inception. I think ideas and execution thrive in an entrepreneurial environment like that.
2. From Independent Venture Back to Agency: You’ve run your own independent venture, Saint Bernard, and held senior roles at some of the industry’s most respected shops. How does your entrepreneurial experience change the way you approach creative leadership within a growing agency like Thinkingbox?
My entrepreneurial wiring isn’t going anywhere, but honestly, this is a group with entrepreneurialism at its core from day one. Thinkingbox is full of blue sky thinkers and “by any means necessary” doers. People who built a new agency model, came in from diverse creative backgrounds and grew accounts because they actually cared about the client’s business and partnership. The volume of organic growth from long-term relationships tells you everything about the culture. I’ve just found my people.
3. The ECD Role Across a Global Roster: You’ll be partnering with three other Executive Creatives to lead work for Adobe, Amazon, Intuit, Chobani, Microsoft, and Pinterest. How do you ensure creative consistency and excellence across such a diverse portfolio of global brands? What’s your leadership approach when you’re one of four ECDs rather than the sole creative leader?
In so many multinational agencies creative leaders are siloed into accounts, regions and departments. You rarely get to talk to your peers, and if you do, they are so divorced from their day to day you can’t really be collaborative with them. From the first meeting with my ECD partners Shaun, David and Patrick, it was clear that with our individual strengths combined there’s nothing we can’t do creatively: Motion, Film, Design, Editing, Conceptual, Social, Experiential. Our collective strength is that we’ve all taken different routes to arrive at our creative leadership roles. So creative consistency, and our secret sauce frankly, is that we stay close and curious about each other’s projects always and respect each other’s opinions.
4. 60% Year-Over-Year Growth: Thinkingbox is experiencing 60% YoY growth with 40+ immediate job openings. How do you maintain creative quality and cultural integrity when an agency is scaling that rapidly? What systems or practices need to be in place to protect the work?
Walking into an organization that’s already firing on all cylinders requires humility about the formula. My job isn’t to overhaul anything. It’s about finding ways to create complementary systems and practices that build conceptual muscle in line with a production engine that’s already world-class. Practically, that means constant lines of communication between the four ECDs, a greater focus on the rigor of strategic insight behind conceptual briefs, and it means hiring people who are excited to be in an entrepreneurial environment.
5. Building a Creative Hub in Toronto: Toronto has long been a creative hub, but you’ve worked at shops across the city. You’ll be helping grow Thinkingbox’s presence in Toronto specifically. What makes Toronto’s creative community distinct, and how do you attract top talent in a competitive market?
I’m the son of a high school Geography teacher so I have to start by saying Toronto is actually the 4th largest city by population in North America. You never really realize that, but we are a big city. A multicultural population that size creates the most amazing amalgamation of cultures, perspectives, and life experiences. And that diversity will always yield a great bedrock for novel creative vision. That said, the number of creative agencies and production companies that are approaching work in an evolved way is very small. In an industry that seems to be contracting, Thinkingbox is expanding. The mental headspace and way we approach work is very different here. If you’re a creative minded person who wants to find out what you’re actually capable of, I don’t know a better place to do it right now than here.
