Publicis Toronto has hired Chris Desjardins to lead the agency’s sports and entertainment practice as SVP.

In the new role, Desjardins will lead the events and sponsorship team. He comes off of nearly two years as VP of integrated experience at Brand Momentum, but also brings more than six years of experience in various senior roles at Mosaic North America.

“My goal is to build on the amazing momentum the team has created and offer more services in-house to support our clients in this complex industry,” Desjardins says.

Brett McIntosh, president of says Publicis Toronto, says clients’ event and sponsorship budgets are becoming more interconnected with the rest of their marketing efforts, and Desjardins’ background will help the agency deliver on this demand.

Publicis is also picking up on an increase in event, sports, music and festival activity since pandemic restricitions have eased, driven by an increased demand from consumers looking for a return to normalcy.