2021 Jury

Chris Bergeron
VP, Content Experience
Cossette

Chris lived the first 40 years of her life, hiding as a heterosexual man. She enjoyed a successful career as a contributor to major media outlets in Canada.  She made the jump to advertising ten years ago, as a creative director for several top agencies in the country. 

Then she came out as a trans woman and started living her life as her true self.

Suddenly being faced with the reality of belonging to a visible sexual minority profoundly changed her view of the working world and of leadership in particular. Both at home and abroad, Chris actively promotes diversity, inclusion, and the rights of transgender people in the industry.

Her advertising portfolio includes work with major brands such as McDonald’s Canada, Destination Canada, General Mills, GM, L’Oréal Paris, Tag Heuer and Adidas. In 2020 she was named among Adweek/Adcolor’s eighteen Champions of Diversity.

Valide, her first novel, will come out on March 31st.

Aaron Starkman
CCO & Managing Partner
Rethink

Aaron Starkman is one of the 100 most creative people in the world (alongside names such as Ryan Reynolds, Lebron James, Lizzo and Oscar winning director, Alfonso Cuarón)

-Adweek Creative 100 List, 2019

He currently leads Rethink nationally as its Chief Creative Officer. Aaron has helped lead the agency to become The Effies Independent Agency of the year for the last 2 years (North America). In 2019, Aaron helped lead Rethink to win Canada’s Agency of the year, Design Agency of the year and Silver Digital Agency of the year. This was the best showing for any agency in the history of the competition (Rethink just repeated that same result in 2020.) Rethink’s work under Aaron’s Creative direction has resulted in NBC News and The Huffington Post referring to the agency as "viral specialists".

Some of that work includes the recent Heinz puzzle and tilted label campaign, the Cannes Lions winning Molson passport fridge, the Cannes Lions winning UBER Breathalyzer, and WestJet’s Guinness world record breaking Desert Roulette.

Before joining Rethink, Aaron made his mark at Crispin Porter + Bogusky writing for and later heading up creative as Chief Creative Officer in Canada. Some highlights there include his "Prison Visitor" commercial for Vim - The most awarded cleaning product commercial of the past 25 years; Canada's first ever media gold lion in Cannes for Corus; Canada's first and only radio gold in Cannes for IKEA - for an ad in a long standing campaign that's been deemed the most successful in Canadian history according to ipsos.

Aaron is the only Canadian creative to have won gold Lions in Cannes for at least 3 different clients and is on Adweek’s top 13 Global Creative Leaders list.

Other than industry accolades, Aaron’s work has been singled out by the mainstream press. (Buzzfeed named one of his ads the # 1 commercial in the history of the Cannes festival, CNN and Jimmy Kimmel have discussed work he’s led multiple times and Ellen Degeneres declared one of his tv spots as her 'favorite of all time')

Aaron has been a regular industry contributor by judging award shows (The One Show & Cannes as highlights) writing columns, speaking at events locally and as far away as Seoul, Korea and he also tries to inspire young industry professionals from around the globe with his podcast, IOFA- Adweek’s advertising podcast of the year.

Katie Ainsworth
VP, Creative Director
PS DDB

Katie started her career as a writer at Cossette, Toronto, 25+ years ago. She then took on increasingly more senior roles at a whole slew of great agencies, including BBDO, TBWA, Rethink, Grey and Cossette Vancouver before recently joining PS DDB. With an ability to bring strategies to life in honest and unexpected ways, Katie’s work has been recognized at both national and international award shows. Katie recently moved to Bowen Island and now has deer, eagles and whales as neighbours, plus she commutes on a ferry. She is unbearably smug about the whole thing.

Noreel Asuro
Group Creative Director
The&Partnership

Noreel Asuro is an award-winning Group Creative Director leading the TELUS account. Throughout his over 20 year career, he’s worked on national and global clients including Coca-Cola, Dove, P&G, Bell, IKEA, Kellogg’s, Taco Bell, TD Bank, Nissan, and The Great Mardini Party Magician, to name a few. He has won numerous awards, but his favourite is having work featured on The World’s Funniest Commercials with Kevin Nealon, because it’s the only one his Mom understands.

Anthony Chelvanathan
EVP Global Creative, ECD
Edelman Canada

Global | EVP & Executive Creative Director at Edelman Toronto, Anthony Chelvanathan has a made a name for himself as one of the most prolific creatives in Canada. His work has been recognized in just about every international show including D&AD, Cannes, One Show, LIA and Clios, including multiple Golds and Grand Prix awards. He has also lent his expertise as a judge at many of the same shows.

In 2009, The Gunn Report ranked Anthony 6th in the world and his Cannes Gold Lion-winning campaign for James Ready Beer the top out-of-home campaign.

In 2015, his follow-up video to the #LikeAGirl campaign got more than 90 million views from around the globe while his TSN outdoor campaign promoting the Rogers Cup was among the most awarded billboard campaigns in the world.

In 2017, Anthony's IKEA “parchment paper” execution racked up multiple Golds in Cannes adding to his tally of more than 100 international awards, including a Grand Clio. Even though he’s been ranked number one in Canada by Strategy Magazine on numerous occasions, there are no signs that he intends to slow down anytime soon.

Wain Choi
Executive Creative Director
Zulu Alpha Kilo

Wain has returned to Toronto after 16 years abroad, most recently as Chief Creative Officer/EVP at CJ Live City in Seoul, Korea. His well-respected career has taken him across the globe to Europe and Asia. He has held leading creative roles in major global advertising agencies including Cossette, Young & Rubicam, Dentsu, Ogilvy and Cheil Worldwide. Wain has extensive experience in leading global brands such as Nike, Coca-Cola, GM, Ford, Toyota F1 and Samsung.

His works have been recognized and awarded at Cannes Lions, D&AD, The One Show, Clio Awards, London International Festival, New York Festival, Spikes, Adfest and others. In addition, his extensive jury duties include Cannes Lions, D&AD Foreman Jury, The One Show, Spikes Jury President, Adfest Jury President, Cristal Jury President, AdStars Jury President, Clio, Dubai Lynx, Red Apple, New York Festivals, Kam Fan Award, etc.

Wain Choi has been a keynote speaker internationally including Cannes Lions 2017, Dubai Lynx 2015, AdAsia Bali 2017, A Fireside Chat Singapore Advertisers Association 2017, Goafest India 2018 and Brand Magic Summit Mauritius 2018.

Denise Cole
Co-Founder, Creative Director
Juliet Creative

Denise is co-founder and creative director at Toronto advertising agency Juliet. She cut her teeth in advertising working alongside creative giants at Cutwater in San Francisco. Her time there shaped her approach to advertising, and that approach is simple: Make work you would proudly put on your wall in your home. With that goal in mind, she strives to turn ads into work that is beloved by the target it is designed to reach, and in doing so, connecting on a much more meaningful level. From Cutwater, Denise went on to work at TBWA and J. Walter Thompson where she gained global recognition at Cannes, One Show, D&AD, and Communication Arts. In addition to her day job, Denise teaches at Miami Ad School and helps young creatives learn the ropes of the industry. She is also a board member of the Advertising & Design Club of Canada.

Rosalinda Graziano
Art Director, Creative Director

Rosalinda Graziano is a practicing Art Director, Creative Director in Advertising for over 20 years and more recently, a furniture designer and fabricator based in Toronto, Canada. She is a proud OCAD U Alumni from the Faculty of Design who also participated in the year-long Florence Program in Fine Art while at OCA.

Rosalinda has worked at some of the top Advertising Agencies in Canada including Ammirati Puris, Zig, Bensimon Byrne, Sid Lee and The Garden Collective. She has been, freelance art directing and behaving like a full-timer when needed since 2012. Her work has been recognized nationally and internationally from various awards shows/sites including The Marketing Awards, The ADCC, theFWA.com, The One Show, The Bessies, Cannes and The Art Directors Club (NY).

Rose returned to the OCAD U fifteen years ago, as a Sessional Instructor where she has put her passion for creativity into teaching a range of courses from all years, including Advertising Thesis in the Faculty of Design. Rosalinda is proud to now call some of her former advertising students her colleagues and on occasion, her boss.

Marie-Benedict Jacquemin
Creative Director
QuatreCentQuatre

From Paris to Montreal, Marie-Bénédict has been shaping her vision of web design for nearly 15 years. Her work has won local and international industry recognition, while contributing to the success of major clients including Agnes b, Chanel, Le Lait, Camso, L’Oréal, Vachon, Alloprof.

Challenges and collaboration inspire her and are for her a driving force. Her main skill is a deep understanding of strategic issues and creative considerations paired with her desire to draft impactful websites and digital experiences. This unique expertise allows her to reach her priority: develop brands in a digital environment.

Kevan Kalyan
Creative Group Head
Target

Kev Kalyan is a Creative Group Head at Target and is part of the team that helped the agency win the coveted Strategy Small Agency of the Year 2019. Over the last 20 years, he’s helped brands in Dubai to Halifax to St. John’s, Newfoundland, break through the clutter. Kev has extensive experience working for clients in a wide range of consumer and business categories including Newfoundland and Labrador Tourism, Patagonia, Ace Hardware, College of the North Atlantic, KLM, Parks Canada, Medavie Blue Cross, The Nova Scotia Liquor Corp, Emirates Airlines, and United Way Halifax — to name a few.

For the past 5 years at Target, he’s worked tirelessly to develop breakthrough brand and advertising campaigns for its clients, including Newfoundland and Labrador Tourism. Kev’s efforts have helped Find Yourself become widely recognized as the most successful and most awarded tourism and destination marketing campaign in North America. This tourism work was also awarded the prestigious ‘Best Campaign’ award at Strategy’s 2019 Agency of the Year gala event.

