sharpen your skills in the concurrent sessions

Frank Falcone
Senior Product Lead, Microsoft Dynamics CRM, Microsoft Canada

Frank Falcone is responsible for the overall strategy, business and marketing plans for Microsoft Dynamics CRM. Frank has spent his career helping organizations tackle the business issues of sales and marketing automation including strategy development, business/IT alignment, change management and business process redesign.

His past experience in the customer relationship management (CRM) space includes enterprise-wide strategy development, creation of ROI-driven, metrics-based business cases, package evaluation and selection of integrated CRM suites. He has worked extensively in the areas of sales force automation, customer care and marketing automation solutions and was listed on "The 50 Most Influential People" in the Graphic Communications Industry (2002, 2003 - PrintAction Magazine).

Rick McCutcheon
President, FullContactSelling.com

Rick has been involved with the CRM industry since 1990 as a senior executive, reseller, educator, consultant and professional speaker.

The following is a brief summary of his industry experience:

• Founded Archer Enterprise Systems, a sales automation and CRM vendor. Sold to Janna System 1999 (now part of Oracle);
• Designed and facilitated CRM process and CRM workshops for professional associations and universities;
• Served on the Board of Directors of various institutes and associations;
• Leads a customer relationship management consultancy practice based on the best practices in CRM processes, development of people skills and use of CRM software.

Joseph Payne
Chief Executive Officer, Eloqua Corporation

Joe Payne is CEO of Eloqua, a Software as a Service (SaaS) company and leading provider of demand generation applications and best-practice expertise for business marketers. Thousands of customers from businesses like Administaff, Aon, Cognos, Dow Jones, Seagate and Sybase rely on Eloqua’s products and services to execute, automate and measure programs that generate revenue.

Joe brings more than 15 years of leadership and a proven track record with high growth software companies to Eloqua. His broad experience base in delivering SaaS solutions for marketers gives him a unique perspective of today’s most pressing technological trends. Prior to joining Eloqua, Joe was recently president and chief operating officer of iDefense, a VeriSign company. Previously, he was president and CEO of eSecurity Inc., and president and CEO of eGrail. He also served as chief marketing officer at MicroStrategy Inc. and has held marketing roles at The Coca-Cola Company, Procter & Gamble and Royal Crown Company.

Joe was recently a speaker at the JMI Equity CEO Summit, Bessemer Venture Partners’ CEO Summit on SaaS, Pacific Crest’s 2nd Annual On-Demand Conference, and Canaccord Adams On-Demand Software Conference. He is also featured on BtoB Magazine's "Who's Who in B-to-B 2008" list. A Fuqua Scholar, Joe received his MBA from the Fuqua School of Business at Duke University. He is a magna cum laude graduate of Duke University and is on the adjunct faculty at the Kogod School of Business at American University.

Ajay K. Sirsi
PhD, Associate Professor, Marketing, Schulich School of Business

Ajay Sirsi is a marketing professor at the Schulich School of Business, York University, where he teaches strategic market planning, marketing management, and marketing research in the MBA and BBA programs. He teaches executive management classes in brand equity, marketing management, marketing research, pricing Strategy, and marketing strategy and sales planning in the Executive Development Program at the business school. His current research focuses on business strategy development and implementation, market segmentation and tools to understand customer needs.

Ajay is the author of two books: Marketing Led – Sales Driven: How Successful Businesses Use the Power of Marketing Plans and Sales Execution to Win in the Marketplace and Marketing: Real People, Real Decisions. His third book, Marketing: A Roadmap To Success will be published in March 2009.

Professor Sirsi is the author of many articles which have appeared in prominent academic and practitioner journals, such as the Journal of Consumer Research, Canadian Journal of Marketing Research, Journal of Health Care Marketing, Journal of Hospital Marketing, Journal of Professional Services Marketing and Marketing magazine. He is a recipient of the prestigious Robert Ferber Award and the award for best article published in the Journal of Consumer Research. Dr. Sirsi has also presented his work at numerous international conferences.

Ajay has undertaken both consulting and educational activities for FT Global 500 corporations in the United States, Canada, Bermuda, Brazil, China, France, India, Japan and Korea in the areas of developing business and marketing strategy, sales execution, developing and implementing customer value, building brand identity/equity, building corporate brands, building differentiation strategies, customer needs assessment, customer satisfaction and service quality, strategic planning for services, new product development, segmentation and product positioning, and sales training. A partial list of his clients includes: Aim Trimark, Bayer, Canada Mortgage Housing Corporation (CMHC), International Paper, Manulife Financial, RBC, Social Planning Council of Peel, Tetra Pak and TELUS.

Dan Mariani
General Manager, Transcontinental Database Marketing

With over 25 years of experience in the marketing industry, Dan Mariani has an award-winning track record of delivering results, driving business development and building strategic alliances. His client-centric focus and ability to conceive and execute strategic programs to generate the best possible results contribute to Dan’s status as a leader in the database marketing industry.

Dan received a BSc and an MBA from the University of Toronto. In addition to his professional accomplishments, Dan teaches marketing courses for two major universities. Previously, he held the position of vice-president, credit card marketing, Home Depot, for Citigroup.

Denise Waggoner
Vice-President, Creative Research, Getty Images

Denise Waggoner has made a career out of studying the meaning, application and impact of images around the world. As a pioneer in the field of visual trends forecasting, Denise leads a global team of Getty Images’ researchers who study the commercial use of photographs, footage and illustrations. She has developed custom-designed forecasting methods for working with researchers analyzing imagery trends found in design across the advertising, marketing and publishing industries, as well as imagery buying trends via the Getty Images website. Bringing her industry expertise in tracking and predicting imagery trends that will shape the future, Denise travels around the world to major advertising and publishing events, in addition to consulting with designers at leading agencies and corporations.

Denise has been with Getty Images since the company started more than 13 years ago. Previously, she was a production manager for an off-Broadway theatre company. She sees many similarities between the stage and imagery, specifically how they both tell a compelling visual story. Today, she still relies on her theatre experience and claims that it trained her to use equal amounts of the left and right brain.

Chris Emery
Vice-President, Corporate Sales, Rogers Publishing

Chris Emery began his career in advertising sales with Chatelaine magazine in 1984, after which he joined the fledgling Today's Parent Group (TPG) where he held the positions of ad director, marketing director, and vice-president/managing director, as the company grew from two to 14 magazines. These include the very successful launches of Zellers Family and Glow magazines. After Rogers Media purchased TPG in 1999, he joined the publishing group as vice-president sales, women's publications. There he directed the sales efforts for Chatelaine, Flare, Today's Parent, and Glow. During this time Rogers also launched Lou Lou magazine, and a Canadian version of Hello!

