Marketing Awards ★ 2025 Jury ★

Jordan Doucette
Chief Creative Officer
McCann

Brian Murray
Chief Creative Officer
Zulu Alpha Kilo

Brian Murray is Chief Creative Officer at Zulu Alpha Kilo in Toronto. Brian has been ranked the #1 Creative in Canada multiple times on the One Show rankings and the #2 Chief Creative Officer in Canada on the Strategy Magazine Creative Report Card.

Brian has worked in both Toronto, CAN, and London, UK, alongside many talented people, and is one of the only creative directors in the country to have won multiple Cannes Lions Grand Prix trophies.

He was a key contributor to a Grand Clio in Creative Effectiveness, a One Show Best in Discipline in Creative Effectiveness and a Penta Pencil.

Also, Brian has an MBA from the Rotman School of Management, University of Toronto. (Advertising is a business after all.)

Marie-Eve Best
ECD, Brand Storytelling
LG2

Marie-Eve is known for being a versatile brand-builder who is well-versed in brand writing, design, advertising, content and digital. She has collaborated with local (Fonds de solidarité FTQ, Éco Entreprise Québec, Tourisme Montréal) national (Desjardins, RBC, Public Mobile, Riviera), and international brands (Sephora, Nespresso, L’Oréal, Maybelline, Essie, Breville) on wide-ranging mandates that include 360 campaigns, digital platform re-designs, immersive activations, content strategies and visual identity transformations. She is known for her ability to mobilize teams from varying expertises around a common goal and to think outside the box so that brands can coherently and creatively bring their unique stories to life over time. At LG2 since 2022, she now puts her diverse experience to work as an Executive Creative Director focused on Brand Storytelling.

Anthony Chelvanathan
Global Creative Partner, CCO
Edelman

As Global Creative Partner and Chief Creative Officer at Edelman Canada, Anthony spearheads creative innovation and strategic direction amongst the team of Canadian creatives. Prior to taking his current position, Anthony served as Executive Creative Director at Leo Burnett.

Anthony has earned global acclaim, winning over 500 international accolades including more than 80 Cannes Lions recognitions and multiple Grand Prixes from various international award shows. Notably, Anthony was a driving force behind Dove’s Keep the Grey campaign and the IKEA project ‘Cook This Page’. A first for any PR agency in the country, Anthony led Edelman Canada to their first ever Gold win at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity for Ikea’s Secondhand Tax (SHT) campaign.

Along the way, he’s participated as a jury member and coach in numerous judging panels and mentorship programs, becoming the first judge to represent Cannes Lions in Sri Lanka and representing Canada on numerous occasions.

When he’s not unleashing juggernaut creative ideas onto the world Anthony can be found in his kitchen, treating his friends to his latest spicy curry recipe.

Vini Dalvi
CCO
Publicis

Vini Dalvi’s 15+ year advertising career spans Brazil, Italy, the UK, and Canada. A former Wieden + Kennedy copywriter and TBWA/Media Arts Lab Creative Director, he’s led campaigns for Apple, Heineken, and Diesel, earning the very awards he was told he had to win at the start of his career.

Pam Danowski
Creative Director
GUT

Pam Danowski is a Creative Director at GUT Toronto. Throughout her career, she has
worked on campaigns for Dove, American Express, Huggies, Kotex, Pizza Hut,
Mike’s Hard Lemonade, and Tim Hortons.

Her work has been recognized by Cannes, D&AD, One Show, Clios, Communication
Arts, The Marketing Awards, and more. In 2021, the One Club named her one of the
Next Creative Leaders.

When she isn’t coming up with ideas, Pam loves to indulge in terrible reality TV and
hang out with her dog, who may (or may not) be named after a reality TV star.

Skye Deluz
Creative Director
Broken Heart Love Affair

Skye Deluz is a Creative Director/Art Director with nearly 10 years of experience. Within her time in the industry, Skye has been awarded top honours at nearly every local and global award show, including a Gold Lion at Cannes on her recent campaign, Heinz “Ketchup Fraud”. Before joining Broken Heart Love Affair, Skye worked at Rethink with award-winning experience on brands such as IKEA, Kraft Heinz, Nestle, Scotiabank, YWCA, WestJet and Molson. Skye was also recently an instructor at Miami Ad School and a guest speaker on panels such as the ADCC Craft Club Panel and Applied Arts Speaker Series.

Hemal Dhanjee
Creative Director
Courage

Hemal Dhanjee is a Creative Director at Courage, one of Canada's fastest-growing independent creative agencies. With over 100+ awards to his name, he has won top honours at nearly every major advertising award show, including multiple Webbys, Cannes Lions, Clios, and One Show Golds.

In 2024, Strategy Magazine recognized him as the #1 Copywriter in Canada. The previous year, he and his partner Steve Ierullo were featured by ADWEEK as two of the most innovative and visionary talents across marketing, media and culture. By seamlessly connecting brands to culture, Hemal's work has helped push the boundaries of Canadian advertising, all while delivering impactful results to his clients’ business.

Graham Lang
Chief Creative Officer
VML

From Cape Town to London to Toronto, Graham has chased creativity across the globe. He has led creative departments at agencies such as The Jupiter Drawing Room, Saatchi & Saatchi, Y&R, TBWA, TAXI and now VML. He has earned numerous Agency of the Year accolades. His work has been awarded at Cannes Lions, D&AD, The One Show, Clio Awards, The Effie Awards and beyond. Graham is a multidisciplinary maker and has applied his craft to iconic brands such as Land Rover, Red Bull, P&G, Guinness, Nissan, Apple, VW and Coca-Cola. Graham believes that creativity is a force for good and has worked closely with organizations such as Operation Smile, Surf Shack and most recently the Canadian Women’s Foundation where he created “Signal for Help”, an internationally recognized hand gesture for domestic abuse. Graham is the CCO for VML Canada and leads creative across Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver.

Jack Latulippe
VP, Creative
Havas

Jack is Creative Leader with Global Experience, and is currently Chief Creative Officer at Havas Creative Canada. His holistic approach has helped redefine his clients’ stories in meaningful ways. He has been having fun at some of the most important agencies in North America, including Lg2, Sid Lee, Anomaly, and more recently, No Fixed Address, as Chief Creative Officer and Partner. In these agencies, he honed his craft on international campaigns for Cirque du Soleil, Bombardier Recreational Products (Can Am, Spyder, Seadoo, Skidoo), Labatt (Budweiser, Bud Light, Shock Top, Stella Artois, Hoegaarden), Virgin Radio, Converse, Nike, Adidas, and Hershey’s. Jack is a board member of NABS Canada, a charitable organization that supports professionals in the communications and marketing industry in Canada, and he is a co-author of a successful cookbook.

Marty Martinez
Chief Creative Officer
Tank

With over 20 years of experience in advertising, Marty combines outstanding creativity with superior knowledge of the industry and constantly pushes the boundaries of creativity by bringing together art and science to inform work that will drive human impact and behavior change.

Marty serves as the CCO of TANK Worldwide, where his creative vision since joining in 2015 has helped TANK become a global leader in the health and wellness space today with offices in New York, Toronto, London, and Montréal. TANK has become one of WPP’s fastest-growing agencies, driven by Marty’s creative teams that are reinventing the role of health/wellness agencies by crafting ambitious, impactful stories.

His work has spanned the globe and won numerous awards along the way across Cannes, the LIA’s, The One Show, The Webby Awards, Clio Health, the Lisbon Health Awards, New York Festivals, the Anthem Awards, Epica Awards, Applied Arts, the Rx Awards, and
Communication Arts.

Marty has sat on multiple juries including the LIA’s inaugural pharma jury, Cannes Lions Health & Wellness jury, The One Show, Young Lions, The Webby Awards, Clio Health, New York Festivals Health, the Lisbon Health Awards, the Anthem Awards, the Marketing Awards, the MM+M Awards and the Rx Awards.

Mentoring young creatives is not limited to Marty’s own agency – he annually participates as a coach in LIA’s Creative LIAisons program.

Marty is also highly sought-after as a guest speaker, drawing on his extensive expertise to offer valuable insights and strategies. His passion for all forms of artistic expression makes him a unique creator who stands out for his ability to solve a problem by turning an idea into a beautiful piece of work that can positively impact human lives.

Katie Muir
Co-CEO, Co-Founder
Heads+Tales

With over 16 years of experience in the marketing communications industry, Katie has spent her career developing strategic communications programs, building profile and managing crises for some of the world’s leading brands. Katie brings a combination of methodical process and creative thinking to every challenge, helping clients develop strategic, integrated programs to elevate brands, engage consumers and drive business results.

In January 2023, Katie launched Heads+Tales with partner Amanda Shuchat, with the vision of transforming the agency model. In its first year and a half, Heads+Tales has demonstrated remarkable growth touting 15 employees and a roster of high-profile clients including Canada Goose, GreenShield, Endy, Humber River Health, Boston Pizza and Toronto Holocaust Museum.

A seasoned communicator, Katie is committed to driving conversation rooted in consumer insights, resulting in five Agency of the Year wins and multiple Cannes Lions. Having spent her career at a number of Canada’s top PR agencies, Katie has counselled global brands across a variety of disciplines including, PepsiCo Foods, P&G, Sephora Canada, Loblaws and IBM.

Outside of work, Katie is the mom of two boys. When she’s not in the hockey arena or on the baseball diamond, you can find her in the kitchen working on her second passion and side hustle - cookie business, @sugarbykatie.

Gail Pak
ECD, Art Director
Freelance

Gail is an internationally awarded creative whose work has been celebrated at The One Show, Communication Arts, Cannes, ADCC, LIA, Applied Arts, and more. Gail started her career as an Art Director at Maclaren McCann, and has worked for some of the world’s most renowned creative agencies such as Ogilvy & Mather, Leo Burnett, Crispin Porter + Bogusky, Zulu Alpha Kilo, and more. As an expert on craft and creativity, Gail now teaches at Miami Ad School and OCAD University, and freelances.

Rose Sauquillo
CD, Senior Art Director
Freelance

Laurent Abesdris
ECD
ZeroTrillion

Laurent is a seasoned entrepreneur, agency executive and creative director with a knack for producing groundbreaking, brand defining work; work that not only impacts the bottom line, but affects the culture. Before taking the reigns at Zerotrillion Toronto, Laurent helped launch Juliet Creative, one of Canada’s top independent advertising agencies. He also spent time at some pretty fantastic shops including JWT Toronto, Sid Lee, Cossette and TBWA/Juniper Park.

As a writer and creative leader, Laurent has helped bring award-winning projects to life for brands like Sobeys, Canadian Cancer Society, Moroccan Oil, Tim Hortons, Mazda, McDonald’s, Frito-Lay and Hotels.com. His work has been recognized nationally and internationally by Cannes Lions, OneShow, D&AD, Clios, ADC, FWA and Communication Arts to name a few.

Katie Ainsworth
Creative Director, Writer
Ainsworth

Katie started her career as a junior writer at Cossette back when Smash Mouth was a popular band. She then took on increasingly senior roles at top agencies including BBDO, TBWA, Rethink, Grey, Cossette (again), and DDB, before going freelance. With an ability to bring strategies to life in honest and unexpected ways, Katie has created intelligent integrated campaigns across practically every product or service category. Her work has been recognized by a long list of international and national award shows. Highlights include The One Show, Communication Arts and, of course, The Marketing Awards. Katie has a Bachelor of Arts in Germanic Studies and European History from the University of Victoria. She 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.

Nadia Beale
President
MSL Group

I oversee MSL's (Publicis Groupe’s PR agency) daily operations and led its transformation into one of Canada’s most respected communications agencies. With a track record of uninterrupted growth at the company over several years, I have demonstrated how earned media, social media and influencer marketing can enrich a business and its reputation; and contribute to tangible growth.

My passion for pushing the boundaries of PR and elevating it into a true strategic advantage for brands has put me at the forefront of some of this country’s most innovative and iconic campaigns from organizations like P&G, Walmart, WKKC (formerly Kelloggs), Amazon and Indigo.

