2027 Jury
Co-chairs
Jay Bennett
SVP, franchise strategy and innovation
Shaftesbury
Jay Bennett is an Emmy Award-winning producer and media strategist with more than
20 years of experience at the intersection of story, audience, technology and business.
Throughout his career, he has focused on extending stories onto new platforms and into
new forms of engagement - not simply to generate awareness, but to create meaningful
audience experiences, grow fandom and build lasting value around IP.
As SVP, Franchise Strategy & Innovation at Shaftesbury, Jay is responsible for turning
the company’s IP into larger, more connected franchise opportunities - bringing together
audience strategy, partnerships, new business models and experiences beyond the
screen.
At the heart of his work is a belief that a modern franchise should have many front
doors. Audiences may discover a story through television, YouTube, gaming, podcasts,
toys, social or live experiences — and each should offer something meaningful in its
own right while deepening their connection to the storyworld.
This philosophy is reflected in the continued expansion of Murdoch Mysteries. Over the
past 18 months alone, Jay has played a leading role in accelerating and shaping the
franchise strategy — expanding its reach across a new podcast, live concerts, a board
game, education initiatives, new brand partnerships, stage and immersive experiences,
while creating stronger connections between each.
Catherine Laporte
Chief marketing and digital officer
RONA
Catherine Laporte is a marketing and e-commerce expert who is known for her leadership, creativity, and business acumen. She joined RONA in 2018 as Divisional Vice-President, E-
Commerce. She was appointed Vice-President, Marketing in 2019 and promoted to Senior Vice-President, Marketing and Customer Experience in February 2024. In this role, she oversees the development of the RONA and Réno-Dépôt brands, while actively participating in the rollout of the new RONA+ banner, which demonstrates the company’s renewed commitment to the iconic RONA brand.
Catherine first made her mark at the ALDO Group where she tested the launching the Little Burgundy and Locale brands and contributed to the development of the Call It Spring brand in North America and internationally. Before joining RONA, she was Vice-President, Marketing and E-Commerce at DAVIDsTEA, where she worked to create a customer-focused centre of excellence. Catherine is a graduate of the John Molson School of Business and is actively involved in the Montréal community as a board member of the Fondation petits trésors. In addition, she is a sponsor for the RONA’s LGBTQ2+ BRG, member of the board for Éducaloi, and chair of the board for the RONA Foundation since February 2024.
Jury
Andrew Butts
General manager, Ontario & West
Cossette Media Inc.
Andrew’s passion is teams, trying to create high-performing groups by understanding and emphasizing each of their respective dynamics. Andrew brings a diverse client background, including time across most sectors, automotive, tourism, finance, academics, government and others.
Simon Conlin
EVP, head of production
Reflektor Digital
Simon is Executive Vice President and Head of Production at Reflektor Digital. With a background spanning creative direction, strategy, integrated production, and emerging technology, Simon focuses on using technology for good to help humans.
Simon is a three-time Webby Award winner, including Best Use of AI. His projects have been recognized by the global creative industry earning Golds at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, Clios, The One Show, Exhibitor Magazine Award, FWAs, awwwards, and recognition across Innovative Use of Technology and Digital Craft categories. In Canada, Simon’s visionary leadership has resulted in multiple Best of Show honours. At Reflektor Digital, Simon leads production, CX and creation of ambitious digital, immersive, and technology-driven experiences for global brands, building award-winning work for brands including Meta AI, Microsoft, Cadillac, Coca-Cola, T-Mobile and more
With more than 25 years of experience, Simon continues to push how technology can create meaningful, human-centered digital experiences where storytelling, design, and innovation come together
Tracey Cooke
CMO, SVP head of marketing & commercialization
Nestlé
Tracey is a strategic and creative leader with a passion for problem solving, building brands and driving sustainable growth. She has a track record of nurturing strong teams, orchestrating organizational change, and developing emerging in-house practices to deliver consumer centricity @ the core.
Tracey Cooke is currently CMO. SVP, Head of Marketing and Commercialization at Nestle Canada, and Leader of the Centre for Marketing Excellence, a multidisciplinary team focused on driving consumer first thinking, accelerating change and capability building in marketing, including Consumer Insights & Strategy, eBusiness, Consumer Engagement and Experience (including our in-house Consumer Engagement Service team, internal Community Management, Content, Media), Category Analytics, Packaging, Agency/Tech Partnerships and the newly added accountability of Digital Transformation across the Enterprise. She is a member of the Nestlé Canada Business Executive Team. She first joined Nestle as a Communication Director and was responsible for helping transform Nestle from its digital nascency (in marketing) to a leading centre in the global network. Currently, she is an active executive core member of the Nestle Sustainability Steering Committee, Nestle Canada DEI Steering Committee, and Sponsor of the DEI Marketing Stream.
Prior to joining Nestlé Canada, Tracey worked in various communication, advertising and leadership roles at a number of agencies, including: the social purpose startup Public Inc (Director, Creative & Experience), her own consultancy twostories (Founding Partner, Chief Creative Officer &; Strategy Lead), McCann (Vice President, Creative
Director) and DDB Health & Lifestyle (Senior Copywriter).
Infinitely curious and a perpetual learner, Tracey started in the world of science with a degree in Molecular Genetics and Microbiology, roles in pharma, a world renown science centre and emerging environmental technologies before she started a career in advertising – leveraging diversity of thought &; experiences as a core philosophy for success.
Tracey has been a board member of the ACA (Association of Canadian Advertisers) for over 6 years, is a McKinsey CMO Alumni, and Star Woman in Grocery 2023 Senior Leader award recipient.
She has also been a Sr Judge and Co-chair for a number of advertising and Marketing awards including the Effies, CMAs, SIAs, and Marketing legends, while continuing to provide her perspective on numerous panels, locally and Globally.