More recently, he has become the Vice-President, Corporate Sales at Rogers Publishing and leads the marketing solutions team that creates integrated advertising, communications and promotional programs for many of Rogers’ most important advertisers. He has also been appointed Canadian general manager for the word-of-mouth marketing business launched by Rogers in partnership with U.S. - based BzzAgent, Inc.

Malcolm Faulds
Vice-President, Media Services, BzzAgent

As Vice-President, Media Services, Malcolm Faulds is responsible for developing BzzAgent’s partnerships with leading advertising firms and media companies. His role includes identifying media partners who could best support branded word-of-mouth marketing platforms and helping advertising, marketing and public relations firms run targeted word-of-mouth marketing programs for their clients.

Malcolm has more than 12 years of interactive marketing experience. Prior to BzzAgent, he was the director of e-marketing for Valassis, where he formed partnerships with advertising agencies and developed analytically-driven online marketing programs. Previously, Malcolm served as group account director at Euro RSCG 4D, where he worked with well-known brands including Symantec and Atena. He is a regular speaker on word of mouth at conferences sponsored by media and advertising associations, including the Canadian Marketing Association.

Mitchell Merowitz
Chief Privacy Officer, AIR MILES Rewards Program/LoyaltyOne

As Vice-President, Corporate Affairs, Mitchell Merowitz is responsible for the corporate reputation, privacy practices and communications activities of LoyaltyOne (formerly Alliance Data Loyalty Services) and its business-to-consumer and business-to business brands in both Canada and the United States. Mitchell’s focus is in public, stakeholder, government, regulatory and trade affairs, as well as database governance, international consumer privacy and data protection policy. He is also a standing member of Alliance Data’s (NYSE: ADS) Executive Critical Event Response Team.

In October 2000, Mitchell joined the company as senior director, corporate affairs, AIR MILES Reward Program, responsible for media, stakeholder and trade relations, and crisis management practices for Canada’s premiere coalition loyalty program. In 2004, he was appointed Chief Privacy Officer (CPO) for the AIR MILES Reward Program and maintains this position within his current role. In 2007, he assumed the role for all LoyaltyOne businesses.

Prior to joining LoyaltyOne, Mitchell was the manager of corporate communications for one of Canada’s largest public relations agencies and worked as a consultant to many of Canada's top 100 companies, where his focus was in the areas of corporate and brand communications planning, crisis and reputation management, public policy and public affairs.

Mitchell is a supporter of charitable organizations, including Kids Help Phone and Special Olympics Canada, and has been a long-time Director of the Toronto General and Western Hospital Foundation. He is also Vice-Chairman of the Special Olympics Canada Festival. Moreover, Mitchell serves as a member of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce’s Working Group on Electronic Commerce & Telecommunications, as well as the Competition Law and Policy Task Force.

Jay Aber
President, The Aber Group

With a BComm from McGill University and an MBA from the Schulich Business School at York University, Jay Aber began his career in finance and then marketing at American Express, spending six years with the company and rapidly moving through the management ranks. After leaving Amex in 1991, he built a successful direct marketing consulting practice, with a range of travel, financial services, education, municipal government and retail clients.

In 1996, Jay launched Internet advertising pioneer DoubleClick Inc.’s Canadian operations. In 1997, he became president of ClickThrough Interactive, a Toronto-based web advertising sales and website development company, which 24/7 Real Media (NASDAQ: TFSM) acquired in 1999. As the division president, he built 24/7 into the leading Internet marketing solutions company in Canada.

At 24/7 Canada, Jay distinguished himself as an energetic and innovative manager. In April of 2001, he joined the executive committee of 24/7 Real Media worldwide, simultaneously running the Canadian operations from Toronto and corporate marketing in New York. His extensive experience in direct marketing, Internet advertising and business development, entrepreneurial approach and bottom-line focus made him a valued asset to the 24/7 executive team.

Jay stepped down as president of 24/7 Canada in March 2006 and concentrated his efforts on building The Aber Group. The company provides counsel to senior executives on the best ways to use the Internet to achieve direct marketing goals, then develops and executes the campaigns. The Aber Group counts many blue chip companies as clients, including American Express, Canada Mortgage & Housing Corporation, Union Bank of Switzerland, Sun Life Financial, The Canadian Marketing Association, Angus Reid Strategies, Prince Edward Island Tourism, World Wildlife Fund and Research in Motion.

In 2005, Direct Marketing News named Aber a “Top 10 Direct Marketing Mover and Shaker.” Jay is an executive member of the Interactive Advertising Bureau’s Board of Directors, and chairs its Marketing Council. He is actively involved with the Canadian Marketing Association, serving on its Board of Directors and chairing its Digital Marketing Council (2000-2006), participating in its Internet Best Practices Task Force, co-authoring and teaching its inaugural e-Marketing Certification course, and representing Canadian marketers on the Federal Government’s Task Force on Spam Reduction. As founder and past president of the Association of Internet Marketing & Sales, he built Canada's largest association of Internet sales professionals and marketers during his four-year tenure that ended in 2004.

He is a popular and sought-after speaker/educator on topics ranging from Internet marketing and advertising to permission-based email and privacy. Jay developed and continues to teach a popular executive-level Internet marketing seminar for the Canadian Marketing Association. He is widely published, with a bi-monthly “Web Insight” column in Direct Marketing News. He also serves as a commentator on Internet marketing, acting as a source for the Globe and Mail and others.

David Stark
Vice-President, Public Affairs, Canada Privacy Officer, North America, TNS

David Stark is a vice-president at TNS and is the firm’s privacy officer for North America. TNS is the world’s largest provider of custom market research and analysis, a leader in political and social polling, and a major supplier of consumer panel, media intelligence, and TV and radio audience measurement services.

Based in Toronto, Canada, David has spoken frequently on privacy topics at national and international conferences, written articles that have appeared in various trade association publications, and provided counsel to major corporations and public sector organizations, including the Government of Canada.

David holds an Honours BA in political studies from Queen’s University and an MA in political science from McMaster University. He is a member of the Marketing Research and Intelligence Association and is currently serving as its president-elect. David is also a member of the International Association of Privacy Professionals and holds the IAPP’s Certified Information Privacy Professional designation.

Walton Hill
Vice-President, Public Affairs and Communications, Canadian Marketing Association

As Vice-President, Public Affairs and Communications, Wally Hill has responsibility for strategy and program development for CMA’s work in the public policy arena. His portfolio includes the Association’s government relations, communications programs for members and the public, as well as CMA’s Ethics & Privacy and Postal Issues Committees, CMA’s Special Interest Councils and related research activities.