As a deeply committed community advocate, I launched our community giving practice—MSL Cares—that brings our team together to back to local causes while volunteering our time as a collective.

Gui Bermejo
VP, Creative Director
TBWA

Originally from Brazil, Guilherme moved to Canada in 2009 and quickly made his mark in advertising. By 2010, he was at TBWA, contributing to its rise as one of the country’s top 5 most creative agencies. In 2015, he joined Zulu Alpha Kilo, and just a year later, the agency earned AdAge’s Small Agency of the Year—becoming the first outside the U.S. to win the honor.

Gui’s work has earned global recognition, with a One Show Gold Pencil and accolades from Cannes, Clios, and Communication Arts. At home, AMI print campaign dominated the ADCCs as the most awarded work of the year. Few years later, his campaigns won multiple Golds at the Marketing Awards, showcasing his ability to pair creative innovation with commercial success.

Notable projects include the viral short film “Say No to Spec”, which sparked conversations about the culture of pitch work, and Cineplex Entertainment’s rebranding campaigns. Short films like “Lily & the Snowman” and “A Balloon for Ben” garnered over 100 million views worldwide, connecting audiences with heartfelt storytelling.

Throughout his career, Guilherme has worked with brands like Nissan, Gatorade, McDonald’s, Corona, Visa, and more, always striving to combine creativity with purpose.

Matt Bielby
Creative Director & Partner
Here Be Monsters

Matt co-founded Here Be Monsters in 2017 after working at TAXI, Rethink and Grey Worldwide.

Here Be Monsters builds brand belief for groups like Interchange Recycling, Denizen, the Province of BC, Nature’s Fare Markets, Canterbury Coffee, Vancouver Coastal Health and UBC Properties. In 2023, his team launched n0thing, a fundraising system and agency self-promotion brand, to help charities in BC for the holidays.

Matt’s work has been internationally awarded at Cannes Lions, the Clios, Communication Arts, Graphis and nationally at the Marketing Awards, ADCC, Applied Arts and RGD, plus his work has been featured in the New York Times and Globe and Mail.

Jake Bundock
Creative Director

Noella Choi
ACD
FCB/SIX

Art Director, Photographer, Musician, hot chocolate lover. Noella is a strong believer that beautiful design must work hand in hand with user experience — that one cannot be sacrificed for the other. Always on the lookout for new trends and tech, she has built her career around crafting meaningful consumer connections and digital experiences through the creative use of data and emerging technologies.

She has won numerous awards for clients such as Volkswagen, Kraft, and notably the ‘me too.’ Act Too campaign—for which she received AToMic Gold in Best Digital Engagement, Bronze Clio in Digital/Mobile, and Silver Lion in Creative Data

Emma Cusson
Creative Director & Partner
1Milk2Sugars

Emma Cusson is a Creative Director and Partner at 1Milk2Sugars.

Communications, and a global rising star in marketing. Her journey began in New York with a coveted internship at Paper Magazine. She then moved to Montreal, joining C2 International– owned by the renowned creative agency Sid Lee. Emma's PR and Marketing career truly took off at Zak Com in 2016, where she led high-profile accounts such as Marc Jacobs Beauty, Sally Hansen, Sephora, and WeWork.

Emma was then invited to join 1Milk2Sugars to help shape the future of PR and storytelling for its clients. Her multidisciplinary marketing expertise has driven the agency's impressive growth, attracting global names such as e.l.f. Beauty, Nivea, Rare Beauty, and Keurig Dr.Pepper. She has been instrumental in transitioning the agency towards a digital-first approach to PR.

In 2022, Emma became an equity partner at 1Milk2Sugars, joining forces with Founder & CEO Priya Chopra and President Ruth Goudie. Together, this powerhouse leadership trio has propelled 1M2S to the forefront of the industry, earning recognition as PR Net’s 2024 Canadian Agency of the Year. Under their strategic direction, the agency has expanded beyond Canada, marking a major milestone with its recent U.S. expansion through the acquisition of a boutique PR firm—broadening its impact across North America.

Mike deLima
VP, Group Creative Director
Klick

With over a decade of experience at the intersection of creativity and healthcare, Mike has been
a key creative member in crafting campaigns that not only capture attention but also drive
meaningful change at Klick. Known for pushing pharma’s expectations both internally and
externally, Mike has been instrumental in transforming Klick into a creative powerhouse for
Direct-to-Consumer and Healthcare Professional campaigns around the world.

In the last five years at Klick, Mike has spearheaded numerous award-winning campaigns that
have garnered international acclaim, including recognition at Cannes, One Show, MM&M,
PM360, and The Creative Floor Awards. In 2020, Mike made history as Klick’s first honoree on
MM+M’s prestigious 40 under 40 list, a testament to their trailblazing influence in the industry.
Beyond the accolades, Mike is recognized for a unique ability to inspire and recruit top-tier
creative talent. Leveraging a deep understanding of both traditional advertising and healthcare,
Mike has successfully attracted some of the brightest minds from outside the healthcare sector,
infusing fresh perspectives into Klick’s creative teams.

In addition to local success, Mike has played a pivotal role in globalizing Klick’s creative
process. From film production to global productions, Mike’s strategic and innovative approaches
have been pivotal in launching globally resonant campaigns, ensuring that Klick’s creative
footprint extends far beyond North American borders.
Mike’s work is not just about creativity; they are about impact. Based in Toronto, Mike is driven
by a passion for using creativity to leave a lasting mark on the world. Whether through a
powerful campaign that shifts public perception or by mentoring the next generation of creative
leaders, Mike is deeply committed to making a difference—one project, one idea, one
breakthrough at a time.

When Mike isn’t reshaping the creative landscape at Klick, you might find him composing his
own music — some of which has even ended up in a commercial or two.

Jean-Philippe Dugal
Creative Director, Art
NFA

Jean-Philippe’s career can be summed up in one word: passion. As a mulit-disciplinary creative, he’s as passionate about the tiny details of crafting a perfect logo, packaging design system or film colour grade as he is about finding big conceptual ideas and uncovering the limitless possibilities for positive change through creativity. His career began in 2008, when he was hired as one of the first employees at fashion-focused design studio TUX, helping to craft many of their early award-winning projects like Dermablend’s “Zombie Boy”, winning the agency’s first Cannes Lion. He then moved to lg2, where he continued to win international awards for diverse clients like Gender Creative Kids, Le Diamant, Québec Cinéma, the Musée des beaux-arts de Montréal and full rebrands of Hydro Québec and Montréal’s Parc Olympique. He was named to the 30 under 30 club by Infopresse in 2016, served on the board of Montréal’s Gay Village and continued to be recognized by national and international juries, winning multiple times in both the advertising and design categories at Cannes, One Show, Clio, LIA, ADC, ADCC, the Webbys and more. After almost ten years at lg2 he joined the independent agency No Fixed Address as Creative Director and Designer, where his passion for design and advertising is already picking up more international recognition. As a francophone Quebecker working in an anglophone Canadian agency, he brings a distinct cultural perspective and design sensibility to his work, ensuring it engages all Canadians equally.

Germán Gonzales
Associate Creative Director
We Are Social

German Gonzales is an Associate Creative Director at We Are Social Toronto. He is an international award-winning creative with a background in digital media, social platforms, and integrated campaigns. For more than ten years, German has worked with global brands like Diageo LATAM & Canada, Paramount+, Prime Video, Scotiabank, PlayStation, Under Armour, and Mattel, creating culturally relevant campaigns that seamlessly merge creativity with strategic human insights.

German has collaborated with global teams across multiple markets, including Peru, Argentina, Colombia, and Canada. His agency background includes Wunderman Thompson, McCann, Digitas, Narrative PR, and We Are Social.

David Houghton
Chief Creative Officer & Founder
Unofficial Worldwide

A veteran of 25 years in the advertising industry, David has worked as an art director and writer at BBDO, Cossette, Leo Burnett, FCB, Ogilvy and Saatchi & Saatchi. He has extensive experience leading global brands including Pepsi, Campbell’s, Toyota, Sperry, Deloitte and Canada Tourism. He is currently Chief Creative Officer at Unofficial, a visionary brand-building firm, and Creative Director at Agentiiv, Canada's first hybrid AI consultancy.

David’s work has been recognized with over 100 awards for creativity at Cannes, the One Show, the International Broadcast Awards, the London International Awards, the New York Festivals, the Marketing Awards, the Advertising & Design Club of Canada and the Graphis Annual.

David is an avid cyclist who has pedalled through nearly 80 countries, including Madagascar, Mongolia, Tasmania, India and Central America. He has participated in the Tour d’Afrique (12,000 km), the Tour du Canada (7,500 km), the Race Across America (5,000 km) and the Doomsday Ride (3,500 km).

Stephanie Kochorek
Co-Founder, CEO
Daughter Creative

Stephanie is the Co-Founder and CEO at Daughter, one of Canada’s top creative and design agencies. Daughter has been widely recognized by many major industry awards, including Strategy Magazine’s Small and Design Agency of the Year Awards, Strategy Magazine’s 2023 Creative Report Card, and Institute of Canadian Agencies Creative Power List. Daughter’s client list includes many of Canada’s notable businesses, such as Calgary Economic Development, Benevity, University of Victoria, The Calgary Cancer Centre, Transalta, and SAIT. In addition to her work with these organizations, Stephanie has collaborated with prominent Canadian commercial development and real estate companies, including Anthem United, West Creek, and Batistella. She is also on the Board of Directors for Long View, one of North America’s largest privately-owned IT companies, and the Ssubi Foundation, a not-for-profit that supports children's education in Uganda.

Meghan Kraemer
Co-Founder, Executive Creative Director
Hard Work Club

Meghan is Co-Founder and Executive Creative Director of Hard Work Club, leading a daring team that believes grit makes great. As a creative, her work is highly-crafted yet deeply human, capturing resonant insights in full technicolor. As an entrepreneur, she is heavily-caffeinated, relentlessly building an audaciously kind yet creatively wild corporate culture.

Before founding HWC, Meghan rose the ranks at one of Canada’s oldest independent agencies, creating work for a few of the world’s biggest brands. She holds degrees from OCADU (BDes, Advertising) and Wilfrid Laurier University (BArts, Fine Arts & Communication Studies.)

Her work has been awarded internationally (LIA, Clio, D&AD, One Show) and featured in the pages of countless publications - among them, Forbes and Fast Company.

She is an equal rights advocate for self-identified women and mothers in business, and “Mommm” to two indomitable young daughters.

Ed Lea
Creative Director, Art Director
Freelance

As a veteran of the industry a wealth of experience has been amassed across many

categories and disciplines. From brand building to quick turn around tactical work.

Achieved success with clients in the financial sector, service industry, retail and

packaged goods sectors while winning awards like Applied Arts, Extra, Marketing &

Cannes to name a few. Work on Cheerios, MultiGrain Cheerios, Nature Valley and Old

El Paso, among others, helped General Mills' win Marketing Magazine's Marker of the

Year for 2014.

Lena Lee
Associate Creative Director, Art Director
Saatchi & Saatchi

With 15 years of experience in creative, Lena’s career has involved working with some of the biggest marketers and brands in the world including Toyota, Mondelez, Haleon and TikTok. Her work has been featured and awarded in The One Show, ADCC, Bessies, CMA, FWA, and Applied Arts. At work, she is a dedicated mentor and creative. However, Lena loves to flex her creative muscles outside of work as well with visual art projects that span design, illustration, and sculptural mediums.

Allan Mah
Creative Director, Art Director
Freelance

Greetings fellow Ad Nerds. Did you know that like a lot of other judges, Allan Mah is also an international award-winning Art Director | Creative Director that has worked with some of the best agencies in Canada? His work has been celebrated and talked about for decades. He’s helped businesses thrive, built brands from the ground up, and influenced culture. Don’t get him started about the importance of craft. He’s the IKEA “Start the Car!” co-creator - that ad that ran for two decades all over the planet - who just happens to be a regular guy that loves making great ideas and a solid eight hours of sleep.

