2015 Jury

Esther Benzie
Associate Marketing Director, Brand Operations
Procter & Gamble Inc

Esther has had more than 20 years of experience in the CPG and Not For Profit industries. Since her MBA from Ivey Business School, Esther has held a variety of roles at Procter & Gamble. She currently leads the Brand Operations team responsible for designing and executing the marketing plans for all the brands in P&G Canada. This includes Brand and Cross Brand Marketing plans, Communications, Media, Agency Sourcing, Shopper Marketing & Marketing Training .
Esther has always had a passion for developing people and has been a long time supporter of women in business. She is the executive sponsor of the P&G Women’s Network, the largest affinity network at P&G, and is the founding sponsor of Forward Together.

Moya Brown
VP Marketing
Campbell Company of Canada

As Vice President of Marketing at Campbell Canada, Moya Brown oversees the Cooking, Eating, Snacking and Beverage portfolios and is responsible for the overall leadership and direction of the Marketing function.

Moya joined Campbell Canada in 2002, and over that 12 year period has been credited with the significant turnaround in the Chunky business as well as the revitalization of the Ready To Serve category. Her passion for consumer-driven and truly integrated marketing has proven to be critical in building and growing the Campbell brands in a strategic and coordinated manner.

Prior to joining Campbell Canada, Moya was a brand manager at Procter & Gamble.

Stephen Bucovetsky
VP, Consumer Insights
IMI International

With over 15 years of marketing and market research experience, and an MBA from the Schulich School of Business, Steve Bucovetsky has been involved with the evaluation and optimization of marketing activations in 80 categories in 20+ countries. Over the past 15 years, Steve has worked with many well-known and niche brands alike to help optimize, measure and evaluate thousands of brand activation initiatives.  In his current role of VP, Consumer Insights, Steve leads several large key accounts for IMI.

Tebbie Chuchla
Director of Marketing
Hain Celestial Canada

As Director of Marketing for Hain Celestial Canada, Tebbie Chuchla leads the marketing team responsible for the Snacks, Tea, Frozen Foods and Meat Alternative categories on growing food brands such as Terra, Sensible Portions, Celestial Seasonings and Yves Veggie Cuisine. 

She has 14 years of marketing, innovation, digital and brand strategy experience with a proven track record of transforming brands into market leaders.  Tebbie has worked at Hain Celestial Canada for 3 years, and prior to joining HCC Tebbie worked in marketing at Kellogg Canada on leading brands such as Special K, Rice Krispies and Frosted Flakes.  

Jennifer Davidson
Vice President, Marketing Communications
CIBC

A senior marketer and General Manager with a proven track record for unlocking growth for branded businesses in Canada and International markets.  Jennifer is a respected leader who has managed some of North America’s most iconic brands creating a legacy of disruptive advertising, innovation and branded consumer experiences that have delivered strong brand equity and sustained profitability.   

In June 2015, Jennifer moved to CIBC as the Vice President, Marketing Communications. In this role she brings her experience leading large scale campaigns and her strength in building strong marketing teams. She is responsible for brand strategy, marketing planning and the development and delivery of integrated marketing communications for the bank. 

Prior to this, Jennifer was General Manager of Six Pints Specialty Beer Company, the $50M craft beer division of Molson Coors Canada.  At Six Pints, she built an entrepreneurial team that accelerated the brand marketing and innovation agenda positioning Six Pints as one of the fastest growing players in the Canadian craft beer segment. Jennifer also held roles as VP, Marketing, Molson and Coors brands and VP, Innovation for Molson Coors Canada.   She also spent 2 ½ years in Denver where she was a leader in the start-up International division for Molson Coors.  She was responsible for the global brand stewardship of Coors Light ensuring the brand launched consistently in China, Mexico and Europe.  Her success in building Coors Light consistently across these global markets was recognized in 2010, when she was profiled as one of ten global marketers in the book, THE GLOBAL BRAND CEO.  

Jennifer started her marketing career at Unilever Canada where she managed a broad range of home and personal care brands.

She is active in the marketing community in Canada. She was the Chair of the Judging Jury for the 2015 CASSIES Advertising Awards and was on the Board of Directors of the Association of Canadian Advertisers from 2012 to June 2015.  