Wally’s private sector background includes senior management positions with a major Canadian financial institution, as well as several years in the communications and government relations consulting business. Prior to that, he worked as a senior advisor at a number of Federal Government Ministries. He has served as chief of staff for the Minister of Industry and the Government House Leader & Minister Responsible for Canada Post Corporation.

Amanda Maltby
Chief Privacy Officer, Canada Post Corporation

Amanda has over twenty years experience in the public affairs field and is one of Canada’s experts on privacy issues impacting marketing and business generally.

In her role as Canada Post’s Chief Privacy Officer, Amanda has responsibility for all matters related to employee and customer privacy and personal information protection.

Prior to joining Canada Post, Amanda was Senior Vice-President at Ipsos-Reid Corporation, one of Canada’s leading market research companies, where she provided strategic advice to a wide range of public and private sector clients.

For seven years she held the position of Senior Vice President, Public Affairs and Communications at the Canadian Marketing Association where she managed a diverse portfolio including the Association’s communications activities, its research program and policy development in areas such as privacy, consumer protection, and postal affairs. In this role, Ms. Maltby led the Association’s efforts in the negotiation and implementation of the federal private sector privacy legislation, PIPEDA.

Prior to her position at the CMA, she held several senior communications and strategy positions in the federal government departments of Finance and Foreign Affairs and International Trade.

Amanda is a frequent commentator on privacy and ethical marketing practices and was a member of the federal government’s Anti-Spam Task Force and Industry Canada’s Consumer Trends Advisory Committee. She is a graduate of Carleton University in Ottawa.

Brady Murphy
Managing Partner, Vortex Mobile

Brady Murphy is a Founder and Managing Partner of Vortex Mobile. Since 2004, Brady has been leading Vortex's sales and marketing efforts and has acted as the company's chief evangelist for all things mobile marketing. His expertise lies in leveraging mobile applications to create compelling brand experiences that encourage dialogue between companies and consumers.

Brady contributes mobile marketing posts to the Canadian Marketing Association blog and was selected for Marketing Magazine’s “2007 Ones to Watch”. Under his leadership, Vortex Mobile has been selected as one of Backbone Magazine’s “25 Up & Coming Technology Companies” and Profit’s “Hot 50 Fastest Growing Start-ups”.

Jack Bensimon
Partner, Bensimon Byrne

Bensimon Byrne was established in 1993. It began with five employees and now has 130. It is a full-service advertising agency providing services in the areas of mass media, direct response, digital, design and experiential marketing. Prior to starting his own agency, Jack held progressively more senior account management positions with the Toronto offices of Bozell, Scali McCabe Sloves and an independent Canadian firm, Ambrose Carr. It was there he met his creative partner, Peter Byrne.

In twenty-two years, Jack has managed a diverse group of clients including: American Airlines, Nabisco Brands, Purolator Courier, Mercedes Benz, Eaton’s, Molson Breweries and Scotiabank. He is recognized for his strategic planning skills and his passion for creating great advertising. In addition to his role as president, Jack also functions as the agency’s lead strategic planner.

In 1994, Jack served as a judge for Canada’s preeminent creative competition, The CMA Marketing Awards. Bensimon Byrne was runner-up in Strategy Magazine's “2002 Agency of the Year competition,” and a finalist again in 2004, 2006 and 2008. A graduate of York University, Jack Bensimon has an Honours Degree in Political Science. Jack’s interests include travel, politics, golf and architecture.

David Herle
LLB, Principal, The Gandalf Group

David Herle is a principal partner with The Gandalf Group. Formerly a partner in the Earnscliffe Strategy Group, Mr. Herle has been a nationally recognized leader in public opinion research, strategic advice and communications strategies for the past fourteen years.

Active for many years in research and strategy for the public sector, David is probably best- known in that regard for his work on eight consecutive federal budgets. In addition, he worked on policy issues and social marketing in such areas as health care, first nations and aboriginal affairs, innovation and productivity, human rights, bank mergers, child support and family breakup, the environment, nuclear power and resource management.

His extensive work in the private sector has focused on issue management, corporate reputation and brand management, corporate social responsibility, crisis management and consumer marketing. It has included the telecommunications, natural resources, energy, management services, financial, class action lawsuits and consumer products sectors.

Majoring in social sciences, David Herle received his BA from the University of Regina. He was called to the Bar in Ontario after receiving his LLB from the University of Saskatchewan.

Akin Arikan
Senior Manager, Internet Marketing, Unica Corporation

Akin Arikan is the author of Multichannel Marketing: Metrics and Methods for On and Offline Success. Working as a Senior Manager of Internet Marketing at Unica Corporation, he is responsible for ensuring customer satisfaction with Unica's web analytics and Internet marketing solutions. Akin has been working with web analytics practitioners over the last seven years. He has presented at many conferences to share the learning and best practices from his experience with customers. He received a degree in computer science and business administration from the University of Hamburg in Germany. Akin is also a blogger at http://multichannelmetrics.com.

Gary Unger
Author of How to Be a Creative Genius (in five minutes or less)

“The guy can see around blind corners.” Author, speaker and advertising consultant, Gary Unger received this high praise from a client after yet another successful engagement. Gary is a creative powerhouse and gifted humorist driven by his passion to share both gifts with the world. His message is clear: Be yourself and have fun doing it! His clever and insightful writing style never fails to inspire laughter and deep thought, sparking the fountain of creativity buried in the minds of his readers.

Gary Unger’s message in How to Be a Creative Genius (in five minutes or less) has been honed by more than a decade of success in the advertising industry. Currently, Gary is an advertising consultant who has worked on creative campaigns for industry titans such as Chick-Fil-A, General Motors and the National Basketball Association. He is the originator of AutoZone’s Get in the Zone ad campaign, the longest-running ad campaign in the company’s history. Gary’s creative work has been featured in numerous publications and has also earned him a place in the Levi Strauss T-Shirt Hall of Fame.

Gary is the creator of a proprietary creative process called XDO, a process blending actions, material and the existential in order to unlock the creative potential of its practitioners. If creativity requires only a spark to ignite, Gary Unger - in the words of BrightHouse founder and certified creative genius, Joey Reiman - is “a box of matches”. A native of Reedsport, Oregon, Gary currently resides in the Atlanta, Georgia area with his wife and three children.

Peter Reinhardt
President, Saving Main Street Inc.

Peter’s retail, management, sales and marketing experience has taught him that successful companies are built on sound principles: being transparent, recognizing achievement, rewarding desired behaviour and offering a fun environment in which to grow. Peter brings this enthusiasm and energy to create incentive programs that are over-the-top in their ability to motivate employees, train and educate staff, instil loyalty, reach and exceed sales objectives, and drive bottom-line profits.

