Meet Our Judges

Co-chairs

Susan Irving
CMO
Kruger Products

Susan Irving is an industry leader with a passion for brands and a reputation for delivering business results through strategic integrated marketing campaigns. As Chief Marketing Officer for Kruger Products, Susan is responsible for leading the marketing team to set the vision, strategic direction, and drive business performance for all Kruger Products brands and
marketing activities in Canada and the United States. She is also a key member of the company’s executive team.

Susan is an accomplished, award-winning senior marketing executive with over two decades of experience leading many successful and well-known brands at Warner Lambert, Coca-Cola, and PepsiCo. She has a strong passion for brands and building high-performance teams. She is a strategic business leader with experience spanning all aspects of business management and consumer marketing, including brand strategy, advertising and communications, P&L management, media planning, digital, social media, innovation, consumer insights, as well as sports and event marketing.

As an accomplished marketer, Susan has been recognized with several industry accolades including CMAs, Cassies, Cannes Lions, Effies, The Bessies, Clios, Media Innovation Awards, and Canadian New Media Awards. She was also among Marketing Magazine’s prestigious Top 30 Under 30, Canada’s Strategy Magazine 2020 Marketer of the Year, the Canadian
Marketing Association 2021 Marketer of the Year, Canadian Grocer’s 2022 Senior Star Women, and won Bronze at the prestigious Stevie Awards for Women in Business - Female Executive of the Year in 2023.

An avid sailor, Susan was a member of the Canadian Sailing Team, having campaigned for the 1992 and 1996 Summer Olympics. She was the President of the Leaside Hockey Association Board of Directors where she served for seven years; the current Jury Chair for The Globe and Mail’s Cannes Young Marketers Competition; North American and Global Grand
Prix Jury Chair for the WARC Awards in association with Cannes Lions; a judge for several industry award shows including the 2023 Cannes Lions Entertainment Sports Jury; a keynote speaker for North American conferences; and a committee member of WISE Canada (Women in Sport and Entertainment). She is also a member of the Canadian Women and SportBoard of Directors and the Ontario Hockey Federation Board of Directors.

Sabaa Quao
President
PlusCo Venture Studio

Sabaa Quao is the founding President of PlusCo Venture Studio, the AI and fintech innovation spinoff from Cossette and Plus Company Canada. Sabaa previously occupied the role of Chief Creative and Innovation Officer at Cossette, Canada's largest integrated marketing and advertising agency. He is a creative leader, career entrepreneur, and business strategist. As a digital media veteran, he has built and grown several platforms and companies across content, tech, and culture spaces. He now advises and accelerates the growth of 7 companies in the venture studio's first cohort.

He is a frequent keynote speaker and an industry advisor to business and creative schools, specializing in creativity, entrepreneurship, and business model innovation. Sabaa has led, co-chaired, and been a member of over 20 national and international marketing and short film juries. For Canada, Sabaa sits on the Cannes Lions Advisory Board with the Globe and Mail, and was the Digital Young Lions co-chair for 2025. Sabaa holds degrees in Marketing (Concordia), Communication and Design (OCADU), and an MBA from University of Toronto's Rotman School of Management.