Cristina Markham
Associate Creative DIrector
FUSE Create

Cristina is a writer at heart, and an Associate Creative Director by trade. With nearly 15 years experience in the industry, she’s spent the last 6 years at Toronto-based indie agency, FUSE Create. With a background in stand-up comedy and improv, Cristina believes that a great creative idea and a great joke have a lot in common; both present you with an idea or a concept you know to be true, but invite you to consider it in a new light or from a new perspective.

She’s an unapologetic pun lover, a defender of dad jokes, and a tireless crusader for the Oxford comma. Her work has been recognized by the NACs, the Marketing Awards, the CMAs, and the Media Innovation Awards, to name a few.

Ryan Mcneill
Creative Director
DonerNorth

Ryan McNeill is a Creative Director at DonerNorth whose career has spanned many agencies across Canada including Push in Calgary, Colour in Halifax, Lowe Roche, Union, and Grey in Toronto. His work for brands on Salvation Army, ALS Canada, Volvo, WSIB, and Union has earned him national and international recognition.

Residing in Hamilton, Ryan can often be found cheering on the Tiger-Cats with his son—or enjoying a beer on the back deck, reminiscing about his years as a Gunner in the Canadian Armed Forces.

Anton Mwewa
Associate Creative Director
Diamond

Tekla Nagel
Associate Creative Director
Ogilvy

Tekla is a copywriter who has spent the past 15 years working in both Toronto and Halifax at agencies you’ve heard of and ones you haven’t.

Her passion for storytelling, film and comedy have served her well – and helped her pick up a few awards - on clients like TD Bank, Bell, WWF, McDonalds and Tim Hortons.

Tekla loves work that meets at the intersection of insight-driven and unexpectedly executed. She also loves telling people her name is pronounced take-la.

Adam Notzl-Keyser
VP, ECD & Copywriter
Angry Butterfly

Adam is a leader who's all about people. The agency people he works with, who he passionately helps do brilliant things. The client people whose business problems give him exciting opportunities to provide important solutions. And the audience people whose lives are impacted (and hopefully improved) by his ideas.

This has been Adam’s approach for the nearly 20 years he’s been in the industry. Most recently, he’s been helping the emerging independent agency gain notoriety on the world stage, with projects like “Next to Stok’d”, while also helping to grow their client roster, with wins including Porsche Canada and Gibson’s Finest.

In the many (many) years before that, Adam’s had many exciting opportunities to work on tasty brands like Taco Bell and McDonald’s, Canadian brands like Rogers, Canadian Tire and TD, and fun brands like Jems Condoms and Lubriderm. Adam obsessively pursues the perfect expression of every idea in his writing and his work. On top of that, he’s a powerfully optimistic and empathetic leader and mentor, helping writers find their voice, grow their creative abilities and discover the joy of doing excellent work.

Karen Oakley
Associate Creative Director, Copywriter
BIMM

Karen is an award-winning ACD whose career began in a small town in Quebec where she was convinced that her pastimes of creating weird songs and other assorted nonsense meant she could be perfectly primed for a career in advertising. She had no idea what she was getting into, but (too many to say) years later, here she is. She’s enjoyed the privilege of working with some of Canada’s finest agencies and brands, including Nestlé, GSK, Amazon, Life360, Home Hardware, Heart & Stroke, Church’s chicken, FIGR, and Volkswagen. In her work and in life, she prides herself on creating real connections and making a positive impact.

Vinay Parmar
Creative Director
Anomaly

With a career spanning 14+ years, Vinay Parmar is currently a Creative Director and Writer at Anomaly Toronto. His work has been recognized by a host of organizations, including Cannes Lions, One Show, The Clios and SXSW. And when he's not working, he's focused on his most rewarding project: raising his two young kids.

Erin Richards
Founder
Hype PR

Prior to starting Hype, Erin led entertainment and sports publicity efforts for CBC.

She has handled epic Olympic campaigns for Canadian Tire, landed the first-ever Knix ambassadors, launched purpose-driven athlete-led influencer campaigns for Special Olympics Canada, represented names like Penny Oleksiak, and produced content creator events and red-carpets on behalf of brands like eOne and TIFF.

Erin thrives on a challenge and is deeply invested in strategy and data and analytics as they apply to media and influencer marketing.

Jess Richards
Creative Director
Citizen Relations

Ryan Speziale
Creative Director
The Hive

Ryan is an award-winning creative director at The Hive with over 13 years of advertising and design experience. He’s helped craft campaigns for some of the world’s largest brands—with clients including Adidas, Volkswagen, MLB, and the Canadian Olympic Committee. His work has been recognized by Cannes, ADC, The One Show, ADCC, The Webbys, and more.

Ryan started his career as an art director at Lowe Roche and has worked for other notable agencies such as DDB and Sid Lee.

To help the next generation of creatives, Ryan often holds guest-speaking spots for Mohawk College’s advertising program in his hometown of Hamilton, Ontario. But really, it’s just an excuse to go back to college and feel young again.

Angela Sung
CD

Neil Walker-Wells
Founder, CCO
not so secret

From Cape Town to Dubai to Toronto Neil has been on a creative mission to make great work with good people at agencies like King James, Saatchi&Saatchi, Y&R, Ogilvy and TBWA. Along the way he’s picked up awards at Cannes, D&AD, The One Show, Clios and more. Neil is co-founder and CCO at not so secret, an agency designed to harness production and creative powers for the good of the idea.

Emma Wathan
Creative Director

Jimmy Wei
ACD, Copywriter
john st.

Jimmy once won a weekend bag in a company raffle and has been chasing that high ever since. So far, he’s been enabled by shows like One Show, Applied Arts, Strategy, and CMAs. He now looks forward to judging your work and hopes to help you experience the same euphoria.

Dhaval Bhatt
Founder & CCO
Courage

Sean Cochrane
Owner
the Vanity

Mo Bofill
Partner, CCO
ONE23West

Mo is a Partner/Co-Owner and CCO at One Twenty Three West (123w) – based out of Toronto,
Vancouver and Montreal, where she oversees and helps executes design across all agency clients.

Born and raised in the Philippines, and growing up in Ontario, she brings a diverse point of view that mixes her passion for design, creativity and business strategy to Canadian design and advertising.

Mo has helped transform some of Canada’s most iconic brands from the ground up: Saje, Breast Cancer Canada, Canadian Tire, Bell, President’s Choice, Loblaws, Home Hardware, Winners, Shoppers and Koodo, to name a few. She has also worked on global brands like Coca Cola, Apple, Plenty of Fish, KFC, Corona, Audi, Subaru, Mitsubishi and helped them become relevant brands to Canadians.

She believes in building brands through a human experience: How can we bring humanity into how we work together, approach work, and communicate as people and as brands? How can we design something that has a direct impact on our everyday experience? She believes that we should use creativity to not only build business, but to use creativity to appeal to the best in us all.

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

Graham Chisholm
Founder, Editor
Nimiopere

Emma Du Boisson
Vice President, Production Director
Leo Burnett

Ryan Egan
Executive Creative Director
Dentsu

Ryan oversees a talented team of copywriters, art directors, designers and editors at Dentsu Creative, developing integrated advertising solutions for clients across North America. Before joining Dentsu Creative, Ryan held positions as a copywriter and creative director at JWT, Grip Limited and Isobar. From innovative fundraising platforms to disruptive automotive retail experiences, Ryan has helped transform brands and delivered outsized impact through a style of medium-agnostic thinking that’s critical to success in today’s increasingly complex advertising landscape. His work has been recognized and awarded globally.

Frank Falcone
President & Executive Creative Director
Guru Studio

Frank Falcone has been bringing film and television projects to life as an animator, director and executive producer for over 25 years. Under his creative vision, Guru Studio has become a leader in character-driven storytelling and high-quality animated entertainment for kids and families around the world. Guru’s roster of hit shows include: the global phenomenon PAW Patrol, True and the Rainbow Kingdom, Big Blue, Justin Time, Ever After High and most recently Mecha Builders, the Sesame Street animated spin-off. The company just finished production with Moonbug Entertainment on the widely popular YouTube hit, My Magic Pet Morphle and the family mini series Charlotte’s Web with Sesame Workshop for Max. Frank also served as an Executive Producer on the Academy Award nominated film, The Breadwinner, where, under his watchful eye, Guru’s team contributed visual development which brought the rich ‘story world’ sequences to life. Frank recently co-created preschool series Pikwik Pack, which launched on Disney Junior US and Treehouse Canada.

Melanie Hider
Partner, Editor
Saints Editorial

Melanie Hider is a partner and editor at Saints Editorial and has been editing commercials for over a decade in Toronto, working on brands including Google, TD, Winners, Lays, No Name, and Destination Canada. She loves all types of storytelling but has made her mark as a comedy editor.

She grew up in South Africa, lived in London, UK and then settled in Canada, which has left her with quite a mess of an accent. Melanie’s work has garnered various awards over the years and she remains as passionate as ever. She is dedicated to developing those around her through mentorship, and in addition has built and led editing workshops at the University of Toronto that explore Editing in Advertising.

Tyson Kuteyi
Partner, Senior Music Director
Grayson Music

Tyson Kuteyi is a quattro-threat Producer, Engineer, Voice Director, Composer and Partner at Grayson Music, one of Toronto's leading music and sound studios. Splitting his time between Nashville, NYC and Toronto, Tyson has directed and composed on award-winning brands such as Nike, Taco Bell, Ford, Chevy, 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.

Jenny Luong
Creative Director
Zulu Alpha Kilo

Jenny is an award-winning creative director that has lent her creativity to top agencies across North America, including DDB Chicago, John St. and Zulu Alpha Kilo. Her love for smart, insightful ideas has led her to produce effective campaigns for Coca-Cola, Loblaws, Home Hardware, Bell, MillerCoors, MARS Wrigley, Tangerine, and many more. Her work has been recognized by international award shows, and featured in BuzzFeed, Fast Company, Huffington Post and more. She is passionate about mentoring up and coming BIPOC talent.

Andrea Ogunbadejo
President
Eva Nosidam (VaynerX)

British-born, New York-based production executive Andrea Ogunbadejo is on a mission to revolutionize production by ensuring it plays a key role in the creative and strategic process. With a film school background followed by a career in independent feature films, shorts,and scripted TV, she specializes in telling compelling stories, where she aims to bring together content, marketing and entertainment.

Her advertising career has spanned across agencies in London, New York and Toronto, including roles at U.S based agency Eleven where she served as Head of Production, Executive Producer at VaynerMedia London, and most recently, VP, Managing Director at Cossette, Toronto. She has worked with brands across categories, including TikTok, Kraft Heinz, Durex, 7UP, McDonalds, Walmart, Google and Samsung.

She is currently President at Eva Nosidam, the flagship production studio at VaynerX working with brands including Jimmy Johns, Coach, Duracell, Starry and Verizon.

She has been featured in AdWeek, Campaign, LittleBlackBook, AgencySpy, and Shots, regularly discussing topics on filmmaking, leadership, inclusivity in production and sustainability.

Jordan Worth
Production Designer
Jordan Worth Inc.

Mark Zibert
Director
Scouts Honour

Sam Bond
Animator, Creative Director.
Freelance

Sam Bond is a Vancouver-based freelance animator, illustrator and creative director.

Since graduating from Emily Carr University in 2010, Sam has been lending his warm and approachable style to the progressive communications world, helping to produce hundreds of video projects and digital campaigns for social, environmental and labour movements. Sam has collaborated with various notable Canadian artists, including Stan Douglas and Ken Lum, studied character animation at Gobelins in Paris, and spent the last twelve years leading the animation department for one of Canada’s largest progressive agencies.