His work has been recognized at Applied Arts, Webby Awards, ADCC, ICE, Marketing Awards to multiple shortlists at Cannes. Most recently, Strategy’s 2019 Small Agency of the Year. But he’s still looking for that elusive Yellow Pencil though...

What time Kev has left between juggling work and being chased by a 6 year in a unicorn cape, he spends riding his road bike, running and hiking the East Coast Trail.

Nellie Kim
Partner, VP, ECD
LG2 Toronto

Nellie Kim is Partner/Executive Creative Director at lg2. In 2014, she was tasked with launching the lg2 Toronto office to help solidify the independent agency’s national creative presence in Canada.

Nellie is consistently ranked as one of the most awarded creative directors in the country, and has sat on juries including Cannes Lions, One Show, Clios, and the ADC Awards to name a few. With over 15 years of experience, Nellie currently leads brands such as Under Armour, Casper and the LCBO.

Edmund Lam
Co-ECD
Bleublancrouge

Edmund brings 15 years of experience from Montreal’s top creative agencies and leading fashion brands to Bleublancrouge as Executive Creative Director. Most recently heading up creative and strategy at fashion disruptors Frank And Oak, and retail giant Browns.

He cut his teeth early on at Sid Lee and CloudRaker, crafting experiences for the likes of Samsung, Cirque du Soleil, Air Transat, Stella Artois, Natrel, Neutrogena, and the Toronto International Film Festival.

Through the years, he’s come to believe that great marketing can promote healthier relationships with commerce and is most meaningful when it demonstrates a deep appreciation of our collective experiences.

Lisa Lebedovich
Creative Director
will

With a passion for ideas & collaboration, Lisa has created standout campaigns for local and international brands alike over her 20 year advertising career. She has been privileged to work at some of Canada’s top agencies including Rethink, TAXI, Cossette and now Will, where she leads the agency’s advertising mandates as Creative Director.

Lisa has won numerous awards for her work including Cannes, One Show, London International Advertising Awards, ADCC, Clios and the Marketing Awards. Her work has been featured in Communication Arts, Lurzer’s Archive and on the cover of Applied Arts. She also recently published her first children’s book and otherwise dreams of one day becoming a world-famous movie extra.

Rachel McCready
Executive Creative Director
Klick Health

To make different creative, we must be willing to create differently. That’s what inspires the continual re-invention of Rachel McCready’s approach to the creative process.

After earning a Bachelor of Journalism degree from Ottawa, Canada’s Carleton University, Rachel’s first “real” job was as a Medical Writer with an independent continuing medical education company in Toronto. She found herself working with key opinion leaders on scientific presentations and articles, so she had to learn quickly how to read clinical trials and make data tell the right story for the brands she was working on. She loved the challenge.

Rachel’s path to her current role as Executive Creative Director at Klick Health was a branched one, which has influenced her creative approach: “If we cling to a protectionistic view of the creative process, we will be left behind. We need to throw open the doors and invite diverse thinking in.”

With more than 20 years of award-winning work in health marketing, Rachel’s experience covers nearly every specialty, organ system, and life stage.

Her campaigns have been recognized at many international creative award shows, including the Global Awards, MM&M, PM360, and The Creative Floor.

Despite the depth of her experience, however, Rachel believes the first step in the creative process is to “forget everything. Don’t ask for an ad - ask for a new way of looking at things, and see what happens.”

Maxine McDonald
Senior Director
Media Profile

Maxine McDonald is a brand builder, connector and communicator. She has spent the last 13 years working with some of the world’s most iconic lifestyle brands including Starbucks, Moroccanoil, and the Las Vegas Tourism Board.

Her background in traditional media relations and influencer marketing, along with her deep passion for emerging trends, helps her identify the best advocates to drive compelling brand narratives.

Deeply committed to equity and inclusion, Maxine champions for Black communications professionals. She serves as chair of Code Black Communicator Network, the not-for-profit she co-founded in 2017.

David Mueller
Creative Director
Bensimon Byrne

Dave Mueller is a bald, bearded guy in advertising, which is rare. Dave is definitely not a David. Most people at work call him Mueller. He was the number one copywriter on Strategy Magazine’s Creative Report Card for 2020.

He joined Bensimon Byrne in 2012 after a chance encounter with Joseph Bonnici in a Banana Republic. Since then, he has poured his soul into work he can be proud of—White Ribbon and Casey House, chief among them—and helped Bensimon Byrne become one of the Cannes Lions’ top 15 independent agencies in the world, and AdAge’s 2018 International Small Agency of the Year.

In his free time, Dave enjoys long pandemic walks with his wife, and not doing TikTok dance challenges with her. If he’s not wondering aloud when things will go back to normal, he’s quietly praying that they will soon.

Frederick Nduna
Creative Director
GUT Toronto

Frederick has over a decade of experience creating disruptive work in every medium. From intricate, data-driven web tools to simplistic print campaigns. He’s worked on global clients like FedEx, Campbells, and Kia Motors. As well as homegrown clients like Mac’s Convenience Stores, Rogers, and Tim Hortons. His work has won at almost every national and international award show, including Grand Prix at Cannes and a Black Pencil at D&AD. In 2020, he was ranked the #5 Creative Director globally across all disciplines by The One Club For Creativity. Frederick currently serves as a Creative Director at GUT Toronto.

Gail Pak
Creative Director
McCann

Gail has spent the last 19 years of her career honing her craft at top creative shops including Leo Burnett, Lowe, Crispin Porter + Bogusky, Zulu and now McCann. Gail has built integrated campaigns for a diverse roster of clients including Kellogg's, P&G, Visa, Petro-Canada and Mastercard. Her passion for understanding clients business needs solved through creative solutions has allowed her to be recognized at The One Club, LIAs, Communication Arts, Marketing, Fast Company and Apple's best podcast list.

She spends her free time travelling across Toronto during lockdown and is passionate about sewing a mask that prevents foggy glasses.

Deborah Prenger
Creative Director
Branderos

Deborah has enjoyed a career working at many of the highest creatively ranked agencies in Canada including Roche Macaulay and Partners, Ammirati Puris, Cossette, Zig and BBDO. In addition to winning many top Canadian advertising awards, Deborah has won at many prestigious international shows including Cannes and The One Show. Her work on “Quit the Denial”, an anti-social smoking campaign for The Ontario Ministry of Health, was an internationally celebrated campaign. When she isn’t hard at work hunting down ideas, Deborah can be found with camera in hand, tracking down wildlife in places like Algonquin Park where she enjoys back-country camping with her husband and two sons.

Hayes Steinberg
Partner, Chief Creative Officer
The Mark

Hayes Steinberg’s path isn’t the traditional or expected. Hayes has held executive creative positions in advertising, PR, and content production companies. And he brings this uniquely varied experience to every brand that he helps build.

Through his career, Hayes’ work has appeared in every major international and domestic awards show. Hayes was at Roche Macaulay & Partners when they were named Advertising Age’s International Agency of the Year, and was the Creative Director on Scotiabank’s business when they were named Strategy’s Marketer of the Year. Hayes is particularly proud of the opinion-altering, legislation-impacting campaign he conceived, wrote, and produced while at Zig for PFLAG & Equal Marriage for Same Sex Couples.

Since joining The Mark as Partner and Chief Creative Officer in 2018, The Mark was named top 10 on Strategy’s Small Agency of the Year list, one of Canada’s fastest growing companies by The Globe & Mail’s Report on Business, Top 100 Fastest Growing Agencies in the World on Adweek’s Fastest Growing list, and 14th Best Place to Work in Canada.

In addition to their ongoing work for Shopper’s Drug Mart and the award-winning work for The Beauty Clinic by Shoppers, The Mark produced a feature-length documentary for Scotiabank to support Scotia’s hockey sponsorships. ‘Hockey 24: A Film by Canada’ has already won at Clios Sport and the CMAs, was a finalist at Epica, and has either appeared in, or won awards at, 7 (and counting!) film festivals around the world.

Hayes is incredibly grateful for all of the writers, art directors, strategists, client service teams, production partners, and clients who have influenced him throughout his career. He is also grateful for this opportunity to judge the 2021 Marketing Awards.

Krista Webster
President & CEO
Veritas

Krista Webster is currently the President & CEO of Veritas Communications and Vice-Chair of an MDC Network Alliance that includes North American agencies from advertising, shopper marketing, digital as well as Veritas. She brings more than 20 years of public relations, social media and influencer marketing experience, working with blue chip clients in the US, Canada, Europe and Asia. Her awards are a reflection of her hard work and dedication to always evolving – she has been named as one of PR Weeks Top 40 Under 40 & Top Women In PR, PRovoke’s Innovator 25, and an Adweek Brand Star. A self-professed change agent, Webster is always looking for ways to push the envelope creatively and strategically, consistently striving to innovate ahead of the curve. In 2019, Webster expanded the Veritas family to include performance driven influencer co-creation and digital content studio Meat & Produce (M&P) as a means to strategically bring influencers more fully to the table and fill a gap she identified in the market.

Credited with managing 50+ million in client portfolios on both sides of the border by her late twenties, Webster attributes her accelerated success to a strong focus on integration between media channels and with agencies from other disciplines. She believes wholeheartedly that the best ideas are media agnostic. The channels you employ – earned, owned or paid – are secondary to the power of an idea that truly transcends and breaks through.

Jennifer Wilson-Canham
Senior Copywriter

Jennifer began her career in advertising 23 years ago, and has been both a Copywriter and a Creative Director. Since 2015, she has become a sought-after freelance writer in Toronto, working at such top agencies as BBDO, Conflict, Union, Juniper Park/TBWA, Giants and Gentlemen, and BleuBlancRouge.

