Once upon a time, Steve Levschuk pictured himself as the next Darrin Stevens, the advertising agency account executive and husband to the wiggly-nosed witch Samantha on the 1960s sitcom Bewitched. Levschuk had plans to head to Toronto or New York and make it big.

But when he was advised to get more sales experience, he found a position at Talbot Communications in London, ON. He never left.

Today, Levschuk is the president and CEO of Talbot Promo (asi/341500) in London, ON, a 135-year-old promo company that started out selling calendars and wooden pencils. Over the past few years, and especially since COVID, the offerings have changed significantly to include major kitting and program business.

“I never intended to get into promo,” says Levschuk. “Promo found me.”

Podcast Chapters (only available on desktop)
0:40 “Promo found me.”
2:15 Service in the industry
4:47 Canada’s reopening
7:30 Leading the company past the pandemic
9:45 The secret to career longevity

In recent years, the company has been named a Counselor Best Place to Work and a Canada Best Managed Company multiple times, a testament to Levschuk’s leadership. He’s also served on a number of industry boards as well as the World Advertising Gift Exchange, a consortium of promo thought leaders around the world that come together to offer business updates and exchange ideas.

“COVID has brought us closer together,” says Levschuk. “We’ve been sharing what’s going on. We had some tough meetings in the early days of the pandemic, but we helped each other along.”

“I never intended to get into promo. Promo found me.”

“Looking back on my time in promo, the challenges were just a speck in time,” he says. “If I hadn’t been patient, I would have missed all this. There’s nothing else I can imagine doing.”

In Canada, people are optimistic as reopenings continue and they see the U.S. getting back to business, knowing they’re not far behind. Meanwhile, Levschuk is focused on getting Talbot back to robust business, including hiring for positions in new spaces like kitting and programs.

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