Izzy Ehrlich
Editor
School Editing

Jaclyn Garfinkle
Director of Broadcast Production
Ogilvy

Farrah Khaled
Executive Producer
Merchant

Irfan Khan
Creative Director
Freelance

Seasoned Creative Director with over twenty-five years of experience helping agencies build meaningful connections between brands and audiences. Leading the conceptualization and execution of strategic marketing and advertising initiatives at TAXI, BBDO, ZULU ALPHA KILO, for major brands in a dynamic and evolving industry, I'm known for championing breakthrough ideas that elevate local, national and international brands through innovative strategies that transcend conventional media.

A passionate advocate for the power of creative brand communication, I bring a collaborative approach to fostering lasting relationships with clients and teams while driving impactful, forward-thinking campaigns that have received global recognition at Cannes, the One Show, the CLIOs, The Art Directors Club of New York, D&AD, and Communication Arts. Beyond industry recognition, I am proud to have driven results that earned clients esteemed accolades, including multiple Marketer of the Year awards and Cassies for marketing effectiveness.

Nikki Ormerod
Partner & Director
Undivided Creative

Nikki Ormerod is a director, photographer, storyteller, and co-founder of Undivided Creative, a boutique production company bringing bold ideas and fresh perspectives to the advertising world. With a career spanning years of high-profile work across the Canadian and US market, Nikki has become a sought-after commercial director known for her ability to create visuals that resonate—equal parts stylish and impactful.

After a celebrated photography career shooting for the country’s largest brands and agencies, Nikki made the natural leap into film, blending her signature eye for detail with a love for motion. In 2020, she co-founded Undivided Creative alongside longtime collaborator Scott Houghton, creating a home for young, diverse talent and big creative ambitions.

As both a partner and artist on the Undivided roster, Nikki is as hands-on as they come, steering the company’s vision while keeping her creative spark firmly intact. Her passion for storytelling, coupled with a no-nonsense approach to craft, makes her a force in the industry—and proof that great work is always a team effort.

With a renewed love for her craft and a brand-new Executive Producer in place, Nikki is excited for what’s next for Undivided Creative—and for the chance to keep making work that’s as meaningful as it is memorable.

Akriti Suman
Creative Producer
Diamond

Akriti is a creative producer and director based out of Toronto. Her career kickstarted with directing four seasons of the travel series, You Got Magic for a leading lifestyle channel in India which now runs on BBC Earth. As she travelled every length and breadth of the country, unearthing lesser-known stories of people and places, she discovered her passion to tell real stories. In 2021, she wrote and co-directed the documentary, River from the Skies on Saving the River Ganga, which won the Asian Academy Creative Awards for Best Documentary, Best Current Affairs Program, and Best Natural History/ Wildlife Programmes.

She has directed digital films for brands such as TD, Meta, World Gold Council, and Casio. As a creative producer at Diamond, she combines the best of both worlds: directing documentary—style projects and producing commercials with an eye for authenticity and vision.

Always looking for an excuse to be on shoots big or small, compliment strangers on the streets, watch Studio Ghibli and Wong Kar-wai films nonstop and collect music from every corner of the world.

Morgan Tierney
Partner, Executive Creative Director
Rethink

Morgan is a Partner and ECD at Rethink Vancouver. She came to Rethink as an intern in the summer of 2012, and just never left. A writer by trade, Morgan has led the creative charge on large Canadian brands like A&W, Shaw and Freedom Mobile, plus plenty of nimble work for beloved West Coast brands like Playland, Science world, and the Vancouver Canucks. Her work has been recognized by Cannes Lions, D&AD, The One Show, Communication Arts, The Advertising Design Club of Canada, Applied Arts, Marketing Magazine, and her mom, Cindy.

David Whiteson
Head of VFX
Alter Ego

David Whiteson has 28 years of VFX experience in the Toronto ad industry, and has been the Head of VFX at alter ego for the past 10. David has always been passionate about post production, and the balance of art and technicality led him to fall in love with visual effects. His collaborative approach to compositing fosters a sense of teamwork and shared vision, consistently achieving stunning, seamless results recognized internationally by his peers and clients. His award-winning work ranges from commercials to features, episodics to music videos, and everything in between. Known for his keen eye and a healthy dash of British wit, David brings both precision and personality to every project.

Vanessa Eckstein
Founder, Creative Director
Blok Design

As the visionary force behind blok design, Vanessa's life has been dedicated to the belief that design is at its best when it serves society. Her work spans iconic projects transcending cultures, causes, and disciplines—from collaborating with Iggy Pop to shaping the artistic landscape of MOCA—blending cultural awareness, humanity and a love of art to advance society and business alike.

Her experiences living and working in Buenos Aires, LA, New York, and Mexico City have given the studio a unique international perspective, partnering with some of the world’s top talents, from leading contemporary artists and photographers to architects and thinkers around the world.

Vanessa has led some of the most distinguished design juries and showcased her expertise on
international platforms, from Tokyo to Mexico City. She is a global member of the League of Innovators & Scholars at The Brookfield Sustainability Institute (BSI) and has recently been inducted into The Canadian Academy of Arts. This year Vanessa will be speaking at the Brand New Conference in Salt Lake City as well as participating in the exhibition "Feel Me", presented by Trapholt in Denmark and “ExhibitionIDENTIFICAR-X - Celebrating ArtCentre’s Latinx/e Alumni Community'', in Los Angeles.

Vanessa holds an MFA in Identity and Intercultural Studies from the ArtCentre of College and Design.

Dave Watson
Head of Design
Broken Heart Love Affair

If it seems like Dave has a feel for the rhythms of visual communication, it comes to him naturally. A born lover of music, his dreams of playing drums for the Rolling Stones were crushed at an early age. However, he quickly rebounded and turned his attention to design.

Over the last 25 years Dave has honed his craft at some of Canada’s top agencies including TAXI, Mosaic and now Broken Heart Love Affair. His work for brands such as Anheuser Busch, MINI, Nike and McCain have been recognized over 200 times in design awards shows both nationally and on the global stage.

Dave is an idea man. He believes that although visual and tech trends come and go, good ideas are timeless. Today at BHLA, Dave uses this thinking to help his clients transform their businesses. That is of course until he gets a call from The Stones.

Jenna Anderson
ECD, Design
Cossette

Jenna is a people-first creative leader, who is deeply invested in translating business needs into compelling design solutions. With more than 16 years of experience focused in building brands, Jenna prioritizes emotional and behavioural insights to inform how brands meaningfully connect with their communities now and in the future.

During her 6 years with Cossette, Jenna has built a best-in-class design team with expertise across a wide range of channels. Prior to that, she worked at Pigeon brands for 11 years with a focus on package design and retail merchandising. Jenna’s design work has impacted many brands you may know and love, like McDonald’s, Amazon Prime, Harlequin, LCBO, Pfizer, ConAgra, Irving, 3G, Shoppers Drug Mart, Kraft-Heinz … to name a few.

Jan Avendano
Design Director
Art & Mechanical

Jan is a multi-disciplinary creative who has collaborated with a diverse range of clients to provide meaningful and considered design solutions. She is the Design Director at Art and Mechanical.

Louis Gagnon
Co-Founder, VP of Creation
Paprika

After completing a bachelor’s degree in graphic communications from Laval University in Québec City, Louis Gagnon began his career as an art director at Graphème (Cossette), where he became creative director. The adventure then continued in Montréal at design agency Nolin Larosée, before Louis cofounded Paprika with Joanne Lefebvre in 1991. Currently, as Vice-President of Creation, Louis still adheres to the same design principles: simplicity, intelligence, balance, and elegance. With more than 1,000 prestigious national and international awards to his name, his unique style has been widely recognized in Quebec, Canada, and abroad.

The regularity of this recognition—even more than the sheer quantity of awards won—attests to Louis’s constant focus on stripping beauty down to its purest form. It is for this reason that the Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec has acquired over 20 of his works for its permanent collection.

In 2007, French publisher Pyramyd released Paprika, the first book dedicated to a North American agency, in its “Design & Designer” collection. Three years later, the Parisian gallery Anatome, one of Europe’s leading centres for contemporary graphic design, paid tribute to Paprika with an exhibition of its work. Paprika-Seripop. Un regard graphique sur Montréal was an acknowledgment of Montréal as a design city and was the first major exhibition in Europe featuring the work of two Canadian graphic design firms.

A member of the Alliance Graphique Internationale and the Type Directors Club as well as a judge for the Art Directors Club of New York, Communication Arts, the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity and the One Show Awards, Louis is known for his involvement in the field, his culture, open-mindedness, and his ability to reinvent himself. He was also president of the Grafika Annual Graphic Competition in 2000 and 2016.

Louis Gagnon has been invited to speak at conferences, colloquia, and other design events in both Canada and the United States. For the last 18 years, he has been a course instructor at the Ecole de Design of the University of Québec at Montréal, where he has been sharing his passion for timeless design that sparks the imagination with students.

In 2023, he received Canada’s highest distinction, the Les Usherwood Award, for his lifetime achievements in the field of design and communication.

Paddy Harrington
Founder
Frontier

Paddy is a design innovator and storyteller who helps organizations discover and express their core purpose and long-term ambition. He is the founder of Frontier, a Design Office that collaborates with clients to creates strategic stories, brand strategy and identity, and physical and digital experiences. He is also a member of WXO, a global network of experience leaders and practitioners who shape the future of human experience.

With nearly 20 years of experience in the design field and degrees in literature and architecture, Paddy has worked with diverse and influential clients, like PepsiCo’s Global Nutrition Group, Unilever, the Sacramento Kings, and the Holy City of Mecca. He is design and brand strategist, an award-winning writer and filmmaker, and has spoken at Harvard, Brown, and the Central Academy of Fine Arts. He is passionate about creating strategic stories that inspire, guide, and empower businesses, people, and the planet to thrive.

Marcelo Hong
Design Director
Leo Burnett

Marcelo is a designer specialized in brand identities, editorial, packaging, and environmental design. His work combines innovative ideas with meticulous craft across a wide range of clients within the corporate, cultural, and non-profit sectors. Marcelo's body of work has been recognized and awarded both nationally and internationally by the Type Directors Club of New York, D&AD, Cannes Lions, The One Show, the LIAs, Communication Arts, the Epica Awards, the ADCC, Applied Arts, RGD, and Marketing Awards, among others.

Marcelo is also a design educator, helping foster the next generation of designers. He currently teaches Typography and Information Design at York University.

Omar Morson
ECD, Design
The Local Collective

For over 20 years Omar has honed his design craft on some of Canada and the US’s largest brands. He loves to engage with client partners to think, act and be bold in their shared ambitions. From branding to global campaigns, his multi-disciplined approach pushes the limits of convention for which he has been internationally and nationally recognized.

Omar leads the design team at The Local Collective, ensuring every campaign, project or assignment that is created has a high level of detail and craft that helps to elevate a brand, break through among consumers and creates disruption.

Kim Norwich
Creative Director
Jacknife

With a career spanning more than 25 years, Kim combines a dynamic skill set in brand development with deep design knowledge and strategic insight to create branding that stands out in any category. An OCADU alumni, she has played a pivotal role in defining design for clients like Red Bull, Arterra Wines, MARS, Oxford Properties, Fabletics and Weston Foods. Working across categories from action sports products to immersive brand environments, she brings a rich, nuanced perspective to her work, fluidly integrating strategy and design with precision. Known for her sharp insights and a vision that’s both creative and grounded, Kim’s collaborative approach and dedication to excellence ensure that every project she leads is not just a success but also an inspiring journey for her team and clients alike.

Leah Renihan
Design Director
Camp Jefferson

Leah is currently the Design Director at Camp Jefferson where she collaborates with a cross-disciplinary agency team of strategists, creatives and designers. She is an award winning multidisciplinary designer with over 15 years in the industry specializing in branding with a love for craft and typography. Over the years she’s worked at local design studios to international creative agencies where her clients have included Porsche, The Drake, Koodo, Ubisoft, Kit Kat and CAMH to name a few.