“Vital stats” for Peter Reinhardt include the following:

• Joined forces with Malcolm Stagg of Norprint to develop marketing applications for snapNwin (the newest addition to the industry’s guerrilla marketing toolkit);
• Launched Saving Main Street as a joint venture initiative bringing together some of the greatest talent in the industry;
• Executive experience at Carlson Marketing Group focusing on customer-centric one-to-one marketing strategies;
• Extensive experience in business, retail, automotive, financial, insurance products, training, motivation and incentives.

Bill Mackrell
Vice-President & General Manager, Marketing & Mailing, Pitney Bowes

Bill Mackrell has over 20 years’ of marketing and sales experience with Pitney Bowes Canada. In his capacity as Vice-President and General Manager, Marketing and Global Mailing Solutions, he has total business unit accountability for the core mailing business. In his marketing role, he is responsible for the development and implementation of strategic and tactical sales and marketing plans to grow and support Pitney Bowes core businesses.

Bill began his career with Pitney Bowes in sales within Global Mailing Systems (GMS) in 1985. He advanced into positions of increasing responsibility within GMS sales and marketing organization, including sales manager, marketing manager, director, corporate communications and sales planning; and vice-president, marketing, Global Mailing Systems. In 1997, he became vice-president, recurring revenue and SOHO, where he managed 180 employees in the Canadian Customer Call Centre, responsible for customer service, collections, postage by phone and the telemarketing sales organization. In 1999, Bill joined Global Credit Services as vice-president, sales & marketing, where he lead the overall management of the leasing division which transcends multiple lines of businesses (mailing, document imaging solutions, document messaging technology and distribution solutions) and across multiple channels (direct and dealer).

Bill Mackrell is a member at the Canadian & Finance Leasing Association (CFLA), the industry association that advocates the interests of the leasing industry in Canada. He is also a member at the Canadian Marketing Association (CMA), the largest professional marketing association in Canada.

Susan Moore
Executive Vice-President, Chief Operating Officer, Wunderman Canada

Susan Moore brings more than 20 years’ experience, both agency- and client-side, to the relationship marketing industry. She began her career working for not-for-profit organizations, developing and growing catalogue merchandising programs. For six years, she extended this expertise to Canadian cataloguer, Regal Greetings & Gifts, and had responsibility for marketing services, acquisition and loyalty marketing programs.

Having joined Wunderman in 1997, Susan led accounts for clients in a variety of categories including consumer packaged goods, technology, loyalty marketing, financial services and commercial crown corporations. She is expert at integrated B2C and B2B marketing and customer relationship programs. In addition to her client responsibilities, Susan leads new business and corporate marketing for Wunderman Canada.

Susan holds an Honours BA. Besides her wonderfully challenging job at Wunderman, Susan’s other passion is her family, especially her two young daughters. Susan loves to cook and spend time with friends and family.

Bill Sweetman
General Manager, YummyNames

Bill Sweetman is the General Manager of YummyNames, a yummy service from Tucows that offers marketers the ability to purchase or lease premium domain names. A self-confessed domain name fanatic, Bill registered his very first domain in 1994 and has been perfecting his “Domain Name Karate” moves ever since. Bill has provided strategic domain name advice to companies around the world and he has overseen the buying and selling of thousands of domain names.

Bill is also one of the Internet marketing industry's most respected authorities and his innovative work over the last 15 years has been recognized by numerous awards, including the prestigious Internet World Impact Award for Communications. Bill has overseen hundreds of Internet marketing campaigns for companies such as Alliance Atlantis Communications, Bell Mobility, CBC, Dupont, General Motors, Harlequin Enterprises, Hewlett-Packard, Pfizer and RBC Royal Bank.

He is a regular contributor to various trade publications and blogs, including his own acclaimed Internet marketing blog, Sweetmantra. Bill also serves on the Digital Marketing Conference Committee for the Canadian Marketing Association.

Eric Pierni
Senior Marketing Manager, Kijiji Canada

Eric Pierni is Senior Marketing Manager at Kijiji Canada and responsible for overseeing the company's advertising sales. As a member of the original team that launched Kijiji Canada Classifieds in 2005, Eric played an integral role in developing and driving the website’s original online marketing strategy, including all of Kijiji’s Internet and off-line marketing campaigns. He has also been involved in Kijiji’s community building and product development activities.

Eric joined the eBay group of companies in 2002 to help solidify eBay Canada’s position as the leading e-commerce destination in Canada. Previously, he worked at Mamma.com Inc., an online search technology company, where he helped drive the company’s business results by servicing the business development team. Eric is a graduate of Concordia University, where he earned a BComm in Marketing.

Kijiji, which means “village” in Swahili, is a group of classifieds-style websites that offer a convenient, fun and easy way for people in the same city to meet, trade, share ideas and help each other out in areas such as housing, jobs, goods, services, cars and personals. The entire Kijiji family includes the Kijiji, Gumtree, LoQUo, Intoko and Marktplaats brands. Kijiji sites are currently available in over 1500 cities in numerous markets around the world. Also, Kijiji Canada is the most visited classified site in Canada with over 6.4 million unique visitors per month.

David Ian Gray
President, Dig360

David Ian Gray is a recognized expert on shopper trends and the retail sector, producing high-impact intelligence and strategic studies, and facilitating strategic evolution. Combining fact-based counsel with his unique thinking, he helps organizations become more relevant to the right target stakeholders and connect deeply with them.

With a 20-year background in business intelligence combining finance, market research, strategic planning and sustainability, David has worked with a variety of leading organizations to foster better decisions in times of change.

He has been an early advocate on a variety of business and research topics. A thirst for knowledge drives him, as does the belief that insight is a catalyst for innovation. David’s curiosity and desire to anticipate change keeps him consistently ahead of the curve on many issues. David is a guest columnist for business magazines, an event speaker and is regularly quoted by the business media across Canada.

Deepta Rayner
Director, RSI Research Solutions Inc.

With over 10 years experience consulting in consumer demographics, Deepta Rayner is the Co-Founder of RSI Research Solutions Inc., a boutique one-stop-shop for marketing analytics. Formerly of Compusearch/MapInfo, Deepta has extensive experience developing and improving demographic databases and software applications. Having worked with most of the major data providers in Canada, she has a strong grasp of the latest trends and best practices in consumer analysis.

Deepta has emerged as one of Canada’s ethnic marketing experts. Recently she has authored and presented numerous market evaluations including decoding the size, spending power, and cultural nuances of the Chinese and South Asian communities in the Greater Toronto and Vancouver Areas.

