W+K’s Courtney LeBlanc joins indie agency Fable.works as managing director

Independent agency Fable.works has hired Courtney LeBlanc, former global brand director on Budweiser at Wieden+Kennedy, as managing director and partner.

LeBlanc spent four and a half years at W+K, most recently celebrating a Titanium Lion win at Cannes for the “Bring Home the Bud” World Cup campaign. She also led global campaigns for Corona and Michelob Ultra, after years of working on Coca-Cola at the agency.

“This is the home I’ve been looking for—that a lot of us have been looking for,” LeBlanc said of joining Fable.works, which was founded in 2021 by R/GA and BBDO veterans Rick Williams and Marcel Yunes. “Here, there are no rules. We can create a Netflix show. We can make sneakers that talk to TikTok. We can create things that aren’t just effective, but that people love. We can blur the lines. We can change the goalposts.”

LeBlanc started at the agency in June as the agency's first managing director. LeBlanc, Williams and Yunes are currently the agency’s only full-time staffers—they bring in freelance staff and strategic and production partners on a project basis.

Related: Meet Fable.work, the new agency that knows you hate ads

The agency has created campaigns for CREEM Magazine, WhatIF Foods, KidFresh and the Oscar-nominated film “Triangle of Sadness.” It has also done creative and strategic consulting for partners such as Olipop, Planned Parenthood and streaming service Peacock. The founders said LeBlanc’s arrival will accelerate the agency’s brand-first, entertainment-driven approach.

“Fable.works is in the business of winning hearts. And we couldn’t dream of a more perfect partner in Courtney to lead us into the next chapter,” said Williams.

“Courtney is a wildly talented, radically empathetic badass. We had an instant kinship. We’re upper funnel brand thinkers in a much nimbler universe,” added Yunes. “And Fable.works brings that brand-first thinking to whatever medium best makes a great idea unforgettable.”

LeBlanc’s previous agency stops include Pereira O’Dell, McCann and Mcgarrybowen, where she started out as an account management intern a decade ago.