Kelly Small
Founder, Chief Creative Officer
Intents & Purposes

KELLY SMALL (they/them) is an award-winning creative director, designer, writer, and educator with deep roots in communications and a special focus on ethical and inclusive practice. Author of the best-selling The Conscious Creative: Practical Ethics for Purposeful work, Kelly has also been a professor of design ethics at the School of Design at George Brown College and an affiliated design researcher with Emily Carr University.

Kelly holds an interdisciplinary MDes and received the Governor General’s Gold Medal for their research into the ethics of commercial creative work. Kelly has co-created solutions across many sectors of the marketing and design industries for clients including Absolut, Amnesty International, BMO, Doctors without Borders, Fido, the Government of Canada, General Motors, Lego, Plan Canada and World Vision.

Laura Stein
Chief Creative Officer
Bruce Mau Design

Laura provides overall creative and strategic direction for the studio’s brand and design output. She has led some of BMD’s highest profile and most awarded initiatives including ASICS Tiger, OCAD University, UCCA Center for Contemporary Art, Waterloo Greenway, Project for Public Spaces, Hutchins Center at Harvard, and the Zayed National Museum in Abu Dhabi.

As Creative Director, she led a 5-year design agency of record relationship with Sonos, leading her team through the design of multiple facets of the wireless audio brand experience — digital, retail, social, packaging, and Sonos Studio content.

Her formal education is in the Humanities and Fine Art. After spending 6 years in New York City, she joined Bruce Mau Design in 2005. A leader who believes in curiosity and a truly collaborative process, she works to build a creative culture for every project.

Teresa Tam
Creative Director, Design
Freelance

Teresa is an independent creative director and designer splitting time between Toronto and Los Angeles.

She has over 10 years of experience as both a designer and art director, and co-led the award-winning design department at john st. in the late 2010s.

Since declaring her own personal Independence Day in early 2021, she has collaborated with agencies such as 123W, GUT Agency, Metier Creative, Massive Change, LG2, Cossette, and Joan Agency NYC. In the last year, she has partnered with brands such as Saje, Holt Renfrew, Harry Rosen and the Canadian Olympic Committee.

Her curiosity for people, culture, and brands has always been her driving force for creating meaningful conceptual work. She leads with empathy, and is a firm believer that loving people, specifically the ones you work with, is the secret to unlocking great creative work.

Some other brands she's enjoyed working on: Lululemon, Hudson's Bay, Tim Horton's, Starbucks, Shopper's, Maybelline, KFC and more!

Shaun Vincent
Founder, Creative Director
Vincent Design

Shaun Vincent is an artist, graphic designer, and entrepreneur, recently being awarded the 2024 Visionary Indigenous Business Excellence (VIBE) and the 2024 Signature Award for logo design. He earned his Advanced Diploma in Graphic Design, Communication Design from Red River College Polytechnic in 2003.

Shaun’s connection to his Métis roots runs deep, having spent much of his childhood in the community of St. Laurent, on the southeast shore of Lake Manitoba. Métis people have lived on this shore since the 1800s and today, he continues to care for the land, the place where he feels most at home. As an Elder once told him, “The land knows your feet here.”

In 2007, after several years in the design industry, Shaun founded Vincent Design. Driven by a desire to create representational design, he established a branding and marketing firm focused on uplifting Indigenous communities, organizations, and companies. What began in the basement of his St. Boniface home soon grew into a thriving business. In 2017, Vincent Design became incorporated, marking a milestone in Shaun’s journey. Today, the company employs over 35 highly skilled creative professionals.

Shaun learned very early in his career the need to move beyond cliche, overused symbols, such as the oxcart, inukshuk, or eagle feather. Instead, he incorporates animals and plants, representing ideas that transcend Western concepts of borders and boundaries. Influenced by the Woodlands and Cape Dorset styles, as well as traditional Métis beadwork and clothing, his unique approach reflects a deep connection to Indigenous culture. His work embodies "Two-Eyed Seeing," a philosophy that blends Indigenous knowledge with Western practices.

His collaborations with notable Indigenous organizations, such as Southern Chiefs’ Organization and Ka Ni Kanichihk, have cemented Vincent Design as a leading Indigenous-led marketing and design firm in Manitoba.

Sam Bullis
Design Director
Sam Bullis Design

Sam is a multi-award winning design director specializing in visual identities with a playful personality and sense of humour. Her approach is guided by her belief that design is best practiced as empathetic problem-solving based on plenty of hands-on research and immersion in culture.

After a rewarding run leading the design team at TAXI (now VML) and racking up oodles of awards with the team, she recently embarked on independent practice and is working with a bunch of brands you’ve heard of, and some you’ll surely be hearing more about soon.

Brooke Hennessy
Creative Director, Design
T&Pm

Brooke has spent over 20 years in branding and design, solving problems with a combination of strategic understanding, empathy, taste and craftsmanship. Setting a standard of design excellence and business results, he creates and leads thoughtful, effective and award-winning work.

Brooke has been priveleged to work with some of Canada’s biggest and most beloved brands including Canadian Tire, LCBO, Four Seasons, Boston Pizza, TELUS and Canada Post, among others.

As a seasoned creative leader Brooke has is always looking for opportunities to elevate work through design and enable brands to put their best foot forward.

Melanie Hong
Senior Designer
Vanderbrand

Melanie Hong is a Toronto-based Senior Designer working in brand identity, print and editorial design, digital design, and environmental design. She is dedicated to the strategic development and execution of compelling brand experiences. Her expertise showcases a focused approach on experiential design, demonstrating a commitment to captivating and engaging visual storytelling.

With over a decade of industry experience, Melanie has dedicated her career to working within the retail, hospitality, non-profit, real estate, and technology sectors. At Vanderbrand, Melanie’s clients include Akb Architects, Bidmii, Four Seasons Hotel and Resorts, Globizen, Oxford Properties, Permission, and Sapsucker.

Melanie has received accolades from national and international juried competitions including Applied Arts, the Advertising and Design Club of Canada, Communication Arts, Pentawards, and the RGD Branding Awards. Melanie’s work has been featured in global publications including Taschen, Creative Boom, AIGA Eye on Design, Victionary, and The Dieline.

Meric Karabulut
ACD, Design
No Fixed Address

Meriç is a strategic visual thinker and skilled visual problem solver with over a decade of experience creating bold, impactful designs. As Associate Creative Director at No Fixed Address, he transforms complex ideas into sleek, compelling visuals. His expertise spans brand campaigns, illustration, and precision-driven design, with a sharp aesthetic and meticulous attention to detail. His clients have included Audi, Unilever, and Canadian Tire, to name a few. His work has been recognized and awarded both nationally and internationally by Cannes Lions, Epica Awards, Effie, ADCC, and more.

Peter Ladd
Creative Director & Co-Founder
Pendo Brands

As a kid making things is all I wanted to do. Experimenting, creating, exploring. I’m lucky enough to still be doing this. And for a living no less. I like to bring an artful approach to everything I design. Work that strikes a balance between creative and strategy. Work that can be both inspiring and marketable. It requires open minds. Taking chances. And staying open to what can be.

Stephen Tasker
Creative Director, Designer
Tasker Creative Inc

Whether it’s design, photography, cooking or music, making stuff is what makes me happiest. I’ve spent the past 20 years working on iconic brands at some of Canada’s leading agencies, and believe design is about function over fashion. And aside from beard-growing, that’s how I approach every project. Because beard-growing is all about fashion.

Jenny Vivar
Creative Director
Freelance

Jenny is a Toronto-based creative director, multidisciplinary brand designer, and Illustrator with over a decade of creative and leadership experience. She served as Creative Director of Brand & Design at a boutique Toronto agency Community before launching her own design practice. This entrepreneurial adventure enabled her to partner with agencies, small businesses, and entrepreneurs across a diverse range of industries, including food, beverage, finance, interior design, education, hospitality, real estate, architecture and fashion. Her versatility, deep understanding and love for design have allowed her to create purpose-driven work that connects meaningfully with their audience. Throughout her freelance career, she has collaborated with some of Toronto’s leading advertising and design agencies, including Juliet, Mosaic, Sid Lee, Zulu Alpha Kilo, Cossette, and most recently Momentum Worldwide.

Nancy Crimi-Lamanna
Chief Creative Officer Canada
FCB

Named by Adweek as one of Toronto’s Brand Stars shaping the city into the creative hub it is today and a CampaignUS 40 over 40, Nancy has helped lead the creative resurgence of FCB – elevating its position to the 2021 Creative Network of the Year at the Cannes Lions, the most awarded agency at the One Show in 2020 and Adweek’s 2020 Global Agency of the Year. Her work has been presented to the UN twice and she also has the distinction of bringing home Canada’s first Integrated, Commerce, Strategy and Creative Data Cannes Lions.

In 2023, FCB Canada was named the #2 North American Agency of the Year by the Cannes Lions, and the Agency of the Year at both the Effies and WARC bringing home several Best of shows and the Cannes Grand Prix in Direct for adidas Runner 321. This year, her long-standing partnership with the Canadian Down syndrome Society was recognized with a coveted One Show Penta Pencil which awards agency/client partnerships that deliver creative excellence; another Canadian first.

Since joining FCB Canada almost 10 years ago, the agency's creative work has been among the most celebrated and innovative in the industry, including its work for Bank of Montreal/BMO Harris, adidas, Ontario Lottery and Gaming and the Canadian Down Syndrome Society. This thinking has helped make FCB Canada Media Innovation Agency of the year , 2 years in a row, Digital Agency of the Year for 7 years and the most-awarded Canadian agency at Cannes for 4 years.

Steve Savic
EVP, ECD
Critical Mass

For over two decades, Steve has been bridging the web and the physical world. His work has covered the digital spectrum and sprawled the digital eco-system, covering anything and everything from transactional to brand-rich campaigns for Nissan, Rolex, Nike, Mercedes, and many others.

These days, keeping his finger on the industry-pulse means finding new ways to apply technology: into stories, into products, across platforms and through experiences. In every case, Steve tries to bring a transformative perspective to storytelling and design by fusing film, music, art, and technology.

The result: Innovation is in his DNA. Steve spearheaded integrated brand experiences that have been selected for tech beta-programs for Disney, Oculus, Google, Microsoft, and Instagram.

Back in 2000, Steve had his first blush with Cannes. It was for a NIKE project. Since then, he has added several Cannes Lions, Clio Awards, ADC and Webbys, as well as awards from The One Show, D&AD, plus many others.

Jung Ahn
ECD
The Hive

Jung has been in the industry for 17 years, she has worked at a wide range of award-winning agencies, ranging from specialized boutiques to multi-national institutions in Toronto, New York, LA and Seoul. She has collaborated and strategized with household brands, including Honda, UNIQLO, Shiseido, CIBC, BMO, EQ Bank, Samsung, Miele, McDonald’s, and P&G, in creating cross-platform campaigns that have expand their reach with target audiences. Her work has been recognized and landed her awards in shows, such as D&AD, One Show, ADCC, Marketing, and Applied Arts.

During her downtime, she collaborates with creative thinkers at NEW INC developing various creative projects outside of the advertising world and speaks at Parsons School of Design, Pratt Institute, and USC as a guest lecturer.

Max Geraldo
Chief Creative Officer
GUT

Max Geraldo is Chief Creative Officer at Gut Toronto and one of the most awarded Brazilian creatives of in his generation having worked for some of the best creative shops in Brazil, the United States and Canada.

Winner of 80 Cannes Lions with iconic campaigns like Nivea Doll and Protection AD, Speaking Exchange, Teddy Gun, Fedex Neighbours and Missing Matoaka and global brands like HP, Jeep, Leica, Boeing and The Red Cross. Max has also served in juries across the globe in the most prestigious Award Shows and have figured in the Top 10 rankings of the most awarded Creative Directors three times in the past decade and Number 1 Chief Creative Officer at The One Show 2023.

Max was born in Argentina, grew up in Brazil and is a father to Rosa and Lola.