Jennifer holds a Bachelor of Arts, Honours degree in Economics from Queen’s University and continues to be involved with Queen’s MBA as a guest lecturer.

Jan Ferguson
VP Client Leadership
The Mars Agency

With over 25 years of broad experience in promotional, shopper and consumer marketing, Jan has worked on both sides of the desk!  She understands what clients want and how to motivate her agency team to over-deliver those results. Understanding shopper behaviour and how strategic solutions can shape those behaviours is what continues to drive her passion for the job.

Chad Grenier
Executive Vice President, Retail Marketing Services
Acosta Marketing Group

Chad is charged with the overall direction and growth of the Retail Marketing Services business unit at AMG, the North American marketing services division of Acosta. In this role, Chad leads a multi-disciplined team in designing platforms and programming to drive purchase along the shopper journey.

Well versed in integrated marketing and planning across multiple channels, Chad counsels marketers on how to combat the growing erosion of traditional forms of mass media to reach consumers using multiple integrated channels and non-traditional mediums to create a more holistic marketing and retail or shopper strategy.
Prior to his role, Chad was responsible for leading Mosaic’s shopper marketing strategy and consumer packaged good clients. Chad’s focus was on delivering innovative brand and shopper experiences as well as experiential marketing for a wide range of brands and clients including Walmart, Loblaw, Proctor & Gamble, Johnson & Johnson, Kraft Foods, Mondelez, TD Bank and Disney.

Chad has driven $100M in marketing spends while overseeing client service, strategy, creative and shared services teams who manage integrated programming. Chad specializes in building brand engagement through shopper marketing, promotions, digital, social media, technology solutions, PR, experiential marketing, retail events and sponsorships to drive sales, brand equity and loyalty for both consumer package goods and retailer brands.
Before joining Mosaic, Chad led one of the largest grassroots sports properties in North America overseeing all marketing, communications, TV production, e-commerce, sponsorship and event planning.

Amey Harding
Consultant
Amey Harding Consulting

Amey’s career experience is comprised of sales, marketing and agency leadership. She has built and led successful integrated marketing communications agencies based on her ability to develop exceptional creative and client management teams focused on helping clients build their brands more effectively. In partnership with her teams, Amey has helped build some of the largest brands in the world, from packaged goods to automotive, by developing strategies and consumer experiences that set brands apart.
Amey’s consulting and advisory practice helps clients activate the full potential of their brands and agencies build more effective relationships with their clients.

As past President of CAPMA and Board Member of the ICA, Amey contributed to the agency community in Canada by adding value to the membership and by providing strategies and resources for agency leadership to build better businesses. Amey continues to be an active industry advocate.

Having been a recipient of both PROMO! and Globe awards, Amey supports these programs recognizing the value these awards bring to contributing teams and clients. We need to continue to recognize and celebrate the great work produced in Canada!

Sassan Jahan
VP Marketing
PepsiCo Beverages Canada

Sassan is the Vice President of Marketing for PepsiCo Beverages Canada. He began his career at PepsiCo 16 years ago as Marketing Manager, Alternative Beverages. Since then Sassan has held a number of marketing positions as well as cross functional roles. These include Market Development Manager for Pepsi Cola Canada, Director of Sales for Pepsi-QTG (Quaker Tropicana and Gatorade) and VP, Field Marketing for Pepsi Bottling Group. Prior to moving to Canada, Sassan gained 6 years of beverage marketing and sales experience in The Middle East. Sassan has lived in 6 different countries, worked in 3. He holds a BA from Boston College and an MSc from The London School of Economics. 

Martin Kuev
Director of Marketing
Barilla Canada Inc

Within the consumer packaged goods industry Martin has helped build some of the most well known brands globally, including Coca Cola, Kraft and Nestle.  With a career that spans over 15 years in Brand Management, as well as positions in Sales and the Agency side, Martin has experienced programs from all sides of the planning and execution table.  Martin has worked and lived in Canada, Australia, and Europe, and is currently Director of Marketing For Barilla Canada Inc.

Daniel Langer-Hack
Director, Connections Planning
The Hive

A proven leader in Communications Planning and Content Strategy, Daniel combines a strong business acumen with a keen eye towards the big picture.  Leading the Digital Strategy group at The Hive, Daniel helps brands create meaningful connections with consumers using technology.  He also oversees the strategic development and implementation of integrated marketing campaigns for numerous clients, across a broad range of media.  He has spent his career working with blue chip brands like Cadbury, TELUS, Burger King, J&J and Coca Cola to create work that has delivered exceptional business results.