As a member of the Canadian Marketing Association, Deepta is actively involved in the Direct Marketing Council, where she shares her knowledge and expertise in the areas of marketing analytics, ethnic marketing and environmental responsibility. Deepta also sits on the board of Planet In Focus, an organization at the forefront of educating and entertaining through film, and is a founding member of Toronto’s Green Screens Initiative.

Phil Otto
President & CEO, Revolve 360 Branding

Revolve’s position as brand experts comes from Phil’s unrelenting professional development. A student of branding, Phil is passionate about brand articulation and helping clients understand the connection between a strong brand and corporate culture, employee behaviour and core values.

After working with a Halifax advertising agency, Phil started Image Design as a one-person design studio in 1986. During the mid 2000’s, at fifteen staff, the company had outgrown the Image Design name and had become Atlantic Canada’s largest branding agency, servicing clients across Canada as well as in the U.S., Bermuda and Europe. Phil changed the company name to Revolve 360 Branding in early 2007 to reflect the company Image Design has become – a firm of brand and communication professionals helping clients succeed by influencing all aspects of their brand.

Named one of Atlantic Canada’s Top 50 CEOs, Phil is frequently quoted in national and local publications, gives guest lectures on branding at Mount Saint Vincent University and speaks across Canada on the power of branding in business. Phil believes in getting to the brand essence of every client before pencil hits paper. His commitment to background research ensures the heart and soul of every client shines through.

A father of four and married to wife Heather, Phil Otto serves on the Board of Directors of the Timbrkids Charitable Foundation, the Mental Health Foundation of Nova Scotia, Nova Scotia Hearing & Speech Foundation and the Nova Scotia Home Builders’ Association, Central Nova.

Shane Skillen
President & Founder, Hotspex

As President and Founder of Hotspex, Shane hates the limits that structure traditional marketing research houses. To that end, he has sought to join the best people together with innovative research methodologies under one banner. Through those paradigms, he and the people of Hotspex are redesigning the routes brand managers take when developing brand values. Always an entrepreneur, Shane looks to a time when marketing methodologies will further develop into a form that provides “real time decision support for marketers based on a subconscious understanding of how and why people really make the decisions they do”.

However, Shane is not just about the future, he is also about the now and the company’s place in the vanguard of marketing research. Shane’s business philosophy – “surround yourself with great people and great things will happen” – is a key ingredient to the innovation and creative freedom that is at the heart of Hotspex and its constant progress onto the global stage. In May of 2000, Shane founded Hotspex.com with the vision of using the Internet to involve consumers from around the world in designing and developing new products and services for leading international brands. He is a key member of the new product development team and is always looking for new ways to use technology to facilitate innovation.

Shane has a business degree from the Richard Ivey School of Business with a specialization in Marketing and Entrepreneurialism. In 2005, Marketing Magazine recognized Shane in their annual list, “Ones to Watch: Marketing's Next Generation”.

Steve Conover
Creative Director, Zig

Steve’s been creating advertising for over 25 years on behalf of clients like Honda, Mercedes Benz, Swiss Chalet, Sun Life Financial, KFC, KGF, P&G, J&J, Colgate, Channel , Labatt’s and Leon’s. He has no tangible proof any of it has ever worked – but he strongly believes in his heart that it has.

Stacey McInnes
Senior Vice-President, Director of Strategic Planning, Publicis Toronto

Stacey McInnes is Senior Vice-President, Director of Strategic Planning at Publicis in Toronto, where she provides leadership in developing brand and business building programs for a wide range of clients.

Working closely with them on their greatest challenges, Stacey brings an ability to deconstruct complex issues with fresh perspectives and a breadth of experience in consumer, business-to-business and social marketing. Her extensive background addressing Canadian, U.S. and international business challenges has enabled her to develop a rigorous and creative approach to finding critical insights and connections between brands, their audiences and market opportunities.

Over the past four years at Publicis, Stacey has helped build one of the deepest and most holistic agency planning teams in Canada, with expertise in consumer insights and trend analysis, brand consultancy, and account and engagement planning. Her and her team’s innovative work has resulted in highly successful programs for Rogers, Ontario Ministry of the Environment, CIBC, Purolator and many others.

Prior to joining Publicis, Stacey spent seven years in New York at McCann-Erickson, where she led major strategic initiatives that helped revitalize and re-position a number of iconic brands, including MSN, Avis, Sony, CARE and Wendy’s. With an extensive background across a wide range of challenges and a sharp eye towards the future, Stacey continues her pursuit of new tools and ideas for this rapidly changing world.

Wendy Robertson
Founder/CEO, Kneebone Inc.

Wendy Robertson is the Founder/CEO of Kneebone Inc., creator of the first marketing investment engine software that helps marketers drive ROI for business. She is an innovator in the area of marketing performance management, developing the important bridge between great marketing and great business results. Her background in performance-based marketing strategy, marketing research and analysis, strategic and creative planning, and classic consumer and B2B marketing provides the perspective for the development of the Kneebone technology, which produces trusted information and trusted decisions for marketing professionals to compete for resources with a healthy ROI.

Wendy has experience working with both large corporate partners and small business across multiple industry sectors. In the 1980’s, she developed strong management skills in the multi-national advertising agency environment. In the 1990’s, she expanded her roster to include consulting to agency and client businesses. Identifying marketing’s critical challenge, with increasing choice and decreasing budgets, has propelled her commitment to the emerging field of marketing performance management. With her partners, Wendy is evolving ideas to use technology-based solutions to support marketing’s agenda - an ambition to bring marketing to the table with important, game-changing paths to new revenue.

Joe Sexsmith
Founder, Activation Economics

Joseph Sexsmith is a thought leader in the new world of marketing effectiveness. He is an alumnus of the some of the elite consultancies where he trained as a strategy generalist - a dying breed, but one that has spawned most of the greatest marketing innovations. Through his company, Activation Economics, and his network of think tanks and analysts, he is able to take on virtually any issue for marketers, media companies and advertising agencies. Using a research-led consulting model, Joseph is able to help his clients fully understand the issues and apply balanced creative and scientific insights to their resolution.

Activation Economics is actively engaged with clients seeking to build thought leadership into their business development strategies. For a global ad agency, Joseph is currently leading a major effort to build a client-facing research function, which is being monetized and from which a standalone line of business is being created. The agency has high expectations for creating new positioning with clients, as well as sufficient organic revenues to create a new stream of positive cash flows in its first year.

Activation Economics is currently pursuing two thought leadership projects. The first, Enhancing the CMO-CFO Dialog, is in production with a major peer-to-peer network of CMOs and CFOs. The second is on avant-garde applications of marketing effectiveness.

