Rebecca Lentz, Morrison President, Sits Down With CityBiz for a Q&A on Leadership and the Future of Morrison
Morrison President, Rebecca Lentz, shares her career journey, perspective on modern agency partnerships, and how Morrison is evolving to better serve clients through strategy, talent, and thoughtful use of AI.
You can read the full article below or here on the Citybiz website!
Rebecca Lentz is President of Atlanta’s longest-standing independent ad agency, Morrison, where her leadership spans operations, strategy, and client partnerships. With more than a decade at the agency, she’s led work for nationally and globally recognized brands like Hooters, NCR Voyix, Yamaha WaterCraft, Zoo Atlanta, and Cadence Bank. As President, Rebecca is focused on evolving how the team shows up for clients while building upon the 40-year legacy that defines the agency. Prior to Morrison, Rebecca held marketing roles at Classworks and Sliced Bread.
Tell us about your background and what led you to Morrison.
I started my career at a small full-service agency in Athens and loved the energy and variety of the work. I later moved to the brand side for a few years, which gave me valuable insight into how internal teams think and function.
That role also gave me the opportunity to collaborate with Morrison, which highlighted how much a healthy, collaborative agency relationship can unlock when both teams are truly aligned. While I valued the in-house experience, I really missed agency life and getting to help such a wide range of clients.
So, when the opportunity to join Morrison came up, it felt like a natural next step. I already knew the team approached every partnership thoughtfully, and I was excited to bring my perspective to the work in a deeper way.
As President, how do you define your role in today’s agency landscape? What shifts have you seen in how agencies support clients?
As President, my role is to help bring our agency’s vision to life, shaping how we show up for our clients and how we operate. That includes strengthening client relationships, guiding our product and service offerings, and ensuring our internal processes support effective and scalable work.
One of the biggest shifts I’ve seen is that clients increasingly need partners who can engage in business conversations, not just marketing execution. They’re looking for agencies that can think upstream, help define the strategy, and operate as an extension of their internal team.
AI is everywhere in marketing. How is Morrison approaching it, and what excites you about its potential?
We see AI as something that expands our capabilities rather than replacing the human side of the work. It allows us to explore ideas more quickly, uncover insights faster, and streamline parts of the process that used to take up a lot of time, keeping our team focused on the craft and on client relationships.
At the end of the day, the heart of the work remains the same. Brands still need clear thinking, strong strategy, and teams that know how to turn insight into action in an authentic way. AI can accelerate the path to those ideas, but good people are what shape them into something meaningful.
Hiring and retaining great talent is tough across the industry. What qualities stand out to you, and what helps someone thrive at an agency today?
Problem solvers are the people who thrive at Morrison. Agency work requires wearing many hats, thinking on your feet, and approaching every challenge with curiosity and flexibility. When you can put yourself in the client’s shoes and adapt as needs evolve, you’re set up to be successful. That problem-solving mindset allows our team to navigate constant change while delivering effective work.
Hiring and retaining that kind of talent matters just as much for our clients as it does for us. When the right people aren’t in place, even the strongest strategy or creative work can fall short. That’s why we built MPLOY, our staffing arm. Because we operate as an extension of our clients’ teams, we’re uniquely positioned to identify great talent and help build in-house teams that truly support their goals.
Looking ahead, where do you see the biggest opportunities and challenges for agencies like Morrison?
One of the biggest opportunities for Morrison is partnering in the role of a transparent, trusted guide for clients in a complex marketing landscape. Our value has always been and continues to be much more than execution. We help clients figure out the most impactful way to accomplish their goals and take the guesswork out of the process. That means working with them to find the right balance between agency support, in-house teams, outside partners, and technology so their strategy has the best chance to succeed.
At the end of the day, our job is to help clients put the right strategies, tools and people in place to drive real results
What is one piece of advice you’d give to emerging leaders in advertising?
People want to work for people they can count on and trust. If you focus on showing up with integrity and consistency, it’ll take you far.
