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 (Vice-Chair) 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 ˇ°Wap vs Appˇ± 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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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 consistently receive 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 success 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. Ben has extensive experience throughout a variety of rapidly evolving and complex industries, including: Retail, Financial Services, Telecommunications and High-Technology. | |
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 ˇ±Communicating With Your Customerˇ± (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. | |
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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. | |