Sanya Grujicic
ECD
.Monks

Sanya Grujicic is an award-winning copywriter and Executive Creative Director. At Monks, former Jam3, Sanya supports North American creative leadership in Brand Experience, bringing her strength in brand strategy and creative to a strong bench of experience designers and innovation experts. Sanya's worked at top Canadian agencies, including FCB Canada, john St., Tribal Worldwide, and SID LEE.

Mike Halminen
Creative Director
Sundogs

An ad industry veteran with over 25 years of experience, Michael is always at the forefront of innovative and purposeful creativity. His creative career has spanned diverse landscapes, including tech giants like Google, traditional agencies such as McCann, and digital powerhouses like MRM. Passionate about the intersection of technology and storytelling, Michael's work as a creative director has earned numerous international awards and recognitions. He now leads the Canadian creative at Sundogs.io, helping the world's top brands navigate their AI transformation.

Pedro Izzo
Creative Director
McCann

Pedro Izzo is a multidisciplinary Creative Director born in Brazil, who has lived in Toronto for approximately ten years. He has been working in advertising for almost 20 years. During this time, he has gained extensive experience at some of the best agencies, such as McCann, Performance Art, Cossette, Crispin Porter + Bogusky, Leo Burnett, and Sid Lee. His work has been recognized internationally at some of the most prestigious awards shows.

Michael Katzikowski
ECD
Richmond Day

Michael Katzikowski, known as “Katz,” is a globally recognized creative leader with over 20 years of expertise in design, art direction, and creative direction. He leads the creative vision for BMW and MINI Canada, building on a career crafting impactful campaigns for brands like Lexus, Toyota, and Chevrolet.

Katz has collaborated with top brands including Nike, Gillette, Infiniti, Nissan, Tim Hortons, and Canopy Growth, earning national and international recognition. Renowned for fostering diverse teams, he consistently delivers strategic, crafted, and impactful creative solutions across all platforms.

An avid mountain biker, Katz channels his passion for speed on some of the world’s most extreme trails.

Jessica Luch
Creative Director
Thinkingbox

Brian Mantle
Owner, Creative Director
Mantle Integrated

Brian is an award-winning Creative Lead and Art Director with over 20 years of advertising and design experience. Since founding his own agency, Mantle Inc., in 2012, he’s elevated clients such as SIRcorp, 3 Brewers, Mother Parkers, Marley Coffee, Purolator, Givex and many more. But before founding his own agency, Brian’s experience included award winning work with the likes of BMW, Suzuki, TD Bank, Subway Restaurants and the ROM to name drop a few. He looks forward to being inspired by this year's entries and to share his expertise in this honourable role.

Rena Menkes Hula
ECD
Salt XC

For the past 17 years, Rena has been making ads and ad-like-things in NYC, Chicago and most
recently, Toronto. Thinking creatively has always been a passion for Rena, so changing how
people think about and interact with brands is a dream realized. Pushing creative boundaries to
effect change is what drives her every day.

During her time in the industry she has produced cross-channel work for brands like Kraft, SC
Johnson, Kimberly Clark, Unilever, MillerCoors, Pernod Ricard, P&G, Mars, Maple Leaf Foods, Diageo, Labatt, Canadian Centre for Child Protection and Questrade. Her work has been
recognized by Cannes, Effies, Clios, D&AD, LIA, One Show and Shortys among others.
Rena will remind you every day she is a New York native who holds a BFA in Advertising
Design and Copywriting from Syracuse University.

Laura Serra
Founder
Les Squeak

Laura is like a Trivial Pursuit scoring token, having collected all the wedges on the marketing board game. She's been a creative leader across a wide range of disciplines from traditional advertising, digital, and design to public relations, experiential marketing, and integrated commerce (yes that makes six pies for those counting). Much like the game, her Twist is that she's exploring the bonus track of her career and started Les Squeak, a creative agency committed to making you feel things, concepts that are submerged in culture, and noisy, squeaky ideas™️. Her favourite category? Orange, sports and leisure. Her life motto? Roll the dice.

Dylan Soopramania
Group Creative Director
Freelance

Originally from Surrey, and birthed by Mauritian parents, I don't mind writing bad jokes, painting, photography, being socially awkward, humming while in lifts, making chilli, holding my breath for 34 seconds, multitasking -I'm currently eating a cold slice of toast while watching 'Who framed Roger Rabbit'...I'm a Whiskey Feinschmecker

I'm a Group Creative Director who recently worked at Ogilvy Canada. A well rounded truly modern creative that has experience in the UK, Australia and most recently Canada.

Leading on the Corby, Hellmanns and Metrolinx accounts. While building the agency into a Global boutique.I have experience in markets around the world in both Art Direction and Copywriting.

I’ve worked at R/GA, COPA90, Anomaly and WPP agencies VMLY&R and AKQA in the UK. Leading clients to more effective, creative strategic stand-out work.

Overseening EAsports at COPA90, campaign year on year and the new announcement of EAFC - Google, McDonalds, Audi, FMCG, Tourism, Banking, Music, Charities, whatever it is, i’ve worked on it.

Early on in my career, I moved to Sydney for 8 years working at DDB, Wunderman Thompson, The Hallway and Sapient Nitro.

I'm an award-winning integrated creative who’s picked up at International award shows with a highlight being The ADMA Grand Prix forThe Google Search Campaign

Manas Abrol
Executive Creative Director, SVP
Edelman Canada

Antoine Becotte
ECD
VML

Antoine Bécotte is a highly respected creative director with a proven track record
of delivering innovative and impactful campaigns. Now Executive Creative Director at TAXI\VML Montreal, he brings a wealth of experience and a passion for pushing creative boundaries.

His Montreal career has seen him lead award-winning work for some of the world's most recognizable brands, earning him a reputation as a leading force. Antoine's leadership style fosters collaboration and empowers teams to produce their best work, consistently exceeding client expectations.

A graduate in Graphic Communication from Laval University in Quebec, Canada, Antoine has been entrusted with numerous campaigns by clients such as Coca-Cola, GM, Loto-Québec, Home Depot, Amnesty International, McDonald's, Telus, Perfetti Van Melle, Liberté, SAQ, Volkswagen, Couche-Tard, Circle K, and many others, all of whom have witnessed the positive impact of his work on their brand image.

Throughout his career, Antoine has earned numerous accolades, including over 60 local, national, and international awards, such as IDEA, Marketing, Clios, One Show, D&AD, Cubes, Cristal Awards, and Cannes Lions. But for Antoine, the greatest reward remains the opportunity to create meaningful connections with audiences.

Amr Elkouedy
ACD/Art Director
Angry Butterfly

Amr is a dynamic and versatile ACD/Art Director with a passion for Generative AI and over 15 years of experience spanning three countries, three continents, and four vibrant cities. His career has seen him collaborate with a diverse range of local and global clients, consistently delivering creativity, innovation, and impact to every project.

Scott Pinkney
Chief Creative Officer
Publicis Hawkeye

With 35+ years’ experience across three countries, Scott is a leading Creative Strategist, Brand
Ambassador and Relationship Marketer. In 2015 he joined Publicis to launch Hawkeye – now
Canada’s largest CRM Agency, with over 240 professionals working on 14+ Canadian, North
American and global brands.

Previously, Scott worked at Ogilvy in New York, London, and Toronto. He co-founded Mosaic
Direct & Interactive, moved to DRAFTFCB/Rivet, and then to BBDO/Proximity, leading their
CRM creative practice. At each post, Scott lent experience and deep understanding of consumer insights, creative strategy, and data intelligence to create Relationship Moments ® that drive action.

His awards include prizes at the D&AD, Marketing Awards, Communication Arts, The Caples,
and the Echo Awards, and shortlisted at The One show and Strategy Awards.

Scott has twice judged at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, served on the
Board of Governors of the ANA International ECHO Awards for five years, served on the CMA
Board of Directors for two years, and was Co-Chair for the 2024 CMA Marketing Awards.

In 2020, Scott co-created and launched ‘This Is The Job’ - a Publicis Groupe initiative to help
guide students from underrepresented communities into the exciting world of Advertising &
Marketing.

Kristy Pryma
SVP & CD, Editorial Services
Narrative

Kristy Pryma is a storyteller. For over two decades, she’s told the stories of countless brands with a goal of making the complicated and mundane both interesting and relevant.

She cut her teeth as a technology journalist, turning complex information into digestible and understandable stories. Since then, she has been telling brand stories from the other side of the fence at PR and marketing agencies. Her experience gives her a unique perspective in terms of understanding both brand demands and audience needs and finding a way to satisfy both.

In her current role, Kristy focuses on elevating her clients’ reputations,, and leads a team of long-form writers to create high performing marketing collateral for some of the world’s biggest brands.

Lily Varga
Digital Creative Director
Saatchi & Saatchi

With 18 years of experience in the digital space, Lily Varga is a passionate and innovative Digital Creative Director who thrives on bringing brands to life online. She has a natural talent for bridging the gap between technical and creative requirements, ensuring seamless, engaging, and effective digital experiences.

Lily’s expertise spans website design, mobile applications, intranets, and social media creative, where she has led and crafted standout digital solutions. Over the years, she has worked with an impressive roster of brands, including Toyota, Lexus, Haleon Brands, Diageo Brands, Kellogg’s Brands, 3M Brands, Enercare, Sunny D, Canada Dry, and Crush, among many others.

For the past nine years, Lily has been a key leader at Saatchi & Saatchi, overseeing digital design for Toyota, Lexus, and Haleon Brands. She leads a talented team of digital designers, fostering an environment of creativity, collaboration, and forward-thinking solutions.

With a keen eye for detail, a love for innovation, and a passion for problem-solving, Lily is always looking for new ways to push the boundaries of digital creativity while delivering smart, impactful, and user-focused solutions.

Jessica Borges
Group Vice President, Business Lead
Visionnaire

Jessica brings a wealth of experience in global insights, creative, strategy, brand development, and management. She has worked in India, Dubai, Oman, with over a decade in the inclusion space in Canada, reaching out to the fastest-growing consumer groups. As CD at McCann and Y&R, VP Creative at Dyversity, CCO & CSO at Maple Diversity, and currently Group VP Business Lead at Visionnaire, she excels at connecting diverse audiences to clients, including Google, Walmart, TD, RBC, OLG, Bell, Koodo, J&J, Nestlé, Coca-Cola, Canada Post, L’Oréal, and GM.

She has been actively involved in inclusion projects, such as WelcomePack Canada connecting brands to newcomers; LiveLoveCanada, a program to engage, educate and support immigrants on their settlement journey; and Diversity Beyond Ethnicity to build inclusivity among 2SLGBTQ+, people with disabilities and Indigenous Peoples. Her leadership has helped clients in competitive planning, and results-driven brand messaging, with an ideas-led focus on marketing campaigns that make an impact.

Her work has been recognized at local and international advertising award shows, including at the Montblanc/Emirates Woman Novella Writing Awards in Dubai.

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, has been Co-chair, panelist and jury member at multicultural conferences like the Marketing Awards, Shopper + Innovation Awards (SIA), and was on the Executive Jury representing Canada at the Gerety Awards, a diverse way of celebrating global work with a 100% female jury.

She was named on The Message Canada’s Mighty Women List for 2023, and Women We Admire’s ‘Top 50 Women Leaders in Toronto 2023’ ranking, for pushing the industry forward in meaningful ways.

Her global experience has made Jessica a mentor to many women of cultural minorities, helping them build networks, providing guidance and sharing her love for Canada.

To learn more about Jessica, listen to her on APG Canada’s GrowOp podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/grow-op/id1612361974.

Whitney Zhan
Co-Founder
DigitalLab of Uwe

Whitney is a true example of cultural diversity, not because of her biological background, but because of her education and career history. She has been applying her mathematics and economics knowledge creatively to marketing and communications for top names in different industries and countries for
about 30 years.