Jim Torrence
Head, Global Brand Marketing, RBC

As global Head, Brand Marketing, Jim Torrance is responsible for developing the programs that help sustain and enhance the RBC brand. Founded in 1864, RBC has evolved from a regional bank to become one of North America’s leading diversified financial services companies and Canada’s largest bank, with more than 15 million personal, business and public sector clients worldwide in more than 30 countries.

Over the past six years, Jim and his team have revitalized RBC’s brand through a series of internal and external programs, including: the launch of the new marketing communications platform, “Create”; development of a marketing plan in support of RBC’s global Water cause; delivery of major sponsorship properties such as the RBC Canadian Open, Olympics and TIFF; development of internal communications to engage employees in support of the client-focused brand strategy.

In a career that spans more than 25 years in brand strategy, Jim has held progressively senior positions at some of Canada’s largest and most respected companies, including Canada Trust, Imperial Oil, Warner Lambert and Loblaws.

Herb Sorensen
Global Scientific Director, Consumer and Shopper Insights, TNS North America

Herb is a preeminent authority on observing and measuring shopping behaviour and attitudes within the four walls of the store. Studying shopper behaviour, motivations and perceptions at the point of purchase, he has worked with Fortune 100 retailers and consumer packaged goods manufacturers for more than 35 years. Sorensen’s patented shopper tracking technology, PathTracker®, is helping to revolutionize retail marketing strategies from a traditional “product-centric” perspective to a new “shopper-centric” focus.

Herb has conducted studies in North America, Europe, Asia, Australia and South America. His research has been widely published and he has served as an expert source for The Wall Street Journal, BusinessWeek and others. Moreover, he is currently a panelist of RetailWire’s “BrainTrust”.

Herb Sorenson was named one of the top 50 innovators of 2004 by Fast Company magazine, and shared the American Marketing Association’s 2007 EXPLOR Award for technological applications that advance research, with Peter Fader and his group at the Wharton School of Business of the University of Pennsylvania. Herb has a PhD in Biochemistry.

Rick Ferguson
Editorial Director, COLLOQUY Magazine

As Editorial Director of COLLOQUY, Rick Ferguson is responsible for all COLLOQUY print and online publishing, educational and research projects. Under Rick’s direction, the COLLOQUY magazine and website provide a worldwide audience of more than 32,000 subscribers with news, expert commentary, program summaries and research on all facets of loyalty marketing around the globe.

An acknowledged expert in the theory and practice of loyalty marketing, Rick has published numerous articles and white papers describing the characteristics of marketing programs which seek to change customer behaviour. He has been quoted as a loyalty expert in several major newspapers and serves as a contributor to various magazines, journals and websites.

Rick has been a featured presenter at industry conferences sponsored by the likes of the Canadian Marketing Association. As a key member of the COLLOQUY faculty, he has delivered educational workshops and webinars on the principles, practices and technologies of loyalty marketing in the U.S., U.K., South Africa, the Ukraine, Malaysia and Singapore.

Di Cullen
Managing Director, Direct Antidote

As Managing Director, Di leads the client services team at Direct Antidote. She applies her extensive marketing communications background in tailoring effective creative strategies to fit each client's unique needs. Drawing on decades of hands-on experience in the U.S., Canada and her native South Africa, she provides clients with strategic insights on everything from brand management and traditional advertising to public relations, sampling and promotions.

In the course of her career, Di has tackled every imaginable marketing challenge for an incredible diversity of products and services. Her wide-ranging resumé includes senior-level positions at Unilever, Lintas, SMW Advertising, BMO Financial Group, Euro RSCG and Harrisdirect.

Ted Graham
Director, Business Development, Interbrand

As Director, Business Development at Interbrand, Ted Graham is charged with identifying opportunities to help Canadian brands grow and prosper. Prior to joining Interbrand, Ted was a management consultant with McKinsey & Company's strategy practice, where he consulted with top management on a variety of strategic and organizational issues.

While serving as chief knowledge officer at Hill & Knowlton, Ted created a premium research product called “Influencer Network Analysis” (INA) to map the relationships between the individuals, media and organizations that are shaping opinions across various industries and realms of public life. INA was nominated for an “innovation of the year” award by PR Week.

Ted, who has a BA from the University of Toronto and an MBA from Queen’s University, is also a former magazine publisher and journalist. His consulting experience covers a broad range of sectors, including professional services, financial, technology, government, pharmaceutical and consumer packaged goods.

Ted believes that: “Brands are economic engines that can and should be managed intelligently to create value, secure future earnings and fuel market confidence.”

Stephen Benson
CEO, Innovationexchange.com

Stephen Benson is the Co-founder and CEO of innovationexchange.com, an online destination for smart, skilled, passionate people from all over the world who like solving creative and intellectual business challenges. These are knowledgeable, educated, committed and networked people who have the ability to connect, collaborate and contribute anything - all the way from a simple idea to a 'killer' solution that changes the whole face of an industry. Innovationexchange.com has regularly been described as an innovative blending of LinkedIn, Wikipedia, Facebook and eBay.

Holder of a BBM from Leeds Metropolitan University in the UK, Stephen is a much sought-after speaker on the topic of new innovation models and, specifically, open innovation. His most recent engagements were at UC Berkeley Haas School of Business, Centre for Open Innovation, and the United Nations’ Conference on Trade and Development in Geneva, Switzerland. He has also been featured in Entrepreneur Magazine, where he discussed the benefits of an open innovation model.

Rosalie McGovern (Chair)
General Manager, Marketing and Business Development, Direct Marketing, Canada Post Corporation

Leveraging her years of experience in the direct marketing industry, Rosalie McGovern joined Canada Post in 2007 as General Manager of Marketing and Business Development. From 2000 to 2007, she was at RBC, where she was responsible for marketing strategy for credit card products and the marketing communications team. Prior to her arrival at RBC, Rosalie established the McCann Relationship Marketing office in San Francisco to service the Microsoft account on behalf of McCann Ericsson World group.

Before going to the U.S., she spent five years at MacLaren McCann Relationship Marketing in Toronto as vice-president, group account director. There, Rosalie was responsible for relationship and direct response marketing and integrated planning for clients such as General Motors, The GM Visa Card, Lego, and Black and Decker. She focused on automotive and financial services industries on the agency side prior to that. Following her graduation from McMaster University, she worked in marketing at IBM and Loblaws.

Rosalie has won over 15 Canadian and international industry awards and was an instructor for the CMA’s Advanced Marketing Program.

Gayle Goossen
Creative Director, Principal, Barefoot Creative Inc.

Gayle Goossen is a partner and Creative Director of Barefoot Creative. Barefoot Creative is a global, full-service fund-raising and communication agency. The agency helps many national non-profit organizations develop effective holiday giving programs that both reflect unique product lines and increase overall revenue.