Over the course of her career, Jennifer’s work has been recognized by The Bessies, the Ad and Design Club of Canada, Marketing Awards, London International Advertising Awards, the Crystals, Cannes, and Lürzer's Archive. In 2017, her “Tenor Takeover” for D’Italiano Bread won a Gold for Best Use of Content – Best in Consumer Engagement at the MIAs (Media Innovation Awards), and she recently garnered a Silver at the 2019 Strategy Awards in the category of Niche Marketing for “Freedom Tampons” for Interval House Women’s Shelter.

Passionate about the creative process from conception to execution, Jennifer has consistently produced smart, impactful, insightful solutions for clients like Cheerios, Indigo, D’Italiano Bread, The Bishop Strachan School for Girls, Longo’s, Sunlight, President’s Choice, YWCA, Nature Valley, Fibre One, Rethink Breast Cancer, PFLAG, and Lipton.

Before turning to freelance, Jennifer worked full time at a variety of stellar agencies both big and small, including Cossette, Bensimon Byrne, Zig, Ammirati Puris, and boutique agency Ranscombe and Co.

When not obsessing over her copy and checking character counts on social posts, Jennifer is kept busy chasing after her 11-year-old daughter, 7-year-old son, and 3-year-old Jack Russell Terrier.

Sean Barlow
Chief Creative Officer
Cundari

We live in an age of commoditization, where parody floods the marketplace. But there is always a ‘go to’ cure. That cure is Creativity.  It can serve up a product in a totally different light or it can disrupt an entire category. Creativity can bring life to a stagnant or unknown brand.

In this day and age, it’s dangerous not to push for great work.  I’ve been truly committed to doing great work in the search for what I call “brand affection.” If people remember the work, connect to the work, and love it, you’ll have a customer for life. 

I’ve worked at TBWA Chiat Day, MacLaren McCann, Leo Burnett, Cossette, and I’m currently CCO at Cundari.  Over the years, I’ve launched products for General Motors, Samsung, P&G, TD Bank, Kellogg’s Canada, and Molson.  I’ve re-energized brands such as James Ready beer, Bounce, Kellogg’s Pop-Tarts, Oldsmobile, Visa Canada and Dempster’s.  Some of these brands have been awarded internationally, including the most awarded outdoor campaign in the world in 2009. 

My biggest inspiration in this business is to see the change that great work can make in the marketplace.  What really excites me is that your very best work can always be the very next project you tackle.

Jean-Charles Bullot
Copywriter
Innocean Worldwide Canada

JC began as an art director in Marseille (France) in 1989. Then he moved back to Martinique and create his little agency. Soon he moved to RSCG (now Havas) and then Publicis to work on accounts like Yoplait, Audi, Air France. 

He began his career as a copywriter when he came to work in Montreal in 2002. His agencies were Y&R, Lg2 Montreal, Cossette, DraftFCB and also Sid Lee, bleublancrouge, Ogilvy as a freelancer. 

With a solid experience in the Quebec market, JC is now a copywriter at Innocean since 2019, where he works on the Kia account.  

Yilma Campbell
ACD
The Hive

I consider myself lucky for being able to create art for a living. Being in advertising for over ten years, my work spans across a wide range of media: TV, film, digital, print, and OOH. Since graduating with a BA in Advertising Design from OCAD University, I have worked as an Art Director in agencies of all sizes - Saatchi & Saatchi, Due North Communication, Taxi Toronto, One Advertising, trevor//peter communications, and the Hive - where I have turned client problems into visual solutions. I am also an avid Fly Fisher.

Debbie Chan
Creative Director
Narrative

Debbie Chan is an award-winning creative with more than a decade of experience in the industry. With a background in design, she has spent the majority of her career as an Art Director before becoming Creative Director at Narrative. She has been busy working with brands such as Scotiabank, Casey House, White Ribbon, LCBO, Volvo, Salesforce to name a few. Recently named Top Art Director by Strategy’s Creative Report Card, she has won awards including Cannes Lions, D&AD, One Show, Communication Arts, and Clios.

Jeff Cheung
Creative Director
lg2

Jeff is an award-winning creative whose resume includes Ogilvy, Juniper Park, TBWA Vancouver, BBDO and most recently lg2 as Creative Director. His work has been recognized by the One Show, Cannes, Hypebeast, ESPN and Billboard. Amongst his favourites are putting former Raptor Delon Wright in a comically oversized suit for Snickers and helping the Regent Park School of Music get sampled on Taylor Swift’s #1 album Lover with Parkscapes.

Phil Copithorne
Partner
C&B Advertising

Keka DasGupta
Strategic Advisor
Edery & Lord

Keka has 24 years of award-winning marketing, PR, crisis/issues management and diversity, equity and inclusion experience across a wide range of sectors. During her 17-year tenure at DDB Canada, Keka served as Vice-President of its PR division (DDB PR), with clients such as: Johnson & Johnson, Nike, Disney, Bosch and Thermador, IKEA, Nordstrom, and Schwarzkopf among others. In this time, Keka was also the recipient of 50 national and international awards. Prior to agency life, Keka worked in-house at IKEA for seven years, managing the brand’s national media relations initiatives, and serving as the company’s media spokesperson on corporate and consumer issues.

Today, Keka continues to consult with agencies such as: DDB Canada, Edery & Lord Communications and Balmoral Multicultural Marketing, providing high-level business development support, strategic counsel and diversity training.

Keka also recently launched her passion project – a personal development brand called “The Art of Life-ing” through which, as a professional speaker, Keka delivers keynotes and training to corporate and education sectors focusing on gratitude, bullying prevention and personal empowerment. She harnesses the power of global branding principles and applies them to mental health strategies. You can catch her TEDx talk inspired by her programming on TED.com. It was highlighted by TED as one of their top 5 talks on gratitude.

Spencer Dingle
Creative Director
Broken Heart Love Affair

Spencer Dingle is a Creative Director who has worked in advertising in Toronto for the last ten years at agencies BBDO, lg2, Cossette, and recently Broken Heart Love Affair. Campaigns he’s worked on have been awarded top honours at nearly every global award show, including the Outdoor Grand Prix at the Cannes Lions for McDonald’s, and a Grand Health Clio for SickKids. Other notable brands he’s worked with are Nike, Flight Centre, Egg Farmers of Canada, and General Mills. Two of his campaigns for McDonald’s have been adapted by dozens of markets around the world. Also, he’s won Best in Show at the Marketing Awards and was a Top 10 Art Director on the Strategy Report Card twice, which was nice.

James Alexander Dunphy
Creative Director
Youville Haussmann Park

James Alexander Dunphy is the co-Creative Director of Youville Haussmann Park / Alice & Smith as part of the Humanise Collective. He has experience in both creative and strategy at some of the top agencies in Canada. With a speciality in experiential design and 360 integrated campaigns, he strives to tell compelling transmedia brand stories that drive conversation and conversion.

Ari Elkouby
VP, Executive Creative Director
Wunderman Thompson

Ari Elkouby is a VP, Executive Creative Director at Wunderman Thompson Canada where he creatively oversees a diverse portfolio of clients here in Canada and the United States.

He has worked on both sides of the border including stops at Fallon Worldwide, FCB, BBDO Proximity and Zulu Alpha Kilo. His multi-channel background has made him an asset for an array of clients looking for media agnostic campaigns and large-scale platform thinking.

Ari also brings with him an invaluable background in design and has been instrumental in helping lead Wunderman Thompson’s Identity and design practice which has helped birth half a dozen new brands and reimagined half a dozen more.

During his 5-year tenure at Wunderman Thompson, the agency has been named runner up as Strategy’s Agency of the Year twice and his work has been recognized internationally by Cannes, OneShow, The Clios, The Webby Awards, Communication Arts and has graced the pages of Wired, Fast Company and the New York Times.

Ari is fiercely collaborative and regularly contributes thought leadership pieces to various publications on industry trends as well as sits on numerous jury panels to help recognize the best work being produced across Canada.

Roni Gellert
Creative Director
Anomaly

Roni is an award-winning creative with over a decade of experience crafting breakthrough campaigns for brands big and small. With experience working on global brands in categories like beer, financial, CPG, and fashion, Roni seeks to bring true insight and flawless execution to everything she touches.

Rob Gendron
Creative Director
Saatchi & Saatchi

Rob Gendron is a Creative Director - copywriter at Saatchi & Saatchi in Toronto.

A veteran of over 20 years in the industry, his enthusiasm for great ideas packaged into well-crafted executions is what he looks for in his own work and the work on the judging table.

Addie Gillespie
Creative Director
123w

Addie is a Creative Director at One Twenty Three West in Vancouver. She really likes advertising, which is good, considering her name. Her insight-driven work has been awarded nationally and internationally for everything from John Frieda and Okanagan Spring Brewery to BC Children’s Hospital and the Vancouver International Film Festival. Now armed with 2 small girls, she otherwise divides her time between advertising, an embarrassing pop culture obsession, hiking and trying desperately to get “Let it go” out of her head.

Chantal Innes
Managing Director, Creative Director
Havas Health

Elma Karabegovic
Associate Creative Director
FCB

Elma is an internationally awarded Associate Creative Director at FCB Toronto, who has created campaigns for brands, both in Canada and the UK. She has most recently had the honour of being named one of the top 10 Next Creative Leaders by One Club after winning 2 ANDYs, 11 Gold and 2 Best of Discipline at the One Show for her work on Project Understood for the Canadian Down Syndrome Society. Her passion for behaviour changing work has also manifested campaigns like “Consent is Simple” for Project Consent and “Jane’s Story” for BMO, to name a few. When she’s not making ads, she’s teaching them at Miami Ad School.

Amanda Kitchen
Creative Director, Health
Tank

Amanda is an award-winning creative with over a decade of experience creating breakthrough, brand-building ideas in a variety of consumer and healthcare categories.

Blending a strong foundation in traditional conceptual advertising and a digital-first approach to brand building, Amanda has worked in every medium, from print to broadcast to emerging technologies. 