After completing the chemotherapy and radiation therapy in 2015, she founded DigitalLab of UWe in Toronto with the expertise and resources she accumulated from working for The Gallup Organization, Hakuhodo Inc., and Blue Focus Communication. Since then, Whitney and her team have been helping Canadian businesses of different sizes, from small local businesses to Fortune Global 500, successfully connect to Chinese communities in Canada and around the world with their unique targeting technologies and creative tools.

Meanwhile, she has been actively bridging the culture gap between Chinese and other ethnic communities. While introducing the Canadian cultures and other cultures on popular Chinese social media, she gives lectures of Chinese cultures to her clients and help them build up better relationship with the community.

As the founding member of IWB Immigrant Women in Business, a non-profit organization, she has been dedicated to helping immigrant women from different cultural backgrounds to succeed in their businesses.

Nitin Bagga
Head of Strategy
Barrett and Welsh

An multi-award winning strategist, Nitin has 20+ years of experience in marketing, advertising and strategy. A strategic doer. An explorer of consumer behaviour. A driver of change. As the Head of Strategy at BarrettandWelsh, he leads brand and communications strategy, campaign planning and analytics. Ranked as top 200 planners in Canada by Strategy Magazine. Jury Member for the Marketing Awards. Guest speaker at University of Toronto, and St. Lawrence College. A founding member of the Multicultural Marketing Alliance Canada; Board member at the Aurora Cultural Centre. Volunteer at POCAM (People of Colour in Advertising and Marketing). He earned his degree in engineering from the Milwaukee School of Engineering and, after a stint absorbing the marketing ethos that enriches Cincinnati air, did his MBA at Rotman School of Management. Despite many years of strategy consulting, leading teams and consensus-building, Nitin hates to lose an argument – but routinely concedes defeat to his teenage daughter.

Karen Kok
Sr Manager, Client Services & Strategy
Maple Diversity

Karen Kok is the Senior Manager of Client Services & Strategy at Maple Diversity Communications, an award-winning multicultural marketing and advertising agency. With over a decade of experience in marketing, Karen has a proven track record in campaign management, strategic planning, and fostering client relationships. She specializes in connecting brands with diverse ethnic communities across North America, leveraging her deep insights into Chinese and South Asian markets.

Before joining Maple Diversity Communications, Karen held pivotal roles in prominent financial institutions, including TD, CIBC, and Scotiabank. Her accomplishments include managing multimillion-dollar marketing portfolios, launching innovative products like the New To Canada and International Student Banking Package, and achieving significant year-over-year growth in customer acquisitions.

Karen’s expertise spans end-to-end campaign execution, multicultural consumer insights, and multilingual communications, making her a strategic leader in delivering impactful results.

Fluent in English, Cantonese, and Mandarin, Karen combines her linguistic skills and cultural knowledge to drive authentic and inclusive marketing campaigns. At Maple Diversity Communications, Karen continues to excel and lead in developing culturally resonant strategies that empower brands to build meaningful connections with diverse audiences.

Lorraine Liu
Group Creative Director
Ethnicity Matters

My role as an art director won’t conjure up any images, but the portfolio and track record as a multiple award-winning advertising creative director most certainly will.

I have worked at local & international agencies across Canada and Hong Kong for over 20 years. Bringing a wealth of experience in multicultural consumer insights,

creative strategy, brand building, with an ability to inspire creative excitement and inclusiveness in teams.

My works include industry-recognised campaigns for multiple clients, and have been awarded and short-listed in major industry award shows such as Cannes, Adfests, and more.
I have participated in judging multiple international creative awards.

Jaideep Mahajan
Creative Consultant
Freelance

Milena Marques-Zachariah
CEO/Creative Director
Out Of My Mind

Milena Marques-Zachariah is an award-winning creative director, accomplished writer,
editor, columnist, blogger as well as a radio producer and host. Having started her career in
advertising in Mumbai, India, she cut her teeth on a variety of national and regional brands and
then moved to Dubai, in the Middle East, where she continued to hone her skills in advertising
to a wider and more diverse audience. When she landed in Toronto, Canada, she decided to
don her ‘apron over a business suit’ – her first weekly column that captured her inimitable
perspective of an immigrant wife and mother juggling a career, home and personal pursuits.

While her writings gained popularity with the South Asian community in Canada, she re-
fuelled her advertising career by bringing her astute insights to Canadian and North American
brands trying to connect with the emerging ‘multicultural’ audience. She started her creative
consultancy, OUT OF MY MIND in the early 2000s. Soon, she was bringing her insightful
perspective to the boardrooms of national and international brands. She was one of the
pioneers in creating advertising that focused on the rapidly expanding South Asian and Asian
consumers in Canada.

Her deep insights and thorough knowledge of the multicultural landscape in Canada led to some ground-breaking conceptual platforms in the financial, telecommunications and food industries. She has worked as Creative Director and Multicultural Communications Specialist with a number of leading agencies, helping major brands like Scotiabank, Rogers and Kraft relate to their consumers by aligning their messages to ethnic markets.

This valuable exposure came in handy when she conceived and launched Radio Mango –
the first and only Konkani language broadcast in North America. She’s been hosting Radio
Mango, now a podcast, for over 11 years, and this has resulted in a sizeable fan-following. She
has interviewed mayors and ministers, as also eminent authors like Pico Iyer and Anosh Irani.
Her creative contributions include essays, stories, and poetry in various anthologies.

‘Canadian Chronicles’ is yet another creative pursuit, where she blogs the extraordinary
journeys of new immigrants to Canada. Her current blog: chasingtheperfectcurry.com has
gained international popularity among foodies and those seeking unchartered food adventures.
She was senior editor at Liisbeth.com, the online publication aimed at feminist
changemakers. Through all of this, her commitment to give back to her wider community
continued.

She volunteered as a Board member of the not-for-profit E Fry Hope and Help for
Women in the Peel region for almost a decade, before becoming President. She also mentors
new immigrants at the Dixie-Bloor neighbourhood Centre.
Milena is a widely travelled seeker, who is curious, creative, and passionate. she has
ridden camels and elephants. Yoga and wine are her favourite 4 letter words!

Nandu Oturkar
Art Director, Designer
Freelance

Nandu Oturkar – Senior Art Director, Storyteller, and Lifelong Learner

Nandu Oturkar’s journey in the advertising industry began over 25 years ago with a simple passion for storytelling through design. Over the years, he has had the privilege of collaborating with remarkable brands such as TD, Visa, Metrolinx, Fido, the Toronto Blue Jays, and Cineplex. His expertise also spans successful campaigns for prestigious international brands, including Emirates Airlines, Etihad Airways, Whiskas, HSBC, Sony, Nissan, and Nivea.

Nandu has been privileged to work for leading agencies such as TBWA\RAAD, IMPACT BBDO, Barrett & Welsh, Ethnicity Matters, and Monsoon Communications Inc. Each project and partnership has been a unique learning experience, enabling him to grow both as a creative and as an individual.

His career is defined by a relentless pursuit of innovation and an innate ability to find beauty in every challenge. From designing smooth, rhythmic visual concepts to leading multi-platform campaigns, Nandu brings the same passion and curiosity to his work today as he did at the start of his journey.

Ajey Trivedi
Creative Director
Balmoral Multicultural Marketing

Ajey is an Award-Winning Creative Director based in Canada.

More than 30 years of advertising experience across categories and brands. The creative portfolio reflects various ideas with successfully implemented communication campaigns across brands, geographies, and cultures.

Ajey won more than 36 National & International Creative Awards.

He has proven ability to foster creativity and interpret business goals and objectives into creative and unique design concepts that cover 360-degree campaigns with all mediums like TV ads, Radio, Social Media campaigns, Online banners, Print, Poster, out-of-home, website, Direct mailers, Events...

Ajey's name is also on the list of “Strategy, Creative Report Card”

Creative portfolio: ajeyt.ca

Currently working with Balmoral Multicultural Marketing, as Creative Director.

Jensen Tsoi
President & CCO
Dyversity Communications

Jensen Tsoi brings over 30 years of design and advertising expertise to his role as President and Chief Creative Officer at Dyversity Communications Inc. Since joining in 2014 as Creative Director, Jensen has played a key role in securing major clients like Canada Post and Bell. Recognized for his leadership, he became Partner and VP Creative in 2018 and was later promoted to President and CCO.

Born in Hong Kong and raised in the UK, Jensen’s personal journey reflects the modern Canadian immigrant experience. After two decades in Hong Kong working with top global agencies such as Leo Burnett and FCB on brands like Cathay Pacific and Levi’s, he relocated to Toronto, Canada. He now leverages his global expertise to lead Dyversity, blending insights from Asia, the UK, and Canada to deliver innovative, multicultural marketing solutions.

Passionate about diversity and inclusion, Jensen champions the contributions of New Canadians, celebrating culture and embracing change to shape a dynamic and inclusive future for Canada’s business community.

Michael Wong
Art Director
Hamazaki Wong

With a creative spirit and a meticulous eye, I've spent the past two decades perfecting my designs across diverse mediums. Whether it's traditional art or advanced digital solutions, I thrive on innovation and versatility. Apart from my design work, I am passionate about photography, illustration, web design, and social media. Outside of my design endeavors, I'm a coffee lover and an aspiring barista. So, don't be surprised if you catch me crafting the perfect cup the next time you're in a café.

Mary Malott
Freelancer
AV Communications

Mary Malott has worked in marketing for over a decade in government, education, charity, hospitality, and music. With notable RFP wins including L’Oréal, Western Union, and Grace’s Food, her dedication to creative positioning and cultural representation has pioneered her approach to authentically connecting with the client and audience, resulting in increased CX engagement.

In 2024, she launched her video production company, Mary Film This, and has already completed a documentary, music videos, college campaigns, EDI initiatives, and city-wide projects that support the BIPOC communities.

As an aspiring filmmaker who comes from a creative and artistic family background, she is the perfect blend of sweet and street when it comes to her film making style. Documentary, authentic, fun, real, and cinematic, Mary’s ability to create compelling videos with profound narrative, feeling, and connectedness is unmatched.

Proud of her Filipina heritage, she is changing the game when it comes to Asian female directors in film.

Her life motto: strong finish!

Gigi Ng
Account Manager
Captus Advertising Ltd

Gigi is an integrated marketing expert with 18 years of experience in leading campaigns for blue-chip clients across various industries, such as real estate, hospitality, infant products, consumer goods, and healthcare. She is currently an Account Manager at Captus Advertising, a full-service agency specializing in multicultural in-language marketing solutions for the Canadian market.

At Captus, Gigi is the account lead for the prominent real estate clients, such as Bosa Properties, Bosa Development, Intracorp Homes, and StreetSide Developments. She is responsible for strategic media planning, buying, and creative execution for integrated campaigns that target mainstream buyers and ethnic investors in different languages, such as Traditional and Simplified Chinese, Punjabi, Hindi, and Korean. She also handles accounts for Athletics Canada, BC Cancer, BC Chinese Gambling Support, Connect Hearing, Government of BC, ICBC, and new business opportunities.

Gigi holds a master's degree in Arts and Cultural Enterprise from Central Saint Martins, University of The Arts London, where she is exploring the intersection of art, business, and society. She is passionate about bridging cultural gaps and fostering diversity and inclusion through innovative marketing strategies.

Josh Budd
CCO
Citizen Relations

Josh joined Citizen Relations as its first Chief Creative Officer in 2021, the same year he was named one the World’s Most Awarded Creatives by The Drum.

Since becoming the first creative to sit on the Global Executive Team at the agency, Citizen has been nominated for Strategy Magazine PR Agency of the Year twice (winning gold in 2023) and for the first time in its history, Design Agency of the Year. Citizen was named 2023 PRovoke Consumer Agency of the Year, 2024 Campaign Global PR AOY (Bronze) and Josh himself earning NA Innovation Sabres Creative Professional of the Year honours two years in a row (’23,’24).