Ryan Deutsch
Senior Director, Marketing Strategy, StrongMail Systems

An e-mail marketing veteran and industry thought leader, Ryan Deutsch has 12 years of direct marketing experience across catalogue, retail and publishing industries. He is a frequent contributor to industry media and regularly speaks at marketing events. Most recently, Ryan served as vice-president of marketing automation at Premiere Global Services, where he helped broker customer relationships with global brands.

Previously, he was vice-president of sales and marketing for Twelve Horses North America, where he managed its e-mail marketing solutions. Moreover, Ryan served as vice-president at SpringDot, a commercial print and e-mail provider. He holds a BSc in Accounting from Indiana University.

Maggie Fox
CEO, Social Media Group

Maggie Fox, a communications and content expert who has never met a medium she didn't like, is the Founder and CEO of Social Media Group, one of the world's largest independent agencies helping business navigate the new socially engaged Web. Over the course of her career, Maggie has led teams that have marketed, written and produced television and website content for companies like CHUM Limited, the Global Television Network, Do it Best, Deloitte, Sears and Disney. A long-time blogger (and dot-bomb survivor), she’s presently putting her unique experience to work for firms who want to engage their internal and external audiences through social media.

Widely acknowledged as industry pioneers, Social Media Group has developed social media strategies for some of the best-known brands in Europe and North America, including Ford Motor Company, SAP, Yamaha Motor, Corbis and Harlequin Publishing. Maggie has also been interviewed about social media by newspapers, magazines, on radio and television. She was also recently included in "Women Who Risk", a listing of influential women who head up Internet-based firms.

Co-founder of the Toronto Girl Geek Dinners (www.torontogirlgeekdinners.ca), Maggie is frequently asked to speak to business groups across North America about Web 2.0, and sits on the Advisory Board for Social Media Today LLC, which operates the Social Media Collective and MyVenturePad online communities.

Chris Reid
National Manager, Product Planning and Research, Yamaha Motor Canada

Chris Reid, a twenty-year veteran with Yamaha Motor Canada, balances his time between gripping a mouse and a set of handle bars. His passion for motor sports has spurred a diversified career within the Yamaha organization. Motorcycles, ATVs, snowmobiles and mountain bikes are all weapons of choice and if it has a motor, two wheels or goes fast, Chris has likely made the opportunity to pilot it. On the yang, there is nothing he likes better than spending time on the water aboard his very slow pontoon boat.

Chris is the National Manager, Product Planning and Research at Yamaha. In this capacity, he works very closely with the engineers in Japan to develop, deliver and market new products to a very demanding, performance-minded consumer base. In his “spare time” between overseas trips and boardroom sessions, he maintains the Yamaha Sled Talk snowmobile blog. He is regularly engaged in a wide variety of topics online, speaking frankly with customers while dodging bullets from random shooters both internally and externally.

Currently, Sled Talk is the only corporate motor sports blog in Canada, providing Yamaha a unique medium in which to engage snowmobile enthusiasts. Chris is somewhat of a social media evangelist, working to raise web-2.0 awareness within his highly structured, traditional media focused, corporate world.

Alexis Zamkow
General Manager, Data Products and Services, Canada Post

In her role as General Manager, Data Products and Services at Canada Post, Alexis oversees the development of geo-spatial targeting tools, address-based data offerings and the National Change of Address program. Prior to joining Canada Post, she developed her skills in both CRM and marketing strategy across a broad spectrum of organizations and industries, all focusing on leveraging customer information to build loyalty and profitability.

With experience in both Canada and the U.S. on analytic and technology assignments for companies such as Direct Energy and GTE, Alexis has blended research, segmentation, modeling and CRM technologies to deliver improved customer experiences and revenues. She has also led agency teams on data-driven loyalty and communications programs for companies such as Bell Canada, Sears, Mead Johnson, Nissan, Future Shop, Ford of Canada and Scotiabank.

Jeremy Cooper
Vice-President, Americas Marketing, Salesforce.com

As Vice-President of Marketing in the Americas, Jeremy Cooper heads a team responsible for integrated marketing campaigns, execution and analytics. He has extensive international marketing experience. Prior to relocating to the U.S. in 2008, Jeremy served as vice-president, marketing, Asia-Pacific & Japan, and was part of a management team that established the company's operations in Asia. During his tenure, he built a marketing team that drove salesforce.com's market development strategy across more than 15 countries, and Asia Pacific & Japan became the company's fastest growing region worldwide.

Prior to joining salesforce.com in 2006, Jeremy was based in Singapore for nine years and held several senior market development positions with leading enterprise software companies. From 2004-2006, Jeremy oversaw Oracle Corporation's Asia Pacific Applications & Industries Market Development Team and was instrumental in driving greater than 100 per cent applications license revenue growth for two consecutive years. He also oversaw Sales Operations for the Applications & Industries business unit and implemented a set of initiatives that fostered much greater alignment between Oracle's regional marketing and sales teams.

From 2000-2004, Jeremy held senior marketing roles with Siebel Systems and was responsible for establishing its marketing operations in Asia. Jeremy is originally from Australia and holds degrees in Business and Law.

Bob Macdonald
President and CEO, Maritz Canada Inc.

Bob Macdonald was appointed President of Maritz Canada Inc. in January 2001 and was promoted to CEO in April 2004. Heading one of the country’s top sales and marketing performance services organizations, he is a respected leader in the industry.

Bob developed his career in sales and marketing working for Fortune 500 organizations both domestically and internationally. He has extensive experience implementing unique and innovative solutions to address customer loyalty, brand alignment, customer experience, event marketing and sales channel effectiveness programs.

In 2003 Bob joined the Ontario Science Centre’s Board of Trustees and is Chairman for the Long-Term Visitor Experience Subcommittee. In October 2007, Bob completed the eight-week Advanced Management Program at Harvard Business School with a focus on leadership and organizational transformation. The program is designed to drive corporate performance by leading responsibly, ethically and strategically.

Bob is married and a proud father of four young children, and is fascinated by history and traveling the world. Bob believes in the potential of people – both personally and professionally. His goal is to inspire people, either by setting a personal example or by enabling clients, communities and Maritz Canada employees to reach their full potential. Maritz Canada was recognized as one of “the 50 Best Companies to Work For in Canada” and obtained ISO 9001: 2000 Certification in 2003. It is ranked third in Marketing Magazine’s list of “Top 100 Marketing Communications Companies”.

Mitch Charron
Vice-President, Television Division, Pelmorex Media Inc.

