This article was previously featured in the Spring 2026 issue of Strategy Magazine. Over the next few weeks, you can find the print stories online here. New Establishment winners will be honoured at the upcoming AToMiC Awards at the Design Exchange in Toronto on March 26.

Four years out of university, Gabrielle Burge already finds herself in rooms most planners don’t reach until much later in their careers. The digital planner and AI strategist now plays a central role in new business pitches at Cairns Oneil. She’s part of senior-level strategy conversations. She’s contributing to the systems that underpin how media planning gets done at the agency. And when leadership decided it needed a day-to-day planner at the centre of its efforts to integrate AI tools, Burge was the obvious choice.

That trajectory came from a willingness to raise her hand before she felt fully “ready,” says Devon MacDonald, president and CEO of Cairns Oneil. “She has an unbiased but knowledgeable opinion about what to do. For someone with four years of experience, she knows a ton. And more importantly, she’s curious. She’s not scared to say, ‘I don’t know, but I’ll figure it out.’ That openness is what’s made her successful.”

After graduating from Wilfrid Laurier in 2021, Burge landed in the media world as a digital coordinator for the agency, with one of her first contributions being work on a new business pitch for the Royal Ontario Museum. It was her first major assignment at the agency, and she was chosen in part for her ability to bring a younger audience lens to a client focused on widening their target demographic.

Burge played an important role in shaping the digital strategy that ultimately won the account.

After the win, Burge helped plan, execute and report on campaigns tied to the ROM’s major exhibitions. One of the most visible outcomes was a first-of-its-kind angled 3D out-of-home execution for the museum’s shark exhibition, designed so that, from the right vantage point, the shark appeared to lunge toward passersby.

And for SickKids Foundation, she helped introduce a more holistic media strategy during the organization’s 150th anniversary, moving away from siloed, competing campaigns toward a more unified approach. She was also part of the team that capitalized on a cultural moment during the 2025 MLB World Series, using Reddit media placements to promote a tongue-in-cheek film featuring Ryan Reynolds and Freddie Freeman.

Burge has since pushed beyond the boundaries of a traditional planning role. Last year, she stepped into a newly defined AI strategy position at the agency, splitting her time between digital planning and determining how artificial intelligence is integrated into Cairns Oneil’s workflows. The mandate was clear: use AI to reduce busy work, not override thinking.

“AI is only as good as the questions you ask,” says Burge. “It should challenge human thinking, not replace it.”

Working in a team of six, she’s aiming to introduce tools that automate traffic sheets, streamline reporting and free planners from the kind of operational drag that keeps them buried in spreadsheets. The goal, she says, is to give teams more time to focus on strategy and creativity.

Her dual perspective (part-planner, part-technologist) is why MacDonald wanted her embedded in the agency’s AI team. “We needed someone who actually does the work every day,” he says. “Someone who understands what planners and buyers need and can help design systems around that reality.”

“[My role] gives me the best of both worlds,” adds Burge. “It allows me to lean into that techie side, because we know that advertising is a fast-paced industry and evolution is key. It also plays really well into my role as engineer [and being able to] use AI intentionally and responsibly, not just efficiently.” Four years into her career, it’s clear that Burge – who was also recently named as one of the Emerging Women in Tech & Media of the Year by the CMDC – is only just getting started.