Josh represented the industry as a juror at shows including Cannes, D&AD, and the Effies, and has worked with the next generation of creative talent at the Miami Ad School. Josh loves comedy, chess, NBA basketball, and pretending he’s knowledgeable about wine.

Denise Cole
Creative Director, Freelance
George Brown College

Denise’s passion for art and design has fuelled her 20+ year journey in the pursuit of making creative work she can be proud of.

Throughout her career, she has embraced various roles. She began as a designer, earning one of the first design bachelor’s degrees offered in Ontario, then transitioned to Art Director as one of the early hires at San Francisco startup Cutwater during its explosive launch in 2007. This was followed by two very creatively rewarding tenures at TBWA Toronto and J. Walter Thompson, leading to global recognition at Cannes, D&AD, The One Show and beyond.

Denise then co-founded Juliet, an agency built from the ground up into a formidable player in the Toronto advertising scene. She has acted as a juror for prestigious awards such as One Show, Strategy, and Applied Arts, and has served on the board of directors for the Advertising and Design Club of Canada. In a full-circle moment, she now teaches advertising to the next generation of creatives at George Brown College.

Athina Afton Lalljee
Creative Director
McCann

Athina joined McCann Toronto at the start of 2021 after spending a decade in Dubai where she
had the pleasure of working with international talent at Ogilvy, Grey, Y&R and JWT. Her work, which includes campaigns for iconic brands like LEGO and Coca-Cola, has been recognized at Cannes Lions, One Show, D&AD, Dubai Lynx, and more. Named one of Campaign Magazine’s ‘Faces to Watch Under 30’ in 2017, Athina is yet to slow down. Today, she continues to put the work first on Kids Help Phone, Mastercard and everything in between.

Catherine Allen
Group Creative Director
Publicis

Catherine is an award-winning Group Creative Director at Publicis. Starting as a designer more than 15 years ago, Catherine’s career has evolved to see her lead campaigns for some of the country’s biggest brands including Bell, Kraft, Labatt, Unilever, Yum, American Express and Cadbury. Her work has been featured in both national and international publications and received recognition at numerous award shows including Cannes, Ones Shoe, D&AD, the Effies and Epica.

Jean-Francois Dumais
EVP, Head of Creative
Freelance

Jean-François Dumais is a creative leader who has worked at Sid Lee Montreal for over 15 years. He has contributed to the success of brands like Red Bull, Adidas, Samsung, The North Face, National Bank, Molson and many others. His work has earned him several local and international awards and his credits include creating integrated campaigns, branding, digital experiences, and even architecture projects.

He entered the field of advertising after having studied graphic design, all while moonlighting in Montreal’s nightlife scene as a DJ, blogger and event promoter.

He harbours a lifelong obsession with Japanese cars from the ‘80s and ‘90s, collecting books and records and obsessing over trying to leak how to make the perfect carbonara.

In the last few years, Jean-François has led multidisciplinary teams on several accounts for local and international clients, while crafting the vision and managing the creative department at Sid Lee as EVP / Head of Creative.

Nicole Ellerton
Group Creative Director
Cossette

During her more than 20 years in the business, Nicole's career is a testament to her versatility, creativity, and leadership across a broad spectrum of industries and disciplines. Having worked with some of the world’s most renowned brands, including Google, Amazon Prime, Air Canada, Walmart, and Viagra, she has consistently delivered innovative, impactful work that resonates with diverse audiences.

She’s worked at many of Canada’s top agencies including TAXI, Leo Burnett, and currently Cossette, where she is a Group Creative Director. Her work has consistently been awarded throughout her career by all the major shows both nationally and globally including Cannes, D&AD, LIA’s, Clios, Communication Arts, Applied Arts and Marketing.

Initially starting her career as a graphic designer, she transitioned into art direction after falling in love with the intersection of craft and storytelling. Nicole is constantly invigorated by how no two days in this business are exactly the same and she remains inspired by the bold and innovative work emerging in today’s fast-paced creative landscape.

Danielle Haythorne
Creative Director
Will

Danielle is a writer and Creative Director at WILL in Vancouver.

She started her career in Toronto, creating nationally and internationally recognized work for a handful of agencies before moving to Vancouver to do the same at Rethink and then 123w. Since moving to WILL, she has helped the growing agency get on Strategy's small agency of the year shortlist for two years running. She is inspired by strong insight-driven work and great storytelling, and loves finding unexpected ways to solve creative problems.

She has two small kids who hate when they hear ads on the free version of spotify, and thus don't like advertising.

Shawn James
Creative Director, Art Director
Freelance

Shawn has spent the last two decades producing creative solutions for a range of clients at a range of agencies. He’s guided by the belief that great ideas are the true currency. He's navigated the advertising world with a mix of strategic thinking and the occasional dad joke.

Jason Lee
Creative Director
TBWA\ Media Arts Lab

Jason is a Creative Director at TBWA\ Media Arts Lab for Apple, where he is tasked with creating ads of the highest quality for the world’s most iconic brand. His most recent work for the brand being back-to-back Super Bowl spots for the Canadian market.

Prior to TBWA\ Media Arts Lab Jason has worked at some of Canada’s top agencies such as Leo Burnett, Zulu Alpha Kilo, and Juniper Park. Throughout his career he has had the privilege of working on juggernauts like Amazon, Nissan, P&G and Subaru. His work has been recognized and awarded internationally. And he’s also been written about in acclaimed cultural resources such as Mashable, Fast Company and Hype Beast.

Matt Litzinger
Founder, Chief Creative Officer
The Local Collective

Matt is the Co-Founder and Chief Creative Officer of Creative Agency, The Local Collective and
two contemporary pop art galleries, The Local Gallery, one in Toronto and one in New York City.
For Matt, creativity isn’t just a skill—it’s a way of seeing the world, transforming possibilities
into breakthrough ideas that leave a lasting impact.

With over 25 years of experience, Matt has been the driving force behind some of Canada’s
most iconic campaigns, believing that brave creativity leads to bold business success. This
philosophy fuels The Local Collective’s approach, where culture-led thinking transforms brands
into cultural forces. His work has shaped global brands, including McDonald’s, Cadillac, Fiji
Water, General Mills, NBA Canada, and Rogers, delivering not just creative excellence, but
tangible, business-changing results.

Matt’s work has earned recognition in nearly every major local and international award show,
but his true passion lies in building brands that move people, shift conversations, and leave a
lasting cultural impact. At The Local Collective, he continues to push creative boundaries,
ensuring brands don’t just advertise - they become part of the culture.

Michelle Spivak
Group Creative Director
Rethink

Michelle Spivak is a Group Creative Director at Rethink, where she’s led work for IKEA and Scotiabank among others. Her career has spanned Toronto and New York, working at the biggest multinationals to indie shops and across all mediums. She’s inspired by beautiful craft, ideas over tactics, and human truths above tropes.

Josh Stein
Partner, Chief Creative Officer
LG2

Josh joined LG2 in 2023 as Partner, Chief Creative Officer and Co-Chair of the agency's National Creative Council, leading efforts out of the Toronto office. Well-recognized for his work, Josh has garnered both creative and effectiveness awards from every major international and national award show.

Prior to joining LG2, Josh was Chief Creative Officer at McCann Canada where he oversaw 40 creatives across offices in Toronto, Montreal, and Calgary. Under his direction, the agency rose from 34th place in 2017 to one of the top ten agencies on the Creative Report Card in three years, garnering Digital and Agency of the Year awards for the first time in over two decades for the long-standing agency. Prior to joining McCann, Josh was the ECD of Tribal Worldwide and Creative Director at Proximity BBDO where he helped those agencies win Digital Agency of the Year in Canada a total of three times. An entrepreneurial streak has run throughout his career - he founded and ran Blue Room Design Studio in 2000 for four years and opened SaaS company Stuzo’s Canadian office in 2010 until its acquisition by Dachis Group.

Kim Tarlo
Executive Creative Director, Partner
Mint

Kim is Executive Creative Director and partner at Mint. Over the last 17 years, she has spent her time at highly ranked creative agencies in Toronto, the UK and US endeavouring to build brands that thrive in, or sometimes even form, culture. She has worked on a mix of global and local work, massive brand transformations, and nimble projects. Her work has been recognized by Cannes, Effies, Clios, Strategy, Communication Arts, and many others. She received Gold in the Global Creative Academy competition with Google for her work on Chevrolet, and her rebrand of A&E received the Fast Company’s Innovation by Design award. She was named in Marketing Magazine’s Top 30 Under 30 and one of YouTube’s Creative Women to Watch. She has served as an instructor at Miami Ad School and has a deep passion for mentoring and developing young talent.

She's also the co-founder and creative director of HomeCourt, and co-founder and operator of Darling Mimosa. And though her agency's majority identifies as women, the same can't be said of her household. She lives with her incredible husband, hilarious and amazing sons, and dog Rupert.

Abeer Verma
VP, Creative Director
Edelman

Over a career that spans two decades and three cities, Abeer has had the opportunity to hone his critical thinking and writing skills at some of Canada’s top ad and PR shops. As a result, his work has picked up praise from various quarters, like The One Show, Clios, LIAs, Webby’s, D&AD, and Cannes. In fact, not long ago, even the Marketing Awards sent him home with a tray full of ‘Ms’.

Abeer won PR Campaign of the Year in 2021, helped his then agency land PR AoY Gold in 2023, and is now continuing his creative education at the world’s largest public relations firm. Abeer lives in Toronto and occasionally wonders if anyone reads jury bios.

Mike Blackmore
Creative Director
Camp Jefferson

With a 25-year track record in Canadian advertising, Mike has worked with a diverse portfolio of iconic brands. As a Creative Director, he's passionate about storytelling, pushing creative boundaries, and crafting work that resonates deeply with audiences. As an avid poker player he is also well versed in seeking out the hidden truths and motivations behind people’s behaviors. He loves discovering new connections, finding different ways to think about familiar topics and uncovering the real reasons people do the things they do. Mike believes in the power of ideas to move people, and he's dedicated to recognizing and celebrating the highest standards of creativity and effectiveness in the industry.

Sarah Crabbe
President
Agnostic

Known for her natural leadership style, award winning brand building approach and ability to develop work that works, for clients across Canada, Sarah Crabbe has over 20 years’ experience in providing senior strategic counsel to a large number of global brands.

Never one to shy away from a challenge, Sarah has provided counsel for some of North America’s leading brands and has led agency teams to Strategy Agency of the Year top 3 placements in consecutive years.

Prior to starting Agnostic 6 years ago, Sarah has held partnership roles in global and local agencies in Toronto, London, and Ireland. Sarah has built Agnostic into one of Canada’s fastest growing companies known for their Better Thinking, Better Results ethos.

Sarah is passionate about delivering creativity in each engagement and believes agencies only do brave work when they have truly brave clients.

An Irish native, Sarah has lived all over the world, including New York and Jamaica and currently lives in Toronto with husband Rob and their two children.

Matt Hassell
CCO
Ultralight Creative

Matt Hassell is the founder of Ultralight Creative, a boutique consultancy delivering AI-enhanced solutions for brands. Over his 25-year career, Matt’s work has earned accolades from Cannes Lions, Webby’s, One Show, Effies, Clios, and more.

He has shared his expertise at conferences like Google HQ, DX3, and the Canadian Marketing Association, and guest lectured at York University, Seneca College, and Humber College.

Matt’s leadership has shaped agencies that have been shortlisted for Agency of the Year across various categories. He champions the integration of technology, innovation, and consumer insight to redefine modern marketing, delivering impactful and award-winning results.

Morgan Starr
Associate Creative Director
Ogilvy

With a decade of experience, Morgan has brought innovative thinking, strategic business solutions, and creative leadership to both agency and client alike. She has worked on some of the world’s biggest brands, including Porsche, Dove, Cadbury, and more, earning recognition on both national and international stages. Most notably, her Dove campaign, Cost of Beauty, won multiple Gold Lions at Cannes, Best in Show at The One Show, and earned an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Commercial.