At Tank, Amanda leads a cross-functional team of creatives, encouraging them to approach creative problem solving with curiosity and empathetic thinking. She believes the most meaningful work makes a difference in the world - and is humbled by the privilege of working in a space that helps people live healthier, longer, more comfortable lives. 

In her free time, Amanda spends time with her family, and co-authors a social media account about houseplants with an international following. She lives for adventure and can be found hiking mountains and glaciers (when travel permits).

Allen Kwong
Creative Director
TAXI

Allen Kwong is a Creative Director at TAXI Toronto. He’s led award-winning campaigns and brand experiences for a wide range of clients, from global brands like Volkswagen, Smucker's, and Microsoft, to Canadian brands like Maple Leaf Foods, LCBO, and The Weather Network. His work has been covered by WIRED, Contagious and DesignTaxi.

Andy Linardatos
Group Creative Director
Juniper Park\TBWA

Andy Linardatos is a Group Creative Director at Juniper Park/TBWA and one of the agency’s first creative hires. Coincidently, he was also one of the first creative hires at Rethink Advertising in Vancouver where he began his career. In between, he also worked at Downtown Partners. He was nowhere near the first creative nor any other hire there. Andy has judged numerous award shows, including The Marketing Awards and The One Show. His own work has been recognized by The One Show, Cannes, Communication Arts, Marketing Awards and the Effies. 

Paul Little
Executive Creative Director

Paul Little is one of Canada’s most respected copywriters and Creative Directors. 

As Executive Creative Director at john st., Paul helped lead the agency back onto the Strategy Agency of the Year list, top-3 for 2018 and 2019. His successes included the wildly popular Tangerine Raptors playoff campaign, that garnered pr, awards and record results for the client. The award-winning Boston Pizza Patio Chairs that won the internet. And helping Mitsubishi Motors Canada have their best sales year on record. Clients included Boston Pizza, Tangerine and Campari.

Before joining john st., Paul helped start up Camp Jefferson - where he led the agency to win the Koodo Mobile account and subsequently launched the Choose Happy campaign. He also led the Echo Project for Penguin Books. Two innovative experiences often lauded as groundbreaking and ahead of their time. Prior to Camp J, Paul was a CD at Sid Lee, working on DELL, adidas and Major League Soccer. He was CD at TBWA Vancouver - a regional agency that through his leadership, became the 3rd most awarded agency in Canada in 2010. Known mostly for the highly loved Vancouver International Film Festival work.

Paul’s work has won at every major award show in the world. Gold Lions, Gold One Show Pencils, Clios, Webbys, D&AD for writing and Best-of-Show at the Marketing Awards.
He’s worked on major brands such Scotiabank, ADIDAS, INFINITI, Tangerine Bank and Boston Pizza. 

Paul has judged at Cannes and Communication Arts, spoken on panels and has had his work featured in Contagious, Fast Company and in the textbook, Advertising Now. His headline for BC Lung Association is often considered one of the best headline ads written.

Bronwyn Mackay
Creative Director
Wasserman

Lyranda Martin Evans
Chief Creative Officer
Fellow Human Creative

Lyranda is an award-winning creative director, author, speaker, and podcast host. She currently sits on the Advertising and Design Club of Canada Board of Directors and is the host of their podcast “ADCC Created” which unpacks how some of the best work in Canada gets made. Her bestselling book “Reasons Mommy Drinks”, a humour book that pairs the first year of parenting with cocktail recipes, has been published in three languages. Lyranda is also the podcast host for Google’s “Lead by Womenwill” which aims to address gender disparity in the workforce and champion young women in their careers. A working mom with two young boys at home, in her spare time she enjoys mainlining coffee.

Tracy Maunder
Digital Creative Director
Trampoline

Matthew May
Creative Director
Brightworks

Originally hailing from the sunny shores of the UK, Matthew loves to bring a sense of empathy, big thinking, fresh ideas, and a positive outlook to every creative opportunity – all with a smile on his face.

Currently, he leads the creative team at Brightworks to develop creative strategies and multichannel campaigns that have enriched the world of healthcare and beyond, while generating real results.

With 20 years of experience at digital, advertising, and PR agencies, on two continents, Matthew has worked with global brands such as Virgin Group of Companies, General Motors, Nestlé, Energizer, and GSK with his work being celebrated by the PROMO! Awards, Canadian Marketing Association, ACE Awards, and The New York Festival Awards to name only a few.

Outside of living the ad life, he is obsessed with football (you know, the one that you play with your feet, AKA soccer) and loves coaching kids, helping them develop a lifelong love of the beautiful game.

Rick Mayzis
ECD, Health & Wellness
john st.

After graduating from Ontario College of Art and Design Rick began his career at Ranscombe and Company - a small agency with a reputation for big thinking. During his first years in advertising, he crafted his skills as an Art Director on such accounts as Sony Canada, Royal Ontario Museum, Globe and Mail, workopolis.com and Doctors Without Borders.

Rick also gained extensive experience in the healthcare industry providing innovative work across multiple therapeutic areas including diabetes, arthritis, schizophrenia, hypertension, glaucoma, cardiology, and asthma. He applied his passion for excellence and a keen eye for design to a variety of clients including GlaxoSmithKline, Novo Nordisk, Astra Zeneca, Canadian Diabetes Association and Prostate Cancer Canada.

In 2015 Rick joined john st. where he has continued to bring his passion for innovation across a variety of pharmaceutical and health and wellness brands. His greatest satisfaction comes from knowing that he can play a small part in helping improve the lives of patients.

Sam Mussa
Art Director
Ogilvy

Alanna Nathanson
Co Founder & Chief Creative Officer
Giants & Gentlemen

Alanna is one of those rare creatives that actually loves business, so...she started one. Pre-G&G, she’s grown brands in every category, while winning a multitude of top industry awards. 9 years in, she’s proud to have helped build G&G into an A-list indie shop, which has won both creative accolades as well as business ones, including Top Employer for Young People 2 years in a row and Canada’s Growth 500 for fastest growing companies. While overseeing meaningful, memorable work that drives success, she also teaches and mentors at the Miami Ad school.

Patrice Pollack
Creative Director
FUSE Create

Patrice began her advertising career in the fast lane with several awards under her belt. Then, in 2011, she took home gold in the Cannes Young Lions competition. A first for Canada. From there, she packed her bags and left her home and native land to join J. Walter Thompson New York. While there, she pitched and developed campaigns for Smirnoff, Rolex and J&J.

Missing Canadian winters, Patrice made her way back to the great white north to work for J. Walter Thompson Toronto. Over the next four years, she helped pitch, win and create award winning work for Air Canada.

With roots in Toronto, she moved to OneMethod as ACD winning a number of awards as she continued to push creative boundaries with a strategic lens and a promise to challenge traditional advertising. She also gave back – using what she learned along the way, Patrice taught at OCADU. While still working full time, she mentored, championed and even hired some of the brightest and kindest people in the business.

Now as Creative Director at Fuse Create, she will navigate the ever-changing advertising landscape with her heart, head and of course, her gut.

Magalie Samson
Creative Director
Publicis

With a passion for creating strong brands and immersive interactive experiences, Magalie is the go-to Creative Director in Montreal for those who want to have a serious impact on their consumers’ imaginations. Her brand-conscious and strategic creative approach results from 20 years of experience working across many successful projects from brand identity to large-scale global campaigns for prestigious clients such as Air Canada, Rogers, the Cirque du Soleil, Coca-Cola, Tourisme Montréal, the Port of Montreal, and the STM. Energetic and always relevant, this design geek (her kids are waaay better dressed than yours) is a breath of fresh air for the industry and an inspiring creative leader who has the power to turn good work into great work. Working at Publicis Montréal since 2013, her no BS vision of things makes her a perfect mentor for the creative team and a true beacon for the client.

Storytelling, minimal design, and clear communication are the signature of Magalie’s work, as well as her contagious laugh that is probably still resonating in the empty halls of the agency as you read these lines.

Rose Sauquillo
Creative Director, Art Director

Rose is an award-winning creative with over two decades of experience at agencies like TAXI, Leo Burnett, Huge, and Zulu Alpha Kilo. She’s worked on accounts in every category, leading TELUS nationally and rebranding retailers like Reitmans and Mark’s. 

Rose also likes to take pictures. She’s made it on Instagram’s suggested user list twice, resulting in content partnerships with Keen Footwear USA, Mont-Tremblant Resort, Sheraton Hotels and Goli Nutrition. 

As a freelance Creative Director/Art Director and proud mom, Rose balances her time between agency deadlines and holding up a green screen for her YouTuber son. She also enjoys crafting her IG stories with 80’s themed stickers and ensuring that Justin Bieber consistently makes it to the top of her Spotify Year in Review playlist.

Aurelie Sauthier
President
agence made in

Aurélie Sauthier is recognized as a pioneer in the influence marketing industry in Canada. She founded Made in in 2011 when no one was yet interested in this unique opportunity that will become a major trend for marketers. Fascinated by the anthropology of consumption as much as by the analysis of advertising campaigns, Aurélie now runs the first content and influence house of international dimension.

With more than 500 content marketing campaigns to her credit, Aurélie has in-depth expertise in the entire ecosystem and opportunities related to content marketing, as well as a broad knowledge of the strategies and content formats of various platforms: blog, YouTube, Instagram, Pinterest, Snapchat, TikTok, etc.

Passionate and visionary, she makes it a point of honor to always be at the forefront of trends in order to deliver the best content strategies to Made in's clients in Canada and France, including, in 2019 alone, L'Oréal Paris, Ivanhoe Cambridge, Avène, eOne, Boursin, Peroni, MAIF, Groupe Castel, Daunat, Babybel, etc.