Dedicated to mentoring emerging talent in marketing and advertising, she believes in building powerful workplaces where empathy, vulnerability and belonging are key to commercial success.
Rica Eckersley
Executive creative director
TBWA
Rica is a writer, creative leader, and all-around fun hang. She has worked on everything from laundry detergent to financial institutions to hair dye to cat food to non-profit organizations. Her work has been recognized by The One Show, the Effie Awards, and at Cannes. Rica is a retired Second City-trained performer and comedy writer, and current power mom.
Joy Ghosh
Head of marketing
Asahi
Joy Ghosh is Head of Marketing at Asahi Canada, where he leads the brand building and commercial strategy across the company’s portfolio, including Peroni Nastro Azzurro and Asahi Super Dry. He spent the first 10 years of his career at Procter & Gamble, building experience in brand management, consumer insight, innovation and commercial strategy. He then joined Molson Coors, where he spent 8 years across a range of marketing roles in Canada and the U.S., including three years in Chicago working on the above premium beer and Molson's partnership with The Coca-Cola Company. Before joining Asahi, Joy also worked in professional sports leading the marketing team at the Vancouver Whitecaps FC, adding experience in fan engagement, partnerships and performance marketing. At Asahi Canada, Joy is focused on growing the company’s international premium beer portfolio and building stronger, more effective brands in the Canadian market.
Carrie Hayden
Co-founder, creative strategist
Gabrielle Makarewicz
Creative Director
Gut
Gaby has a decade and a half of experience working on flashy brands like Audi and COC, but also ubiquitous ones like Loblaws and BMO.
Being a storyteller first and foremost has helped her win accounts like Netflix US or chunks of the Molson portfolio. She spent several years freelancing across North America on large-scale campaigns for everything from grocery delivery to acne solutions and fried chicken sandwiches to macroeconomics, before eventually returning full-time to get back into mentorship. Today, she’s at GUT Toronto shepherding Tim Hortons and spreading the belief that words matter, ideas can come from anywhere, and strategy isn’t just for strategists.
Cathy Mitchell
Managing director, EVP
Narrative XPR, Tadiem
As Co-Managing Director of Narrative and EVP at Tadiem, Cathy oversees reputation strategy, brand and creator partnerships, crisis management, and senior client counsel.
A trusted advisor to some of the world’s most recognized organizations, Cathy helps clients navigate the increasingly complex intersection of business, media, technology and culture. Her work focuses on protecting and strengthening reputation, anticipating emerging risks, and identifying credible opportunities for brands to contribute meaningfully to the conversations and communities shaping their future.
Cathy believes the future of PR lies in moving beyond the stories brands tell, to shaping the experiences people have with them. Her approach brings reputation, community and experience together, helping clients earn trust by bringing their stories to life with the audiences that matter.
Bobby Sahni
Partner & Co-founder
Ethnicity Matters
Bobby Sahni is a veteran and thought-leader in the multicultural marketing and advertising industry. He is Co-Founder and Partner at Ethnicity Matters - a multicultural marketing & advertising agency dedicated to helping companies drive new growth and sales by engaging North America’s fast growing, big spending ethnic and new immigrant communities.
Bobby enjoys speaking and has guest-lectured at many universities. He regularly appears on podcasts and at industry events and conferences across North America. Bobby has also served on various advisory boards including NHL Foundation Canada, Hockey Canada, Imagine Canada, Seva Food Bank, Road Hockey to Conquer Cancer, Cricket to Conquer Cancer, Reel Asian Film Festival, Indo Canada Chamber of Commerce, and Credit Valley Conservation Foundation.
Bobby holds an MBA from the Kellogg-Schulich Executive MBA program with cross-cultural studies in Hong Kong, Germany, Miami, Chicago, and Toronto. He also holds a Bachelor of Science & Business degree from the University of Waterloo.
Angela Sarino
VP, business partner marketing
CIBC
Angela Sarino, VP, business partner marketing at CIBC, is a seasoned marketing professional with over 20 years’ experience, launching new products, driving product acquisition and client retention.
Loves the creative process and has an innate curiosity about what drives consumer behavior. Has a great appreciation for really inspired advertising. In fact, Ryan Reynolds is her hero.
Angela has been a judge for the Canadian Marketing Awards since 2017 and the 2020 Effie Canada Awards. Over the years, Angela has been a recipient of several awards herself, the most recent in 2019 at the inaugural Effie’s for the CIBC Aventura “Travellers Travel Card” campaign.
In a past life, was CIBC’s sponsorship and cause marketing guru, developing national events, marketing campaigns and strategic partnerships for properties such as the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation CIBC Run for the Cure and Princess Margaret Hospital Foundation’s One Walk to Conquer Cancer, among others. Led a team of passionate, community-minded individuals to raise almost $50 million for breast cancer/cancer research.
Appreciates good food and design, travelling off the beaten path and tracing her family’s ancestry.
Agatha Wronecka
VP, marketing communications
Tim Hortons
Agatha has 20 years of business leadership experience in retail marketing and advertising, with expertise in crafting innovative brand strategies that resonate with consumers and drive business growth. Agatha began her career on the agency side, where she honed her skills crafting compelling narratives and impactful campaigns for top-tier brands across retail, CPG, health, and financial sectors. She is dedicated to fusing data-driven insights with creative ingenuity to drive transformative initiatives in a rapidly changing consumer landscape.
Agatha served as AVP, Marketing at Canadian Tire Corporation and, prior to that, held business and strategic leadership positions at a number of Canadian advertising agencies, including Taxi, TBWA/Juniper Park and Leo Burnett.
Christina Yu
Partner, Chief Creative Officer
BHLA, Lifelong Crush