On the first day Leo Burnett opened for business, August 5, 1935, the receptionist set out a bowl of fresh apples to welcome visitors. Since then, apples have said "welcome" to every visitor and client coming through the Leo Burnett doors each business day around the world. Over the last year, we gave away 713,430 apples. Our Chicago headquarters alone accounted for 364,000 of them - or more than 1,400 apples each day our offices are open. The Leo Burnett Company’s logo is a hand reaching for a cluster of stars, a symbol which sums up the company’s philosophy. As Leo Burnett was fond of saying, "When you reach for the stars you may not quite get one, but you won’t come up with a handful of mud either." It was Leo Burnett’s father who first exposed him to the world of advertising. As a young boy, Leo would look over his father’s shoulder as he laid out ads for his dry goods store on the dining room table, using a big black pencil and a yardstick. That was Leo’s introduction to the big Alpha 245 black pencils he would use all of his life and which the agency still uses today. Leo firmly believed it takes a big pencil to come up with a big idea. The heart of any agency is people. Though we come from diverse backgrounds, we all share a passion for superior marketing solutions, and a fascination with technology and how it is changing our world. Because our business—and our clients’ business—is growing so fast, we often have to wear a lot of hats. Though we work in departments, among us you’ll find managers who love to do planning, creatives who can organize the workflow of an account, and—of course—planners and account managers who have creative ideas. We think one of the best things an agency can give a client is a sense of teamwork and partnership. And that spirit begins within the agency team.