Aurélie holds a Bachelor's degree in Business Administration and an M.Sc. in Marketing from HEC Montréal. As a speaker, radio columnist, member of Forbes Agency Council and university lecturer, she is frequently invited to speak about the latest trends in content marketing.

Laura Serra
Executive Creative Director
Mosaic

Laura is the newly minted ECD at Prestige Worldwide, the first word in entertainment Mosaic North America and along with her team and the entire agency, she’s working hard to build brands in dimension^TM. She’s also the COO of her Family, President of Italian Cooking, Chancellor of the Toronto Raptors, Her Holiness of In-car Road Trip Entertainment, Honourary Chair of JazzFM, and Professor of Instigating. Laura is taking full advantage of WFH by living part time in the country where she pets horses and spends a lot of money hot-spotting WIFI from her mobile device.

Jennifer Siripong
Chief Digital Officer
No Fixed Address inc.

Jennifer studied to be a Tech Consultant, but ended up in a job making junk mail. This introduction into marketing put her in exactly the right industry at the right time to be present for the forefront of digital marketing. She has built her career by evolving with technology and pushing marketing boundaries.

With over 18 years of agency experience, Jennifer has played roles in Strategy, Account Service and Project Management. In 2017, Jennifer joined No Fixed Address and started building NFA Digital.

Kelly Small
Executive Creative Director
Grassriots

Kelly Small (they/them) is a performance-driven, award-winning ECD, designer, and writer with deep roots in communication design, digital marketing, and advertising, and a special focus on ethical and inclusive practice. A proven creative leader, strategist, and affiliated design researcher with Emily Carr University (Studio for Critical Making and the Graphic Research Unit), Kelly holds a master’s degree in design where their research focused on design ethics, social impact, social innovation, and sustainability. Kelly received the Governor General's academic gold medal for their graduate work.

A seasoned ad-industry expat, Kelly has experience leading major brands across most sectors including automotive, CPG, entertainment, finance, retail, technology, telecom, and more. Currently serving as executive creative director at Grassriots Inc., Kelly is committed to applying their 15+ years of commercial experience to exclusively supporting progressive, impact-focused clients. Kelly is equally passionate about breakthrough aesthetics and innovative creative executions as they are ensuring that their concepts provide real, measurable results.

Kelly’s book, The Conscious Creative: Practical Ethics for Purposeful Work, published by House of Anansi Press, is a collection of over 100 actions for ethical creative practice. It is the culmination of Kelly’s research in their pursuit of a more humane, values-driven and inclusive creative industry.

A certified member of the RGD, Kelly donates their time to mentoring early career designers, leading the LGBTQ2S+ virtual RGD community, and participating in the RGD Diversity Equity and Inclusion committee.

France-Michele Thomas
Consulting Director
Citoyen

France-Michèle brings more than 17 years of experience in brand building and marketing communications to Citoyen.

France-Michèle has established a solid career during which she has helped shape the unique visions of her numerous clients, of how to give them shape, and deepened her knowledge of the dynamics of the cultural landscape. Her insights have allowed her to create dialogues between brands and their target audiences that are integrated across traditional and digital platforms. She has guided each client’s unique vision and deepened her understanding of the cultural landscape and its dynamics.

France-Michèle is a dynamic, engaged and curious partner who is always looking for new opportunities and the best results for her partners. She has shown her acumen, working on strategies and launches for clients such as Molson, Pepsico, P&G, Best Buy, the Rideau Hall Foundation, Microsoft, Tangerine and Loblaws.

Adam Thur
Executive Creative Director
Union Creative

Adam is an award-winning Executive Creative Director and Art Director at UNION Creative. 

After 15 years in the industry, Adam has been honoured to work at some of Canada’s top agencies, including TAXI, Leo Burnett, and Juniper Park. And while his approach to creative has evolved with the times, one thing has remained constant: his belief that every idea must start with a true human insight. 

This core belief has helped him create innovative work for clients such as IKEA, Audi, Virgin Mobile, Wonder Bread, Interval House, and Frito-Lay. 

Outside of work, Adam designs and builds his own furniture. He also continues to draw and paint, although he doesn’t tell any of his artist friends that he works in advertising.

Eva Van den Bulcke
Creative Director
Forsman & Bodenfors

Eva Van den Bulcke is a passionate, hands-on Creative Director with over 20 years of experience. Eva’s creative direction and vision have attracted not only the respect and admiration of colleagues and clients, but helped her become one of the most awarded creatives in Canada. She was also recognized by Marketing Magazine as one of the Top 30 Under 30 and La Presse called her one of the Six Women Who Move Quebec.

Eva is dedicated to every part of the creative process including strategic planning, building the right teams and continually challenging the work as it goes from brief to its first public appearance. In the last 10 years, she has directed numerous branded content campaigns that won several awards as well.

Curtis Wolowich
Executive Creative Director
Junction59

Curtis has over 30 years of experience in advertising, direct marketing, interactive and promotions. Throughout that time, he’s worked with some of Canada’s leading agencies
like MacLaren Lintas, Young & Rubicam, FCB and BBDO.

He has held senior-level creative positions for many years and has overseen every facet
of creative execution for a wide range of clients from Financial, Automotive, Retail, Telco
and Non-Profits.

Now in the role of Executive Creative Director at Junction 59, Curtis has continued his winning streak of over 200 international and domestic awards. He leads his team’s work
on the entire agency’s Non-Profit, B2B, and consumer clients.

Becca Young
SVP, Strategy & Creative
Weber Shandwick

Becca Young loves solving problems and the spark of a great idea that can happen anywhere.

She leads Weber Shandwick Canada’s creative, insights and strategy groups, drawing on a background of more than two decades in creative strategy and brand development, digital and social experience, and integrated communications for an exhaustive list of national and international brands and organizations.

Becca is people-centric and outcome-focused, approaching each project with enthusiasm and a belief in the ability of insights and ideas to drive real world impact.

Tom Eymundson
Director, CEO
Pirate Group Inc.

Tom has been giving brands a voice for over 20 years. As an internationally awarded Sonic Branding strategist, he's continually called upon to judge and/or preside over numerous advertising awards shows, including Cannes Lions, London International Awards, The One Show, Clio, D&AD, Marketing Awards, New York Festivals, Radio Mercury and more.

Tom has worked with almost every major advertising agency and advertiser in North America, as well as many others around the world. He's a partner, CEO and driving force behind the ongoing evolution of Pirate Group Inc.

Through his day-to-day leadership, mentoring and strategic development Pirate has become a dominant creative audio force in the North American market. Tom's focus and tenacious attention to detail ensures that Pirate and its growing list of clients continue to be heard.

Christina Yu
Creative

Christina Yu is recognized as one of Canada's Top 100 thought leaders.

Christina's most recent position was Managing Partner, Creative Director at Rethink Canada. During that time, she helped lead Rethink to Agency of the Year and Design Agency of the Year for both 2019 and 2020, a feat not accomplished by any other agency.

Prior to joining Rethink, Christina led all creative at Red Urban Canada, an agency she helped form in 2010. While at Red Urban, Volkswagen Canada saw five years of sales records and a few Cannes Lions. Christina was also one of the Creative Directors for Team Blue, creating international work for Volkswagen. When Red Urban was awarded Subaru Canada in 2015, Christina helped them reach record-breaking sales as well.

Before Red Urban, Christina was Vice President, Creative Director at Lowe Roche. Highlights from her time there include Canadian Agency of the Year honours and award-winning work on Audi, Global Stella Artois, J&J, Virgin Mobile, and Capital One.

Over the years, Christina’s work on blue chip clients such as FedEx, Stella Artois, and Pepsi has been awarded at every major award show in the world, including Cannes, Clios, and the One Show. She’s also been included on the prestigious 30 Under 30 list, been named one of Canada’s “Marketing Icons in the Making,” has been a speaker at industry events, and taught at the Ontario College of Art and Design.

Ross Birchall
Founding Partner, Editor
Saints Editorial

Ross was born and raised in Toronto, Ontario where he grew up playing baseball and watching too much TV.  At age 19, he put the baseball bat down and entered Music Video Production and is highly regarded as the best PA to ever live.  During this time Ross immersed himself in the world of production where he was fortunate enough to work along side and learn from some of the world’s top filmmakers.  Ross quickly found the editor’s chair, a place that greatly interested him and where creatively and personally, he felt he had the most to offer.   He began editing music videos, commercials and short films, and quickly established himself as a trusted collaborator to directors and creatives alike, many of whom he still works with to this day.  Ross prides himself on choosing editing over baseball except for the hours.  His work has garnered numerous Cannes Lions, Clios, LIAs and Pencils.

Tyson Kuteyi
Producer, Mixer, Songwriter
Grayson Music Group

Tyson Kuteyi is a quattro-threat Producer, Engineer, Voice Director and Composer at Grayson Music, one of Toronto's leading music and sound studios. Splitting his time between both Nashville and Toronto, Tyson has directed and composed on award-winning projects such as Rowan's Law, CAMH, Ford Canada, DoorDash and more of note.

With the help of his infectious personality, talent and 20+ years experience and expertise under his belt, Tyson has built an impressive body of work with recording artists across Canada and the US and with a multitude of brands.

Since joining Grayson in 2018, his passion for music, creative problem solving and love for people has made Tyson a key addition to Grayson. Tyson continues to push boundaries in music and sound both locally and south of the border.

Ian MacKellar
Executive Creative Officer
Innocean Worldwide Canada

Ian is very fortunate to be one of the most successful creative people in Canada.

While leading the creative department of BBDO, the Toronto office won the most awards in its Canadian history, won multiple Lions at Cannes, was named top Canadian agency on the Gunn Report and in the vast 200+ agency-strong BBDO Network, BBDO Toronto leapt to be the 4th most awarded in the world. 

