Rethink Recruits Anomaly Veteran as First Chief Production Officer

Why It Matters

Elevating production to a strategic function lets Rethink deliver faster, higher‑quality creative work and stay competitive as agencies internalize production while offering technology‑forward solutions to clients.

Key Takeaways

• Rethink hires Jon Legere as first chief production officer.
• Role integrates production early across advertising, PR, design.
• Legere brings 14 years scaling Anomaly’s Unreasonable Studios globally.
• Move addresses industry shift toward in‑house production capabilities.
• AI tools will be embedded via production under Legere.

Pulse Analysis

The advertising landscape has seen a pronounced shift toward in‑house production as brands seek tighter control over timelines, budgets, and creative fidelity. Traditional agencies, which often treated production as a downstream, cost‑center function, now risk losing relevance unless they embed production into the early stages of campaign development. This strategic realignment is prompting firms to create senior roles—such as chief production officers—to coordinate video, experiential, and digital output across all service lines. The move reflects a broader industry consensus that production is no longer a support activity but a core differentiator.

Jon Legere arrives with a rare blend of creative sensibility and operational scale, having built Unreasonable Studios into a multi‑continent production engine during his 14‑year tenure at Anomaly. He oversaw studios in the United States, Canada and Europe, and navigated the integration of that unit after Anomaly’s acquisition by Stagwell, giving him firsthand insight into the challenges independent agencies face when aligning with holding‑company structures. At Rethink, Legere plans to leverage AI‑driven workflows—such as automated editing, generative design, and real‑time asset management—to accelerate delivery while maintaining the agency’s hallmark creative freedom.

Rethink’s decision to place production on an equal pedestal with strategy, media and design signals a proactive response to client demand for end‑to‑end creative solutions. By centralizing production under a CPO, the agency can promise faster go‑to‑market cycles, higher consistency across channels, and the ability to experiment with emerging technologies without siloed bottlenecks. If the model proves successful, other independent shops may follow, accelerating a market‑wide redefinition of agency structures where production is treated as a revenue‑generating discipline rather than a cost center.