JURY CHAIR
EVP, Strategic Planning & Commercial Impact, NBCUniversal, USA

In his role at NBCUniversal, Yusuf leads a team of researchers, data strategists and analysts who focus on insights-driven storytelling to reach audiences and drive business results for marketers in every category. With over 25 years in the business, both in London and New York, Yusuf has also led strategy at VMLY&R and McCann New York. He has also had previous stints at DDB London, JWT New York and Naked Communications. Yusuf’s work has been recognized by the IPA, Effies, the Jay Chiat Awards, Cannes and the Marketing Effectiveness Awards. Find Yusuf on LinkedIn.

Director, Mx Planning, Havas Media Group, USA

With over 15 years' field experience, Amy is an expert in the Digital Media and Marketing arena. Amy's accomplishments include lead strategic, planning and tactical development of best-in-class digital advertising programs targeted DTC & HCP across multiple indications and brands. Under Amy’s lead, client programs have seen positive ROI year on year, negotiating efficient partner rates and positive retention. Prior to joining the team at Havas Amy’s experience includes building campaigns across a multitude of categories. Amy is a result-orientated, customer-focused individual who possesses excellent communication skills on all levels. Find Amy on Instagram: on @therealmarathonmom, on X: @therealmarathonmom and on LinkedIn.

Director Audience Insights and Intelligence, Mindshare, USA

Bhomik is a Director of Analytics at Mindshare North America with over 20 years of global strategic insights experience at WPP. He specializes in cross-media, brand and creative analytics. He is commercial driven and is passionate about driving sustainable and profitable growth for brands. Bhomik has been involved in speaking at various industry events and has published various thought leadership articles. He loves to learn about different cultures and can speak five languages including Mandarin and Arabic. Find Bhomik on LinkedIn.

CEO, Hearts & Science, USA

Chris Stanger is the CEO of Hearts & Science, an end-to-end media experience agency that drives growth through the intersection of consumer insight, content, culture, and emerging media real estate. With nearly 20 years of agency experience across categories like Tech, Telco, B2B, Travel, and CPG, Chris architects integrated teams and customer-centric solutions that enable brands to compete on the global stage.

CEO, Initiative, Canada

Applying twenty years of experience and her skills as a former client, Helen leads a growing Canadian team in a relentless pursuit of excellence, helping clients navigate the new media landscape through cultural connections that drive meaningful business outcomes. Within five years, Initiative has been recognized as Strategy’s Media Agency of the Year twice, appeared on WARC’s Top 50 Most Effective Media Agencies in the world, ranked #46th on WARC’s Media 100 list and has been awarded Agency Network of the Year at Festival of Media North America. Helen has also been recognized as Strategy’s Media Leader of the Year.

Global Head of Brand & Social Media, BMO, Global

Jennifer, Global Head of Brand & Social Media, is responsible for building and leading a talented team in the development, implementation and measurement of the BMO brand strategy and enterprise social media vision. In this role Jennifer has driven transformational change, delivered unprecedented results, and earned praise from both media and industry stalwarts. A believer in the power of big ideas, Jennifer’s work has been recognized at The One Show, D&AD, and Cannes Lions. Find Jennifer on LinkedIn.

Chief Marketing Officer, Metrolinx, Canada

An inspiring CMO with a passion for breakthrough innovation, Mark has a proven track record of building vital customer brands at Metrolinx, Samsung Canada, Kellogg and Campbell’s. Recognized as an inspirational team leader, he championed the launch of Canada’s Young Lions Marketers, and actively contributes to industry best practice. Mark was recognized in 2012 with the Marketing Hall of Fame Impact Award and as a 2SLGBTQ+ volunteer and role model, he pioneered the Cannes Lions-recognized PFLAG Canada ‘Stories’ campaign.

Global Client Leader, Starcom, Publicis Groupe, Global

Natasha is a passionate, creative, results-driven global strategist driven by delivering excellence across all facets of the communications spectrum. Culturally aware, Natasha has proven capability across global media, building brands through deep understanding of audiences and the intersection of audience behavior, with media and technology to deliver growth.

JURY CHAIR
Chief Marketing Officer, Kruger Products Inc., Canada

Susan is an award-winning, senior executive with over two decades of experience leading brands at Kruger Products, PepsiCo and Coca-Cola. Recognized as an industry expert, she’s built strong brands through her creative and insightful approach. Prior to Kruger Products, Susan was the global senior director of marketing for the Doritos, Cheetos and Sunbites portfolios. Her work and leadership have garnered awards such as Cassies, Cannes Lions and Effies in addition to various accolades including Canadian Marketer of the Year, Strategy Marketer of the Year and Star Women of Grocery. Find Susan on Instagram: @susanlirving, on X: @SusanIrving5 and on LinkedIn.