Both as copywriter and Creative Director, Ian has consistently been ranked at the top of Strategy Magazine’s National Creative Report Card by routinely winning at Cannes, The One Show, D&AD, the Clios, Communication Arts as well as the Marketing Awards, the Cassies Awards, the Effie Awards and the Advertising & Design Club of Canada. 

Ian began his career at Cossette Communications before moving to join Roche Macaulay & Partners where he helped contribute to two Strategy Agency of the Year wins. Ian then spent twelve years at BBDO, rising through the ranks to become the agency’s ECD. After a short stint as ECD at Bensimon Byrne, Ian joined Ogilvy & Mather succeeding industry legends, Janet Kestin and Nancy Vonk as CCO. Most recently, Ian led global business at J. Walter Thompson New York.

If you were to sum up Ian’s creative philosophy, it would be this: “…the world isn’t sitting around in eager anticipation of your work, so it is imperative that you make something interesting; something beautiful and something that matters. To do anything less is wasting everyone’s time.”

Marissa Mastenbroek
Art Director, Creative Director

Marissa Mastenbroek has over two decades of agency experience at some of Canada’s best and largest agencies, some of them twice. She’s helped build a lot of brands that start with the letter T: Tweed, Target, Timex, Tide and Toyota to name a few. She’s also worked on acronyms like KFC, IBM, M&Ms, WWF and RBC. Her work has been awarded in Cannes, CA, Archive, the Clios (and, cough, the Freelancer of the Year award in 2018). But Marissa would rather reminisce about the time she finished 4th in a Canada Cup XC bike race. Her 12 year old son hopes to team up with her in the future, when they are “both in their prime.”

Julie Nikolic
Creative Director
Camp Jefferson

Julie is a Creative Director and the Director of Creative Operations at Camp Jefferson leading the Koodo, Public and CAMH accounts. She has worked as an award-winning and internationally recognized Art Director for the past 20 years at some of Toronto’s top agencies including BBDO and TAXI, for clients including Starbucks, Frito-Lay, Campbell’s, Canadian Paralympic Committee and Canadian Tire.

She’s passionate about mentoring young creatives, teaching at Miami Ad School and creating work that matters, for brands that matter.

Steve Persico
Co-CCO
Leo Burnett

Steve is the Co-CCO of Leo Burnett Canada. He has been reaching for the stars with Leo since 2005. He is a writer, builder, snacker, doodler, cleaner. His focus on creativity in all forms has helped Burnett earn an international reputation as a place for world-changing ideas. As part of Leo’s Global Product Committee, Cannes Lions judging panel and the Miami Ad School Board he has been able to share his passion for the work with many.

Naveen Srivastava
VFX Artist
the Vanity

Naveen Srivastava has created motion graphics and visual effects for thousands of commercials, broadcast design, show openings, and title sequences. In 2010, he opened theVanity with fellow VFX artist Sean Cochrane and Executive Producer Stephanie Pennington.

theVanity is one of the top VFX companies in Toronto and over the last decade Naveen and the team have worked on countless award winning campaigns domestically and internationally.

Naveen is known for high level of VFX and motion graphic design work. He works quickly to provide options and ideas while collaborating with the industries top creatives and directors.

Lulu Wei
Director, Cinematographer
FRANK

Lulu Wei is a Toronto-based director and cinematographer, who holds an MFA in Documentary Media from Ryerson University. Lulu’s work explores themes of urbanization, cultural identity and queerness. Lulu’s debut feature documentaryThere’s No Place Like This Place, Anyplacepremiered at Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival in 2020 and won a Rogers Audience Award. A broadcast TV version of the film was commissioned by the CBC and received two nominations for Best Directing and Best Writing for the 2021 Canadian Screen Awards. Lulu’s films and installations have been screened and exhibited at various festivals such as DOK.fest München, Calgary International Film Festival, Architecture and Design Film Festival, Images Festival and Inside Out Film Festival. Lulu is an inaugural recipient of the Hot Docs CrossCurrents Canada Doc Fund, Telefilm Talent to Watch Fund and the RBCXMUSIC + Prism Prize MVP Project grant.

Lulu came up in the advertising world at JWT as an in-house director. Since then Lulu has shot and directed commercials for brands such as Air Canada, Mazda, Converse, Kellogg’s and Scotiabank. Lulu has a unique voice and is passionate about on inclusivity on set while portraying honest stories from real people for a wide audience.

When it’s not a pandemic, you’ll usually find Lulu DJing at a dance party or throwing an event with New Ho Queen, the queer Asian arts collective they cofounded.

Vinit Borrison
Cinematographer
IATSE Local 667

Vinit Borrison is an award winning Director of Photography who has worked internationally for over 15 years. Vinit continues to work alongside notable directors and crews who have fostered his extensive experience and expertise in the film industry. His body of work encompasses a variety of genres including Music Videos, Commercials, Documentaries, Television Series, and Feature Films. The rich diversity of this work affirms his versatility as a cinematographer and filmmaker. Vinit has a well-established reputation for leading innovation in camera technology. He is proud to be one of the first in the country to adopt 8K Cameras, drone technology, lightweight gimbals, and virtual reality/augmented reality cameras, including proprietary systems which he created and designed. With every project, Vinit is constantly pushing boundaries with progressive technologies and adopts innovative and creative techniques resulting in groundbreaking cinematography.

Izzy Ehrlich
Editor
School

Izzy Ehrlich is an editor known for her unique point of view and when you step into her suite, you’ll notice a few things right away. The first will probably be her tattoos. The ink still drying on some, others are old and rough—but don’t let them fool you. Beneath the artwork is a disarming and a fiery soul that will light up any room. Some of her awards may catch your eye; a pride of Lions, a Clio, an AICE, ADCCs, to name a few. There will undoubtedly be a pro-looking bicycle trainer set up in the corner (she likes to ride while she renders), while photos of her punk bands and her floppy rescue pup, Millie, will conjure some great stories. Izzy’s visceral, immediate, and captivating style will prove her a strong collaborator who elevates any project to a level that leaves creatives and clients inspired. You might even feel the urge to get a tattoo…

Vicky Lam
Director, Photographer

Vicky Lam is a photographer and director who specializes in conceptual still life work.  She loves cake, shoes, invisible strings and shiny things.  A Calgarian at heart, she is now based in Toronto. Vicky has a keen eye for detail and has a love for colour and design, which is evident in all her work. She loves the challenges in bringing life to inanimate objects with her photography.  

Vicky is represented by the acclaimed Westside Studio and has been part of the roster for over 10 years.  Her vibrant photography has graced the pages of publications such as The Walrus, Reader’s Digest, The Globe and Mail, and Toronto Life Magazine. Vicky’s distinct style has led her to photograph and direct advertising campaigns for clients like Google, Amazon, Campbell’s, Ikea, Hershey’s, and Mc Donald’s to name a few. 

Jeremiah McNama
Executive Creative Director
FCB

Jeremiah is an Executive Creative Director at FCB. Prior to joining FCB in 2016, he spent a decade garnering agency experience at 72andSunny in Los Angeles, Sid Lee and Zulu Alpha Kilo, among others. His work has been recognized internationally and he helped create "We The North"  for the Toronto Raptors - a campaign that became so synonymous with the Raptors and the team’s championship win, that the City of Toronto named June 17, 2019 - “We The North Day”.

Sandy Pereira
Film Editor

Shortly after graduating from Sheridan College with a diploma in Commercial Photography, Sandy began her career as a professional advertising and editorial photographer.  She balanced the demands of the commercial jobs with her own projects, by including travel and the unique stories of people she experienced along her journeys.  Sandy Pereira’s elegant images capture a visually captivating narrative because there is a naturalism in her response to each environment or subject matter. Her clients include Sick Kids, I Am A Girl and Right to Play among others and her work has been featured in various publications from Luerzers Archive to Communication Arts.

Kathi Prosser
Director
Partners Film

Intelligent, nimble, creative and aware, Kathi is one of the new breed of directors who feasts on culture and technology, while producing a body of work that always reflects a strong visual angle. With a background in SFX and post, Kathi returned to her roots directing a stunning piece for MEDG and new technology. Her most recent contribution to Venus was shot on multiple platforms for social media.

Jason Zukowski
Colourist
REDLAB

Jason Zukowski is a colourist with a passion for film and advertising. After graduating from Confederation College’s Film Production program, Jason worked as a DP, editor, and director before finding his home as a colourist in Toronto's bustling advertising community. With over a decade in the chair and having become a go-to colourist for his following of DPs and creatives, Jason has contributed to many award winning campaigns including Sapporo, Skittles, Huggies and Land Rover.

Laura Stein
Chief Creative Officer
Bruce Mau Design

Stephanie Yung
Head of Design
Zulu Alpha Kilo

Stephanie is a self-confessed design nerd who believes great design can solve real business problems and human needs. Most recently, she spent over a decade as Director of Design at Smart Design New York, where she focused on front-end innovation and the strategic translation of brands into new products and experiences. Her clients included PepsiCo, Sephora, P&G, Under Armour and Amex. 

Stephanie’s work has been featured in top industry publications and recognized by award shows like The One Show, Cannes Lions, Communication Arts, the UX Awards, AIGA and the Fast Company Innovation by Design Awards. She’s a sought-after speaker, who’s taken part in conferences at Yale and Microsoft covering topics like inclusive design, behaviour change and designing for women.

Recently, Stephanie returned to Zulu Alpha Kilo after helping the agency early on when it rebranded Bell back in 2009. As Head of Design, Stephanie will be helping to create meaningful human-centred design solutions for all of Zulu’s clients. 

During downtime, Stephanie enjoys watching music documentaries and loves spending quality time with her young daughter – which usually involves paint and lots of clean up.