Mich Charron started his career in 1980 as a director and producer of various programs at CJAD, a radio station located in Montreal. In 1989, he then joined The Weather Network team where he held several positions such as floor manager, switcher/editor, cameraman and producer of the Toronto and National Morning Shows. Continuing to grow within the company, Mitch Charron held various positions within management, such as operations manager, director of operations, program manager and director of programming.

Today, as Vice-President of the Television Division for The Weather Network & MétéoMédia, he is responsible for all of Pelmorex’s TV operations, from budgets to products, including the look and content as well as all of the technical, production and on-air staff.

Taylor Emerson
Vice-President & General Manager, Interactive Services, Pelmorex Media Inc.

With 10 years’ experience in interactive media, Taylor has led the interactive team at Pelmorex Media Inc. for the last number of years. Starting as marketing manager, web, Taylor focused on the English and French language sites, theweathernetwork.com and météomédia.com. Consistently evolving and expanding its products, Interactive Services now includes a variety of offerings such as e-mail, desktop applications, and mobile (mobile web, mobile applications and text-messaging). Interactive Services also covers the area of Affiliate Relations, which distributes weather information to 3rd party media partners, including many major websites and portals, a number of digital-out-of-home markets and newspapers, providing 80% of Canada’s daily newspaper circulation with a finished weather product.

Taylor first joined Pelmorex Media Inc. in 1999, after returning to Toronto from Vancouver, where he was in marketing at Rogers Wireless (then Cantel, AT&T). For 3 years at Rogers, Taylor supported the regional marketing department, studied the rapidly evolving competitive environment and helped launch digital-PCS phones in British Columbia, as well as a number of the new digital services, such as text messaging.

Prior to taking on the role of Vice-President & General Manager in 2003, Taylor gained experience in a number of online activities through various roles, including managing web development, advertising sales, content partnerships, and coordinating the launch of Pelmorex’s early stage iTV initiatives.

Taylor has an MBA from the Richard Ivey School of Business and an Honours Bachelor’s degree in Religious Studies (East Asian Philosophy) and English Literature from McGill University. His interests are in the arts, nature and outdoor living, food and wine.

Carrie Lysenko
Manager, Online Applications, Pelmorex Media Inc.

Carrie Lysenko is the Manager of Online Applications at Pelmorex Media Inc. – The Weather Network, Canada’s number one source for weather information. Carrie heads up all development, strategy and marketing efforts surrounding The Weather Network’s desktop product line. This includes the fourth most popular application in Canada, the WeatherEye. Having worked with applications for over four years and built an audience of over two million users in Canada, she is considered an expert in the industry.

Carrie is a member of the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) of Canada Publisher’s Council. She holds degrees from both Queen’s University and the University of British Columbia. Prior to joining The Weather Network, she worked as the manager of product development for the Toronto Blue Jays Baseball Club.

Her area of expertise encompasses desktop applications, advertising on applications, social network applications and widgets, and monetization of digital media and applications.

Natalie Morrissette (Moderator)
Vice-President, Marketing & Communications, Pelmorex Media Inc.

Natalie Morrissette joined Pelmorex Media Inc., parent company of The Weather Network and French counterpart, MétéoMédia, in early 2008. In her role as Vice-President, Marketing & Communications, Natalie determines the proper mix to reach business objectives through brand building and effective marcom initiatives. Natalie heads up the marketing teams in Oakville and Montreal. Specializing in client services and strategic planning, Natalie brings enthusiasm and passion to her role.

Prior to joining the Pelmorex team, Natalie served as the director of the worldwide online account for BRP (Bombardier Recreational Products) at Nurun, and most recently as the integrated communications director at Publicis in Montreal. Natalie also spent many years on the agency side, working on accounts such as RBC, L’Oréal, Bell and consumer products.

Natalie holds a BComm from Concordia University in Montreal, where she had a double major in Film Production and International Commerce, and a minor in Marketing.

Mark Thompson
Director, Mobile, Pelmorex Media Inc.

No stranger to wireless product and service launches, Mark Thompson leads the Mobile team at Pelmorex with a wealth of experience in strategy creation, execution, market forecasting and partner collaboration.

Mark’s reputation for integrating business goals, brand building and ground-breaking tactics is instrumental in guiding the mobile strategies for The Weather Network and MétéoMédia.

Prior to joining Pelmorex, Mark served as director, wireless operations for Amp’d Mobile in Los Angeles, and most recently as director, marketing for Amp’d Mobile’s launch into the Canadian marketplace. He also spent 6 years with Bell Canada working at Bell Mobility in acquisitions, youth marketing and wireless data. His proven track record for launching industry firsts made him the perfect candidate to move to the Sympatico division of Bell and help launch the Sympatico MSN co-branded software and portal.

Mark holds a Bachelor’s degree in Business Communications from Brock University, and spends all of his spare time with his wife Janet, daughter Ashlyn and Parson Russell Terrier, Derby.

Kyle Whatley
Director, Web, Pelmorex Media Inc.

Kyle Whatley has worked in the web industry since 1995, during the beginning of the commercial web. He was first a consultant and developer with his own firm and moved to Pelmorex Media Inc., owner of The Weather Network and MétéoMédia, where he has managed projects relating to the web, interactive television, desktop applications and mobile.

Kyle oversees all aspects of e-mail products for The Weather Network and MétéoMédia as well as the sites, theweathernetwork.com and meteomedia.com. During his tenure with these sites, they have seen significant growth from 2.3 million to over 8 million visitors, making the combined properties consistently one of the top 10 Canadian ad sites.

He holds degrees from Carleton University, Concordia University and an MBA from the Richard Ivey School of Business at the University of Western Ontario.

Elizabeth Hoyle
President, H2 Central Marketing & Communications

Elizabeth has a reputation for integrating communications to build brands and public affinity on behalf of companies and organizations. She has 25 years of direct experience in all areas of marketing and communications including public relations, advertising, corporate communications, promotion and sponsorships. She thrives on breaking down complex concepts and gaining client/customer buy-in and understanding through communications.

Elizabeth received a BComm from the University of Windsor, a BES from the University of Waterloo and a MSc in Public Relations from the University of Stirling. Among the companies she has worked for are Trimark, CertaPay, Environics Communications, Hill & Knowlton (Marketing & Promotion Group) and Colgate Palmolive.

She heads up account management, as well as strategy and creative. Elizabeth has worked in almost every category and product group, from financial services to technology to packaged goods and government and not-for-profit services. She has received numerous national and international awards for her accomplishments in communications and public relations. Also, Elizabeth has also lectured on public relations at many post-secondary institutions.

Elizabeth Hoyle has worked for major corporations and agencies, and has been a founding member of three successful agencies:

1. Advance Planning & Communication;
2. Environics Communication;
3. H2 Central Marketing & Communications.