Rob Levy
President
BrandFire Marketing Group

Rob Levy is the President and Founder of Toronto based Brandfire Marketing Group.

For more than 20 years, Rob has been following the purchase journey as the consumer morphs into the shopper, working initially with top clients like Gillette, Duracell, Kraft and Nabisco on globally recognized consumer promotions.

9 years ago he started Brandfire, which now employs 30 people in strategy, creative, shopper marketing, consumer promotions, account services and digital/social departments. Brandfire's major clients include Mattel, Canada Dry, Weston Bakeries, Butterball, and many more.

Rob's creativity, passion and energy has driven incredible growth at Brandfire, having recently been recognized by Profit 500 as one of the fastest growing agencies in Canada.

Melody MacPherson
VP Managing Director
LPi Communications Group Toronto

Melody MacPherson is Managing Director of LPi Group, Toronto office. LPi is a privately owned creative engagement agency with offices in Calgary, Edmonton and Toronto, and is proudly celebrating 25 years in 2015.
Melody has extensive experience both agency and client side. She started her career in advertising at V&B and in sales promotion at M&PG and Impact FCB. After 13 years in increasingly senior marketing positions at Coca-Cola Canada, Melody has returned to agency. She is a strategic marketer with strength in brand and shopper marketing that spans several categories including Beverage Alcohol, Confectionery, CPG, Healthcare and QSR.

Carl Pichette
Senior Marketing Manager Eastern Region
McDonald's Restaurants Canada Ltd

Carl Pichette is responsible for all Marketing activities in Eastern Canada, which include more than 440 restaurants and 100 Owner/Operators. Under the golden arches, he oversees the brand development and marketing strategies in Quebec and the Atlantic Provinces. Prior to this, he led Quebec marketing at Boston Pizza International for two years and worked at Sleeman Breweries as marketing director. He has also accumulated 16 years in marketing and account management within advertising agencies, such as Cossette for 10 years, and six years as VP, account service, at Marketel McCann Erickson.

Kelly Small
Creative Director
6Degrees Integrated Communications

Over 10 years of digital and integrated creative direction and design.

Alexandra Turner
Director Client Services
LAUNCH!

Alexandra Turner is Director of Client Service, at LAUNCH brand marketing.  She has over 15 years of marketing experience, ranging from Experiential Marketing, Shopper Marketing, Retail marketing & insights and Business development. 

Nicole Bleiwas
VP, Consumer & Shopper Insights
Kraft Canada Inc.

Nicole Bleiwas is VP, Consumer & Shopper Insights, Kraft Foods Canada.   In her role, Nicole is focused on championing a deeper, richer understanding of the consumer & shopper across the organization.  She spearheads initiatives to better leverage and integrate insights into commercial decision making.   Prior to this, Nicole brought shopper marketing to life at Canada Bread.  She has also worked at Coca-Cola both in Canada and in a Global Capacity.

Rico DiGiovanni
President & Partner
Spider Marketing Solutions

For over 25 years, Rico DiGiovanni has made a major impact on the marketing services community, developing innovative marketing solutions that continuously drive record sales results and build brand equity.

Having cut his teeth in promotional marketing, he quickly progressed to presidential assignments at Marketing Drive and Capital C, where he honed his expertise in creating award-winning, integrated promotion, experiential and digital campaigns. In 2004, Spider Marketing Solutions was born, and his dream to build his own agency along with his partner, Christine Ross, was fulfilled.

In addition to his involvement on the executive boards of the Marketing Agencies Association Worldwide, and the National Advertising Benevolent Society, Rico is also a founding member and past president of CAPMA and a juror for the Cannes Lions (Promo Awards).
Through the years, Rico has assisted multiple blue-chip companies in exceeding their marketing goals, including: Energizer, OLG, Mattel, Clorox, Glaxo SmithKline, Maple Leaf, Nestle, Kraft, Coca-Cola, Levi’s, Microsoft, IBM, Molson, Frito Lay, Reckitt Benckiser, Silk and Kellogg’s.