Speakers

Monique Giroux

Monique is the Vice-President, Sponsorship Marketing & Strategy at CIBC, responsible for the strategic development and execution of all sponsorship initiatives at CIBC including cause, sport, culture and business development sponsorships. Key properties include the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation CIBC Run for the Cure, FIFA World Cup and International Indian Film Academy Awards. Monique brings to her position extensive experience in the not-for-profit sector and skills in partnership development, all aspects of internal and external communications, special events and promotions, issues and volunteer management. Prior to CIBC, she worked with the Canadian Cancer Society and The Kidney Foundation of Canada. Monique holds an M.A. in Adult Education from Central Michigan University and was a professor of English at Cambrian College. She is currently Chair of the Sponsorship Marketing Council of Canada.

Don Mayo

Don Mayo is Managing Partner at IMI International - with offices located in Toronto, New York, Phoenix, Australia and England. Don has been involved with the evaluation and optimization of marketing activations in 80 categories in 15 countries and has experience from the largest worldwide marketing campaigns and events to grassroots marketing in towns with fewer than 1,000 people. Don has worked with over 400 clients compiling a proprietary database of over 10,000 marketing activations relating to optimizing the impact and ROI of the marketing program.

Michael Samoszewski

Building on 10 years of cross-functional experience in the sales, marketing & finance disciplines, as the Director of Coca-Cola Trademark, Michael Samoszewski is charged with leading a team that is responsible for the development and execution of the brand growth strategy & marketing activation for Coca-Cola, Diet Coke and Coca-Cola Zero in Canada. Michael has an undergraduate degree in Commerce from the University of Toronto and an MBA from the Queens School of Business.

Rick Shaver

Rick believes in creating smart solutions that build our client partners brands. After more than two decades in the business, he comes equipped with a wealth of brand marketing experience and energy to help drive optimal solutions for clients toughest problems. Before joining The Hive, Rick spent ten years at Labatt Breweries of Canada as Marketing Director where he was the steward of such coveted brands as Labatt Blue, Kokanee, Alexander Keith's and Labatt Ice. At The Hive, Rick has worked with long-standing prestigious client partners such as Molson Breweries of Canada, Reebok, Brown Forman Beverages Worldwide and SAB Miller Brewing Company. Building great brands across the ever-evolving range of consumer touch points is Ricks passion. For many years Rick has headed the prestigious global Miller Genuine Draft account, first as advertising & promotional AOR and to this day, activation agency for the decade long Miller Music Tour, the largest beer promotion in the world.

Christina Verdurmen

Christina has always been passionate about Experiential Marketing. She first discovered this during her agency days working on then below-the-line marketing tactics in the digital, direct, experiential and CRM space at Publicis. She realized that the experiential elements of the projects she was working on were what she was found the most rewarding. Combining her love of XM with youth brands, she took a job at Youthography and quickly worked to become the Director of Experiential and Lifestyle Marketing where she built strategic programs for some of Canadas top companies. Christinas creative spirit, coupled with a drive to do the job not only well, but smartly, ensured that the programs she ran were innovative, bang on strategy and most importantly, could garner measurable results. She always looked for (and found) new ways to provide consumers a quality 1:1 experience with the brands she drove. Having worked in youth marketing/culture for a number of years, it was only natural for Christina to be drawn to the role of Lifestyle Marketing Manager for Xbox at Microsoft Canada. She already possessed a personal affinity for gaming, and couldnt wait to sink her teeth into the new opportunities working brand side would afford her. She hit the ground running, and quickly worked with her agencies to create award winning programs for the brand. During her time at Microsoft, Christina has been an integral part of designing the experiential launch strategy for Kinect as well as many core titles, including releases from such franchises as Gears of War and Halo. Christina has recently accepted a new role within her team to become the lead Marketing Communications Manager for Xbox Canada. She looks forward to the new opportunities to come.

Graeme Whickman

Graeme Whickman is vice president of marketing at Ford Motor Company of Canada, Limited, appointed to the position in August 2010. With more than 14 years of diverse marketing experience at Ford subsidiaries around the world, Whickman leads Ford of Canadas marketing efforts, including product marketing, digital, sponsorship, experiential marketing and marketing communications. Whickman joined Ford Motor Company of New Zealand in 1997. Over the next decade, he led innovative marketing initiatives in both mature and emerging markets such as Africa, China, Thailand, and the United Kingdom, and was part of the Asia Pacific team during Fords most significant period of growth in Asia. Ford has provided tremendous career advancement and professional growth in a fast moving and dynamic industry, said Whickman. As an executive who thrives in competitive, challenging and complex environments, Whickman added structure and process to Fords multifaceted Asia Pacific region - preparing this diverse region for the challenges of bringing Ford products to emerging markets and planning for growth.