Who We Are
| COUNCIL BIOGRAPHIES | |
Michael Seaton (Chair) Michael Seaton's marketing leadership combines a variety of disciplines and areas of expertise including digital, direct, CRM and loyalty mixed with a deep knowledge of social media, community building and analytics. Michael is currently Head of Digital Marketing at CNIB where he leads online and digital strategy for the not-for-profit organization across Canada. Seaton spent over a decade as Director, Digital Marketing at Scotiabank leading the bank's digital strategy in Canada across multiple consumer touch-points and media platforms. He produced award-winning campaigns on behalf of Retail, Small Business and Wealth Management divisions driving the digital vision and implementation of websites, search, email, social media and community marketing programs. In addition to his extensive client-side background, Michael has held senior agency and consulting roles, most recently as Principal, Level C Digital. An active speaker across North America in the marketing & communications industry, Seaton has been recognized with numerous national and international marketing awards throughout his career. His blog www.theclientsideblog.com, has been rated as a "Top Ten Must Read" by Marketing Magazine as well as being listed on Advertising Age's "Power 150" marketing blogs. He teaches Canada¡¯s only Professional Certificate Course in eMarketing and has authored two industry white-papers (Mobile Marketing: A Canadian Perspective and Guide to eMail Marketing) for the Canadian Marketing Association. Seaton is a Director, Board of Directors, Canadian Marketing Association and is also Chair, Digital Marketing Executive Council. He is a past Director, Board of Directors with AIMS - Association of Internet Marketing & Sales and past member of Advertiser Council, IAB - Interactive Advertising Bureau. | |
Phil Barrett Phil Barrett is the Vice President, Digital & Mobile with B-Street communications for both the Toronto and London UK offices. He provides leadership, strategy and insight for Fortune 500 clients in the areas of usability, online media, search engine marketing, email and social media. Phil¡¯s wheel house also includes programs that incorporate SMS, mobile web, mobile applications, bluetooth, 2d codes and emerging mobile platforms. Phil is a true integrated marketer working both with online and offline channels ¨C even though he believes that print is only undead when it includes a call to action to a website, text message, phone number, or something really cool like an augmented reality code. Phil has been designing, developing, working, and marketing in the interactive space since 1993 when he discovered during his interface design class at Cornell University that blinking text on a grey background on something called "mosaic" was way cooler then anything they were doing in Director for CD-ROMs. Phil has been a frequent contributor to the mobile ecosystem through his mobile and interactive blog, and through several speaking engagements with Marketing Magazine, Strategy Magazine, American Marketing Association, Incentive Works and many others. His most recent presentation on ¡°Wap vs App¡± was given recently as part of Marketing Magazine¡¯s mobile marketing 2.0 conference. Phil has also been a senior judge for the Canadian Marketing Association (CMA) annual marketing awards in the digital category. In his spare time, he also sits on the board of directors for the Canadian Ski Instructors Alliance (CSIA) Ontario and leads all marketing and communication efforts. | |
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Scott Jamieson Scott Jamieson is the Founder and Principal Consultant for SJR Digital. Scott has over 15 years experience as a company executive, consultant, account and project manager, the most recent eight years in the email and digital marketing industry. Working with direct clients as well as leading interactive advertising agencies in online/email marketing strategy, testing, optimization and database planning Scott has established a reputation for excellence. Through data driven decision making and proven best practices, Scott has supported clients in creating and optimizing email and digital marketing strategies. These strategies increase the opportunity for long term loyalty and maximum ROI for the online investments. Scott has worked on countless email and lifecycle marketing programs with clients such as BMW, Chanel, Continental Airlines, Corel and Intrawest. Scott has also supported leading interactive agencies including Proximity Canada, Wunderman, Draft/FBC, BBDO and JWT as a specialist in the email marketing channel. Scott¡¯s peers constitute a network of well-known email marketing professionals and technology companies - many of whom are strategic partners with SJR Digital and are engaged on projects as needed. Currently, Scott is a member of the Canadian Marketing Association¡¯s (CMA) Digital Marketing Council and the Association of Internet Marketing and Sales¡¯ (AIMS) Email Experience Council. Scott is a frequent guest speaker at events for the CMA, AIMS and American Marketing Association. | |
