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Chris Bergeron
vp, content
experience
COSSETTE
A
fter spending a decade in publishing’s
old-boy network, Bergeron thought
advertising’s looser, more creative
environment could provide a better fit
and a fresh start.
But that wasn’t the case at Bergeron’s
first agency gig about eight years ago,
where bosses in Montreal asked the
transgender exec to present as a man
for certain clients and wouldn’t allow
her access to the women’s restroom.
And then there was the fashion party,
when clients from a Swiss watch brand
demanded that Bergeron be fired for, to
paraphrase, being dressed as a woman.
“They wanted me not just taken off
the account, but punished,” Bergeron
says. “My expression had been seen as
a provocation, when I was just trying to
be myself.”
Though she considered quitting
the industry, Bergeron found her next
job at Cossette, with the female-led
company supporting her through her
medical transition and carving out 25%
of her time, as of this year, for public
speaking, advocacy and education about
transgender issues. The creative exec is
also developing internal best practices.
“I’m making sure that policies exist
so the next generation of employees
like me doesn’t have to suffer,” she says.
“When you have to fight all the time
about basic things, that’s energy not
spent on solving creative problems.”
Bergeron, who dubbed 2019 “the
year of queer washing,” says the ad
world still has work to do behind the
scenes, putting its own houses in order,
and on a creative level, fostering truly
representative talent and campaigns.
“There are cis or straight teams
coming up with trans creative, and it’s
positive for the most part because it’s
visibility in the market,” she says. “But
part of me feels like it’s people taking
a break from their privilege to pay
attention to the cause of the day.”
This fall Bergeron will debut her first
book, a fictionalized autobiography set
in 2050, while continuing to share her
personal story in an emotion-packed
speech called “Losing My Privilege:
What Becoming a Minority Has Taught
Me About Leadership.”
“Somehow I found a group of people
to whom my difference doesn’t matter.
That’s acceptance,” she says. “I’m
special, but I’m not special—that paradox
gives me a lot of power.” —T.L.S.Ryan Ford evp, CCO CASHMERE
B
efore he got into marketing, Ford was a journalist at The Source
magazine. That’s where he met music editor Erik Parker as an intern
in 2000.
“The main thing he gave me was he believed in me very early on when
I wasn’t in the professional world,” says Ford. “He believed in me and gave
me a shot.”
Since then, Parker has gone into directing and producing, but the
relationship continues as Cashmere handled the marketing for Parker’s
documentaries LA Burning and Hip Hop: The Songs That Shook America.
Meanwhile, Ford joined Cashmere in 2008 and has helped build it into
a lifestyle agency with young, diverse creatives who work with brands like
Adidas, Jack in the Box and Tanqueray.
And since his work with Parker two decades ago, Ford has also
assumed the role of mentor for younger colleagues to help them
understand realities at Cashmere and beyond.
“What’s most important to me is having young, intelligent people
of color understand the realities of the world around them,” Ford says.
“We have to work harder for opportunities, and if we slip up, our margin
for error is much smaller. We have to learn ... how to work and live in a
broader society that’s defined African Americans in a certain space. In the
workplace ... you have to be professional, buttoned up and a good asset for
the client, as well as add value to the organization. But that doesn’t stop
you from being a black person ... and that’s a lot to navigate. ... It’s a heavy
burden—it can be confusing at times.” —L.L.
Yee Makow ich
vp, talent | Cossette
From working with Bergeron,
who describes the relationship as
“mentoring up,” Makowich learned
that “despite our best intentions, we
were still operating within a narrow
scope.” Brainstorming sessions on
improving benefits followed. “Chris’
perspective as a transgender female
was a gateway to thinking about
the many different needs we can
support. We recently introduced the
most flexible plan I’ve ever seen as
an HR professional [encompassing
transgender leave and meds, fertility,
dependent parents and more], one
that really supports our values of
individuality and inclusion.”Bree Jones | public relations
manager | Cashmere
Jones joined Cashmere in 2012 as a public
relations coordinator. She left in 2015 for a
position at media company PMK, but returned
in 2017. “She continued to grow away from
Cashmere ... she took her skills from the farm
league to big league,” Ford says. “We planned
for Cashmere to grow, and as soon as we
were at a certain point, it was really a focus of
mine—let’s see what Bree is doing.” And like
Ford found with Parker before, Jones says
she now has an advocate in Ford.ADWEEK CHAMPIONS