Chief Strategy Officer, VML, North America

Abbie is CSO of VML NA. With 2,700 talented people networked together, VML NA is the key market for best-in-class capabilities integration, offering the best of BX, CX, and Commerce all under one roof for clients like Colgate Palmolive, Coca-Cola, New Balance, Dell, Mondelez, and Ford. Originally from London, Abbie has lived in NYC for the last 13 years, leading to an identity crisis, as well as picking up multiple awards in effectiveness and creativity for American Express, Walmart, SAP, Verizon, and Coca-Cola. Find Abbie on Instagram: @abstardeluxe, on X: @abstardeluxe and on LinkedIn.

Chief Strategy Officer, 72andSunny, USA

Bryan oversees 72’s strategy worldwide. His approach to the craft marries right-brained creativity with left-brained rigor to get to answers that aren’t just right – they’re exciting. He’s helped keep Call of Duty relevant for ten years, break Google into the hardware game, and transform Indeed from a job board to hiring platform. But he’s most proud of the team of genius weirdos he gets the chance to lead every day. Find Bryan on LinkedIn.

VP Marketing - Hygiene, Reckitt, Canada

Corrie is currently the VP of Marketing for Reckitt Hygiene in Canada, bringing 20 years of experience and a truly global perspective to advertising strategy. She has worked on many brands in the Reckitt portfolio over the course of her career including Lysol, Finish, Enfamil, Dettol, and Durex, among many others. Her work in diverse markets including Canada, the US, China, and Thailand has embedded in her a passion for communication strategies rooted in fundamental insights and built to solve real problems for consumers. Find Corrie on LinkedIn.

VP, Global Brands, Hyatt Hotels Corporation, Global

Crystal Vinisse is a global marketing executive with over 15 years’ experience driving brand innovation and operational excellence. She currently heads up the lifestyle and luxury brands at Hyatt Hotels, guiding the global strategy and vision of an ever-growing portfolio. An alumni of Cornell University’s Hotel School, Crystal previously held several brand leadership roles with W Hotels and Beats by Dre @ Apple, Inc. Her work and profile have been featured in Bloomberg, AdWeek, and more, and she was most recently recognized as one of Ad Age’s 2023 40 Under 40 honorees. Find Crystal Vinisse on Instagram: @crystalvinisse and on LinkedIn.

Executive Creative Director, Proof Experiences, Canada

Currently Executive Creative Director at Proof Experiences, Toronto, Doug has held creative leadership positions at some of the most dynamic integrated agencies in North America. With over 20 years of crafting memorable moments for global brands like Heineken, Unilever, Adidas, Gap, Molson Coors, Infiniti, Coca Cola, and Sony Playstation, Doug has always imbued relevance and meaning into the work as an imperative... regardless of channel. Find Doug on LinkedIn.

Senior Strategic Planning Director, alma, USA

Jorge is a creative marketing strategist with over 15 years of experience working with some of the most successful brands in Latin America and the US Hispanic market. Passionate about consumer knowledge and its application in brand building, Jorge has a proven track record of delivering effective and creative strategies for marketing efforts that have won over 100 awards, including four Grand Effies and more than 50 gold Effies. Find Jorge on Instagram: @jorgeabecerra, on X: @jabecerra and on LinkedIn.

CEO, Media Experts, Canada

Deeply knowledgeable and forward-thinking, Karel has an extensive agency background and unique perspective on the needs of Canadian marketers, enabling him to help clients and agencies navigate the ever-evolving digital landscape. In his role overseeing Media Experts, Karel is responsible for the overall strategic direction of the business, identifying growth opportunities, and guiding the team.

Chief Strategy Officer, Starcom, US and Global

As Chief Strategy Officer, Kim creates product that moves people and business. In 2023 this included establishing a new Insights practice, designing Starcom’s new global planning process, and creating winning pitch narratives. Driven to understand people, Kim designs pioneering research, including ProjectWhy, a motivational framework mapped to Epsilon IDs, unlocking motivations as a differentiated approach to planning and investment. Before taking on responsibilities as Chief Strategy officer, Kim established and led Starcom’s creative design team and her decades of work as a strategist spans leadership positions on Kraft, Disney Parks, Luxottica, and Oracle, to name a few.