Joy Boyson Joy Boyson is a professional marketer specializing in the ¡°3Ds of CRM¡± (Digital, Direct & Data). She has over 15 years of experience in these areas and is a pioneer in the strategic application of customer and business intelligence for optimized, multi-channel marketing. Joy has worked with top brands such as Cisco Systems, TELUS, LendingTree, UnitedHealth, AT&T, Environment Canada and Overwaitea Food Group. Her work with WPP Group plc, and as an independent consultant, consistently involved leading technology & solution platforms. At The Marketing Store, Joy works in product management and with new clients to bring creative and data-driven programs to life. | |
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Brent Lewis Brent is VP, Digital & Internet for Harlequin Enterprises Ltd., a leading publisher of women¡¯s fiction and the world¡¯s largest publisher of series romance. Brent leads the strategic development and operational execution of Harlequin¡¯s digital marketing and publishing programs. Brent has nearly two decades of marketing experience including developing internet marketing and commerce solutions for over ten years. Brent has been sought for his digital insights by leading publications including The Economist and Fast Company and is a speaker on digital strategy and transformation at events including O¡¯Reilly Tools of Change and Book Expo America. | |
Geoff Linton Geoff is Co-founder/Vice President of Inbox which is an online marketing agency and technology company that specializes in permission email marketing and marketing measurement. Geoff develops CRM strategies for clients including ATT, Johnson & Johnson and RIM. Geoff has written a number of industry articles and publishes a blog. Through over 18 years of applied industry experience, Geoff has worked on all sides of the marketing fence in client and agency roles as: Account Management, Director of Marketing at a high tech company, Product Management, IMC design, and database marketing planning. Geoff also spent several years at Air Miles/Loyalty Group in database marketing where he worked with numerous clients. Geoff is also a Marketing Professor at Conestoga College in Kitchener/Waterloo, Canada where he teaches strategy, direct marketing and internet courses. Geoff holds both a P.Eng and MBA from Queens University. | |
Benjamin McAlister As ThinData¡¯s Vice President, Account Management, Ben is responsible for ensuring that clients receive consistently high levels of service across ThinData¡¯s strategy, creative and technology solutions. At the same time, Ben works closely with ThinData¡¯s Account Management Team to ensure that clients receive proactive, relevant and practical advice that measurably enhances the successes of their email marketing campaigns. Ben has an impressive track record of over 13 years of establishing, managing and optimizing online/offline marketing programs for several of North America¡¯s leading brands. At the same time, Ben has extensive experience throughout a variety of rapidly evolving and complex industries, including: Retail, Financial Services, Telecommunications and High-Technology. | |
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Eric Morris Eric Morris is a senior account executive with Google, based in Toronto. Eric joined Google in 2002 and helps Canadian marketers generate website traffic, leads, sales and awareness through Google's advertising platform. Prior to joining Google, Eric held similar positions at DoubleClick and Yahoo. | |
Tara O'Doherty For over a decade, Tara has been promoting the importance of the interactive customer experience--from mobile environments to intranets. Tara holds a MASc in Human Factors and is an active member of the CMA (Canadian Marketing Assoc.), CHI (Computer Human Interaction), UPA (Usability Professional¡¯s Assoc.), and MMA (Mobile Marketing Assoc.). She has been featured in several magazines and newspapers, and speaks regularly at dozens of venues a year--from the International Internet Marketing Conference in New York to various website summits for the US Government. Tara has also held a seat on the Digital Council for the CMA since 2005. Currently, Tara is the Principal Consultant for the User Experience Practice at Momentum. On a daily basis she utilizes the latest usability and strategic methodologies to map out and increase the profitability, productivity and brand perception of her client's experiences. Previously, she held the position of National Usability Director for Fjord/Cossette Interactive and was also a part-time Adjunct Professor at Cardean University teaching a graduate-level course in usability entitled ¡±Communicating With Your Customer¡± (developed by Donald Norman and Jakob Nielsen). Over the last ten years, Tara has worked with such clients as Bell Canada, Rogers Cable, General Motors of Canada, Ericsson, AT&T Wireless, CanWest, The Canadian Mint, Purolator Courier Ltd., AOL, and Toronto.com. In 2007, she was responsible for developing the new UI for the mobile portal for CNN International. | |