Chris Allen
Creative Director
Huge

Chris Allen has experience across multiple disciplines including brand identity, creative and art direction, packaging, interactive, and environments. He is currently a Creative Director at Huge, where he helps create experiences that transform brands, grow businesses and make people’s lives better. He’s had the pleasure of working with brands like Ballet BC, Omer Arbel and Bocci, CBC, Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts, Google, lululemon, Director X and OPPFC, Reigning Champ, Gagosian Gallery and Piloti Footwear. Along the way, he’s been lucky enough to have collaborated with photographers, illustrators, artists, and designers that he admires. He loves crafting beautiful communications and believes the best work comes from collaborating with the best people.

Prior to joining Huge he was a Creative Director at Burnkit, worked as a solo designer and was a founding member of Inventory Magazine and worked at various agencies in Vancouver. He graduated from Emily Carr University of Art + Design and BCIT with a diploma in Graphic Design.

Mo Bofill
Partner, Creative Director, Design
One Twenty Three West

Mo is the newest Partner and Creative Director, Design at 123w – one of Canada’s leading agencies. An independent idea and design collective based out of Vancouver and Toronto. In her new role, she will help expand their offering across Canada and continue to help build agency thought-leadership through the lens of Design. She believes that Design isn’t a department, it’s a way of thinking. It’s how we approach solving our client’s problems and helping them grow. Design is the tangible expression of what a brand is, and it plays a significant role in transforming brands into something people want to be a part of. 

Mo is formerly the Executive Director of Design at johnst., where she spent the last five years building the Design offering from the ground up. At john st., Mo built a growing design business with an award-winning portfolio, and led a diverse team of multidisciplinary design thinkers. Born and raised in the Philippines, and growing up in Toronto, she brings a diverse point of view that mixes her passion for design, creativity and business strategy to Canadian design.

With over a decade of experience, Mo has helped transform some of Canada’s most iconic brands from the ground up: Bell, President’s Choice, Loblaws, Home Hardware, Sleep Country, Winners, Shoppers, and Koodo to name a few. She has also helped transformed global brands like KFC, Coca-Cola, Corona, Audi, Subaru, Mitsubishi and helped them become relevant brands to Canadians. 

She is a relentless optimist; be kind, do good work, have fun, travel often, and eat more fries. 

Outside of driving business growth for her clients, her work has  also been awarded and recognized internationally by D&AD, How Design Awards, Cannes Lions, Luerzer’s Archive, Communication Arts, The Advertising & Design Club of Canada, Applied Arts, Marketing Magazine, among others.

Mo also brings leadership in community engagement. She speaks and mentors regularly through RGD (Registered Graphic Designers of Ontario) is an instructor and mentor at Miami Ad School, helping create the newly founded Design Program and is a leader on the issue of diversity in our industry. Most recently she also joined the Board of Directors of the ADCCs (Advertising & Design Club of Canada).

Luis Coderque
Head of Design, Group Creative Director
Cossette

Luis is a Spanish-Canadian graphic designer with over +15 years of experience in Branding. He has worked around the globe (Europe, Australia, now North America) for world best branding consultancies such as Saffron, Landor, and Bruce Mau Design. He brings an international global view and understanding of world-class brands. He has positioned and repositioned brands strategically in a multitude of industries including, Tech, Fashion, Sports, CPG. His work has extended beyond the development of visual brand identities, into communications, motion graphics, sonic branding and branded environments. Prior to Cossette, he spent 4 years as Creative Director at Bruce Mau Design where he led branding projects for Stellar Beauty, Coral Robots, The Kennedy Center, Unity, The Beverley Center, Blueprint, Live Organic, Pride Toronto and Nuit Blanche to name a few. As Head of Design at Cossette he oversees a team of brand designers, writers, and strategists across a variety of projects from local to international. Luis is pronounced Loo-is, but he is the first one to butcher it. He uses Shirin Yoku as a way to stay mentally healthy these days. He only eats fruit through the day until dinner, but it doesn’t qualify him as a Fruitgetarian.

Elise Cropsal
Creative Director, Design
lg2

Paddy Harrington
Founding Director
Frontier

Paddy is the founder of Frontier, a Purpose Design Office focused on collaborations, media, and products with a purpose driven performance philosophy. He has almost 20 years experience in the design field. He has degrees in literature and architecture and has worked in research, architecture, advertising, and design. Among clients he has collaborated with are PepsiCo, MaRS, Unilever, The National Arts Centre, Electronic Arts, the Holy City of Mecca, and the Fogo Island Inn in Newfoundland. He is an award winning writer and filmmaker and has spoken at several design conferences as well as at Brown, Harvard, and the Central Academy of Fine Arts in Beijing. Paddy is formerly the SVP Design Innovation and Digital Creative Director at Indigo Books and, prior to that, Executive Creative Director at Bruce Mau Design.

Justin Lortie
Founder
Wedge Design

Justin Lortie is the Founder of Wedge, an office of brand & design committed to distinct character, inspiring strategic narrative, & progressive spirit across authentic brand experiences people love. He is a graphic designer by training, entrepreneur at heart, and mountaineer on weekends who finds his greatest inspiration in nature. He has led Wedge on a path of consistent growth since 2016, with works celebrated globally by D&AD, The Dieline, Communication Arts, Tokyo Type Directors Club, New York Art Directors Club, even Architectural Digest. From campaigns for SSENSE, to rebrands for complex clients like EQ3 and Blacks Photography to designing and successfully launching DTC brands alongside passionate founders, Justin's vision of success is rooted in beliefs of value vs. volume, people over profit, progressive spirit, continual curiosity, and trust.

Stephane Monnet
President, Creative Director
Monnet Design

Stéphane Monnet is the President and Creative Director of Monnet Design and the former President of the Advertising & Design Club of Canada. Based in Toronto, Monnet Design is best known for transforming and reinvigorating cultural groups and institutions through thoughtful, dynamic and memorable design. Stéphane has guest lectured at OCAD University, was on Humber College’s Graphic Design Advisory Committee, and is currently an ADCC board member. He has received numerous awards from Canadian and international design publications and organizations including Communication Arts, The Type Director’s Club, the AIGA, the ADCC, Graphis, Applied Arts, the National Magazine Awards, and HOW Magazine.

Man Wai Wong
Group Creative Director, Design
Leo Burnett

An immigrant to Canada, having left Hong Kong for life in Vancouver, Man Wai followed her passion for design through the academic halls of York-Sheridan Design and notably the Bauhaus in Germany. Now a resident of Toronto, her pursuit of perfection in all things has seen her delve into every facet of design including the art of branding, experiences (physical & digital), environments and products.

Paulette Bluhm-Sauriol
Design & Innovation Leader
xiseverything.com

Paulette is joining us from New York with extensive experience working with Fortune 500 companies, consultancies and venture incubators to identify and develop breakthrough growth platforms that have business impact.

Paulette is Smart Design and IDEO alum – her superpowers are solving diverse problems with human-centered design expertise and cutting through complexity to reveal simple and impactful digital/physical experiences.

Most recently, Paulette has been building the in-house Design Innovation team at PepsiCo while spearheading a human-centered ‘Quick Cycle Innovation’ capability across the org, enabling and leading cross-functional teams to innovate faster, reveal opportunities for impact, and launch new growth platforms at record speed. 

Born and raised in Canada, Paulette currently lives in the Hudson Valley with her family. In her free time, Paulette usually has a renovation project in progress. Her motto: “When we run out of reno projects, it’s time to sell the house.”

Jacqueline Lane
Executive Creative Director
Public Address Studio

Jacqueline Lane is the Executive Creative Director at Public Address Studio and Design Educator at Miami Ad School, where she shares her passion of Typography to the next generation of creative minds. 

While working on projects for large global brands and small businesses alike, she is dedicated to creating meaningful concepts, strategic narratives and crafted executions. With over 15 years in the industry, her thoughtful approach is informed by her background as an award-winning designer (D&AD, Communication Arts, The Advertising & Design Club of Canada, Applied Arts, etc.) as well as by her diverse experiences working with global brands (Netflix, Oprah Winfrey Network, GE, Gillette, MGM Studios) at some of Canada’s top agencies (Bruce Mau, John St., Jackman Reinvents, Loblaw Digital).

Jacqueline is colour obsessed and is always looking for ways to inject play into her work and fun into the process. When not in design mode, you’ll find her surfing and hiking with her husband and dog. Jacqueline lives and works in Toronto.

Howard Poon
VP Design
DDB Canada

Howard has a reputation for frank feedback and has a low tolerance for complexity. He stays curious with a subscription to the Sunday New York Times and became addicted to espresso during the pandemic. As VP Design for DDB Canada (Edmonton), Howard collaborates with a cross-disciplinary agency team of strategists, creatives and designers to use insight-driven design to build exceptional brands. Over the years, his team’s work has appeared in Communication Arts, Applied Arts and has been recognized with international, national and regional awards. In 2019, DDB was recognized by Strategy Magazine as Bronze Design Agency of the Year. Howard is passionate about nurturing young talent.

Mustaali Raj
Senior Graphic Designer & Art Director

Mustaali Raj is an independent art director, graphic designer, and visual artist with a multi-disciplinary practice. Along with celebrating and advocating for diversity in the creative sector, Mustaali’s design approach centers around community building, elevating creativity and designing for social good.

He has worked alongside several reputable agencies such as Rethink, 123w, Cossette, RallyRally (and more) with projects spanning across a wide array of industries. His extensive roster of clients include Adobe, Lululemon, Lego, Nike, Fairmont Hotels, Kabam to name a few. Mustaali’s work has been internationally recognized by Instagram, Adobe, BuzzFeed, CBC, and other media outlets. He has also won numerous awards including Applied Arts, Communication Arts, GRAPHIS, HiiBrand, RGD Ultrabold (finalist), and more. Mustaali has also been invited to speak and judge at design forums such as DesignThinkers, One Show, and PICA.

Being both a third culture kid and an avid traveller, his sense of belonging extends well beyond geographic boundaries. This multi-faceted sense of belonging and experiences play an important role in exploring intersection of identities through his work.

Jessica Borges
Chief Creative Officer, Chief Strategy Officer
Maple Diversity Communications Inc

Chief Creative Officer & Chief Strategy Officer at Maple Diversity, Jessica Borges brings a wealth of international experience in multicultural insights, creative strategy, brand development, client management, and an innate ability to inspire creative excitement and inclusiveness in the teams she has worked with around the world.

Jessica describes her creative career as a global journey of discovery, from vibrant India, to the mystique of Muscat, high-flying Dubai, and Canada, where she has spent a decade in the diversity and inclusion space, reaching out to the fastest-growing consumer groups in the country.

As Creative Director at McCann and Y&R, VP Creative at Dyversity, and currently CCO & CSO at Maple Diversity, she has enjoyed connecting multicultural customers to brands like J&J, Royale, RBC, OLG, Bell, Unilever, Nestle, Coca-Cola, HSBC, Canada Post, L’Oreal, GM, The Princess Margaret Cancer Foundation, and WelcomePack Canada, among others. She has been recognised at award shows like the Effies, New York Festivals, Cresta, The Marketing Awards, SIA, Namic, Abbies and CAG.

Jessica has been invited to speak at the Toronto Public Library during Asian heritage Month, published in Canadian anthologies ‘Canadian Voices’ and ‘Indian Voices’, has conducted ‘creative thinking’, ‘media literacy’, and ‘interactive storytelling’ workshops in Toronto schools, and has been a judge and panelist at multicultural conferences, the Marketing Awards, and will be on the Executive Jury representing Canada at the 2021 Gerety Awards, a diverse way of celebrating global work with a 100% female jury.

Excited about all things digital, she has completed a Digital Marketing Management program at the University of Toronto, even as she works on her novel and children’s short stories.

Bobby Sahni
Partner & Co-Founder
Ethnicity Matters

Bobby Sahni is a veteran and thought-leader in the multicultural marketing and advertising industry. Bobby was the Head of Multicultural Marketing at Rogers Communications and has been a pioneer in developing, executing and managing diversity and multicultural marketing initiatives for a number of best-in-class organizations. He is Co-Founder and Partner at Ethnicity Matters - a multicultural marketing & advertising agency dedicated to helping companies drive new growth and sales by engaging North America’s fast growing, big spending ethnic and new immigrant communities. 

Bobby has earned national and international recognition for his work and thought leadership. Bobby also loves teaching, having guest-lectured at many universities and regularly speaks at industry events and conferences across North America. Bobby has also served a variety of advisory boards including Imagine Canada, Seva Food Bank, Road Hockey to Conquer Cancer and Credit Valley Conservation Foundation. Most recently, Bobby was elected to the Hockey Canada Board of Directors and is on a mission to help grow the game of hockey for all Canadians. Bobby earned his MBA from the global Kellogg-Schulich Executive MBA program with cross-cultural studies in Hong Kong, Germany, Miami, Chicago and Toronto. He also holds a Bachelor of Science & Business degree from the University of Waterloo. 

Anthony Cheng
VP, Strategy
Focus Communications

Anthony has over 25 years of brand marketing, advertising and communications experience. Prior to joining Focus, he held the position of Managing Partner at Crimson Advertising. Anthony possesses extensive experience in account management and strategic planning. He has strong track record in helping such major corporate clients as Rogers, Bell, TD, CIBC, P&G, Unilever, across different sectors developed and executed successful multi-cultural marketing campaigns. Anthony also has extensive not-for-profit marketing experience. He was Senior Manager Ethnic Markets at the Heart and Stroke Foundation. He has also worked with organizations such as the United Way of Greater Toronto, Mon Sheong Foundation etc.  In recent years, Anthony has played an active role in ethnic digital strategies and has developed and executed many successful campaigns for clients.

Joycelyn David
CEO
AV Communications

Joycelyn David began her career in marketing in as a freelance web designer. Over her 20-year career on the client/brand side, Joycelyn rose to the top becoming the first Filipino-Canadian business and product marketing leader for the Western Union company in Canada. In 2019, she tossed her hat into the entrepreneurship ring, pulling up stakes to lead AV Communications. Today, Joycelyn and her team are focused on amplifying the voices of multicultural audiences across North America with clients such as BMO Financial, Canon, Canada Goose, Guerlain, H&M Canada, Nissan and Western Union.

Sharifa Khan
President & CEO
Balmoral Multicultural Marketing

Sharifa has more than 30 years of experience in multicultural marketing in Canada and is considered a pioneer of this industry,

At Balmoral, Sharifa leads a team of seasoned ethnic marketing professionals to guide corporate and government clients, in building culturally relevant communications for multicultural consumers across Canada.

Her motto is “Building Bridges of Understanding”. She is a maestro in putting a cultural lens to strategy and brands, to drive considerations and solidify relationships between mainstream and these ever-growing market segments.

Sharifa was awarded a federal recognition from Prime Minister Jean Chrétien for her entrepreneurial success. She was the recipient of 2013 RBC Top 25 Canadian Immigrant Award. She was amongst the Top 10 Woman of Influence (Trailblazer) in 2018. She was also a recipient of both the Gold and Diamond Jubilee Awards in 2002/2012 as the trailblazer of her industry.

She has led her agencies in winning numerous metals at the Cassie, the Strategy Marketing Awards and the Summit International Awards for OLG, BMW, Canada Life, Ottawa Tourism and Clorox.

She has been on the advisory board of Ontario Media Development Corporation, is an Honorary Advisory of the Chinese Cultural Centre of Greater Toronto, on the Board of Governors of Mount Sinai Hospital and an immediate past Vice-Chair of OCAD University.

Ali Khasami
Account Supervisor
Monsoon Communications

Ali Khasami could easily have been a copywriter but his passion for strategic thinking, data management and the digital world took him to client management and account servicing. He is a passionate advocate of multicultural marketing at Monsoon Communications where he manages Air Canada, Freedom Mobile and Shaw Communications. Ali’s experience goes back 15 years to India where he worked with a number of global agencies including Ogilvy and Bates, working on brands like Vodafone, Coca-Cola and Unilever. 

Following a strong grounding in account management and new business development, Ali continues to be vocal about the need to match powerful creative ideas with strategy that brings results. He is passionate about giving brands a “multicultural voice” in Canada’s changing demographics.

In Ali’s work ethic, there is no end to learning. He has recently added a Certificate in Social Media Management from George Brown College. His academic qualification also includes B. Com (Honours) from Calcutta University.

Elsa Lai
Principal
BlueSky Creative

Elsa has over 20 years of experience in the multicultural advertising industry. Her strong cultural insights and original creative thinking help her scored remarkable results for her clients, such as TD Bank, Porsche Canada, Koodo Mobile, Public Mobile, Egg Farmers of Canada, Coca-Cola, Nordstrom, Concord Pacific Group, Petro-Canada, General Motors, McDonald’s, Walmart, Rogers and Bell.

She was also the recipient of numerous advertising awards like Multicultural Marketing Awards, Summit Creative Awards, BILD Awards, and over 50 CCAMMA and VCAMMA Awards including best of show, best TV campaign, best radio campaign and best print campaign.

Prior to establishing her creative consulting business, Elsa was the Group Director at Koo – the multicultural division of Cossette, leading its creative, account management, media and production teams in achieving, and often over-delivering, the goals of the agency and its clients. 

During downtime, she can be found creating and sharing cartoons to help spread smiles and positivity. 

Bhupesh Luther
Creative Group Head & Art Director
Barrett and Welsh

Bhupesh is an award-winning art director with over 30 years of experience. From VP Creative at JWT in New Delhi to his current home at Barrett and Welsh in Toronto, his signature art direction style has been recognized at multiple award shows including Cannes, One Show, Graphis and the New York Festival. His portfolio includes brands such as P&G, TD Canada Trust, Shaw Cable, Creative Spirit Art Centre, Easter Seal Society, and Wildrift Adventures. 

A man of few words, Bhupesh let's his work do the talking – through experiments with typography, keen eye for compelling photography, passion for good design and obsessive attention to detail. During these quarantining days, you can usually find him out on a trail with his miniature dachshund, Miró and a camera in his hand.

Jacky Phua
Art Director
Captus Advertising

Jacky is a visionary, avid daydreamer, dedicated artist and father of two who has been part of the Captus team since day one. As one of the agency’s senior art directors, and with over 15 years of experience under his belt, Jacky creates and directs a wide range of projects for all of Captus’ blue-chip clients. He excels at turning ideas, no matter how simple or complex, into reality. Conscientious and imaginative, Jacky has helped many clients actualize their aspirations through print, digital and OOH campaigns.

Born in Malaysia, Jacky speaks three languages, an incredible asset in the multicultural marketing field. With his keen and curious eyes, Jacky spends his spare time to follow his passion in photography and videography to capture the moments that matters.

Kate Zhao
Copy Director & Senior Content Producer
Hamazaki Wong Marketing Group

Words and characters, characters and words. For Kate, they are synonymous like the mellifluous flow of life. With an abundance mindset, Kate sees life like a box of chocolates full of variety and meant to be eaten in anticipation of the next box, all while maintaining her slim figure! Her career has exclusively been in the domain of written communications. Recently, she was a journalist with one of Canada’s leading Chinese dailies, where she did editing, proofreading, and creating page layouts. This nimbleness has resulted in a style consonant with today’s traditional and digital media. With a BA in Journalism (Ji Nan University) and a Masters in Communication Studies (University of Windsor), Kate’s North American-Asian sensibilities are acute — skills that she hones as an avid reader and equal opportunity shopper. In addition to copywriting, Kate aims to also develop her skills in coding without the requisite geekiness.