Jeff Pontes Passion and an innate drive serve as the fundamental ingredients of Jeff Pontes¡¯ career. His roots stem from a Computer Science degree with wide-ranging exposure to various facets of marketing and advertising including digital strategy, market research, sport / event sponsorship, media planning, media effectiveness and partnership acquisition. Through a complex web of experiences, Jeff has developed a comprehensive perspective of the essential success measures required to deliver high impact, integrated marketing campaigns. Clients benefiting from Jeff's methodical and results oriented approach include P&G, Transcontinental Media, The Bay, Wrigley, Genuine Health, Organon (Schering Plough), Elsevier and Uniglobe to name a few. Prior to FUSE, Jeff was Interactive Engagement Specialist at Excerpta Medica Interactive, Director, Strategic Development at BrandSpark International and the Best New Product Awards and is a former member of Toastmaster¡¯s International. He has also attended various digital marketing conferences and is an active contributor within social media circles with current endeavours including maintaining a digital strategy blog and reducing his golf handicap. | |
Jed Schneiderman Jed Schneiderman is a proven leader in the traditional and new media space with expertise in digital marketing, brand marketing, and loyalty and permission based marketing. As On-Line Marketing Lead, Jed Schneiderman is responsible for driving the business and marketing strategies for the Windows Live, Search and Mobile Services businesses. Prior to joining Microsoft Canada, Jed worked at CTV Television Inc. where he was instrumental in launching CTV¡¯s digital media group and launching MTV across TV, Mobile and on-line. Jed has also worked at several direct marketing agencies specializing in loyalty and permission marketing, as well as Procter & Gamble and AOL Canada. Jed lives in Toronto with his wife and two children. | |
Parth Shukla Parth has been bringing his experience in strategic planning, development and implementation of Internet products, retail and online marketing to bell.ca since December 2003.
He currently leads Bell¡¯s interactive marketing strategy for all lines of business (Mobility, Sympatico, ExpressVu and Home Phone), with components like search engine marketing (SEM), permission based email marketing and online media. He is also in charge of directing the MultiChannel framework, which has enabled a dramatic increase in the impact of the online channel on acquisitions. Formerly responsible for eMarketing on bell.ca, he increased the permission marketing database by 300%, using integration partnerships and search engine strategies to drive down the COA and dramatically increasing usage of bell.ca's self-serve applications with smart, profile-based campaigns. Before joining bell.ca, Parth was Director of Tools and Wireless for Sympatico.ca, introducing a multitude of products and services, including the personalized MySymaptico, Sympatico.ca's search partnership with Google and many other Web and wireless services.Parth holds an MBA (Marketing) from McGill and is an active member of the Canadian Marketing Association, serving on the Digital council. | |
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Taina Suomela Taina Suomela is Vice President of The Aber Group, a rapidly growing direct marketing agency focused exclusively on the Internet. The Aber Group¡¯s team of online media and search engine marketing pros work with a range of blue chip clients that demand effective and innovative online marketing strategies to achieve measurable and sustainable results. With over seven years experience in marketing, promotions, project management and event planning in the engineering, healthcare software, and not-for-profit industries, Taina now focuses her passions exclusively on the Internet. In 2004, Taina joined 24/7 Canada to manage marketing strategy for the industry leading web ad serving and out-sourced ad sales company, and quickly moved up the management ranks, adding the responsibility of overseeing the web advertising network division as well. In 2006, Taina joined forces with former 24/7 Canada President Jay Aber, to open The Aber Group. Leveraging her significant experience in web advertising, project management, client service and research, she ensures The Aber Group delivers comprehensive and effective web strategies that deliver results, on time and on budget. | |
Adina Zaiontz Adina Zaiontz is the National Trade Marketing Manager for Yahoo! Canada where she currently manages the B2B marketing effort behind Yahoo's multi-million dollar media sales and search business. For ten years, Adina Zaiontz has been advancing the field of online marketing in Canada and advising senior executives in all industries on how to optimize their online marketing strategy to adapt to the changing consumer landscape. Her marketing career has included managing online marketing projects for Canada¡¯s largest media companies. As Online Producer for Rogers Media Publishing, Adina ran the online advertising business for some of Canada¡¯s top B2B publications and created some of their first magazine websites. During her tenure at Canadian business publishing giant Business Information Group, Adina developed and launched the Digital and Online Edition for the Northern Miner, the highly respected mining newspaper. Through her consulting company, MarketConsult, Adina has helped businesses ranging from dot com start ups to blue chips such as BMG Music and CIBC hone their online and traditional marketing strategy. She has been a featured speaker on the topic of online marketing at such conferences as the US National Religious Broadcasters and Canada¡¯s MAGS U. | |
