Stéphane Berranger is Commercial Strategy Manager for Quebec, for Sleeman Breweries Ltd. He completed a Bachelor of Commerce specialized in marketing in December 1999 at HEC Montreal. Joining Unibroue (purchased by Sleeman in 2004) as a sales representative in March 2001, he has since held various sales and marketing positions within the company. He combines his sales and marketing experience with an in-depth comprehension of the beer business and its consumers.

With over 14 years of Internet communications and direct marketing experience, Wayne Carrigan helps ThinData clients build email marketing strategies that acquire and retain loyal customers as well as achieve cost efficiencies. As the client advocate within ThinData, Wayne plays a leading role in the design and development of all ThinData’s email marketing products and services. Wayne also heads the ThinData teams responsible for best-practices, privacy law and anti-spam law compliance.

Mr. Carrigan co-authors the acclaimed ‘Email Strategies’, a monthly e-newsletter for marketing professionals where he shares proven tactics for using email to communicate, generate qualified leads, and build customer loyalty.

Susan Charles is Vice President, Member Services with the Association of Canadian Advertisers (ACA), Canada’s only national association exclusively representing client marketers. For the past 9 years, she is been dedicated to helping members maximize the value of their investments in all forms of marketing communications. The ACA represents over 200 companies and divisions that collectively account for estimated sales of $350 billion annually.

Susan also serves on the Board of Directors as the Secretary /Treasurer for the Sponsorship Marketing Council of Canada (SMCC). Formed in 2004 under the auspices of the ACA, the SMCC was created to advance the development of best practices and accountabilities in the field of sponsorship marketing.

Nicholas completed his undergraduate degree in Political Science at Carleton University, and his Master's Degree in Conflict Studies at the University of Ottawa.  He worked for Labour Program for the past two years, in Program Development and Guidance Directorate and the Assistant Deputy Minister's Office respectively.  He recently joined the Knowledge and Data Management Division at Human Resources and Skills Development Canada's Strategic Policy and Research Branch.  He is also an avid blogger and speaker who engages on issues such as knowledge management, organizational culture, public service renewal and social media.

Louise Clements

Head of Sales Canada
Facebook

Louise Clements is Head of Sales Canada at Facebook, where she leads advertising sales operations for the country. Prior to Facebook, Louise was Vice President, Digital Properties at Rogers Media, where she led strategic development, revenue, and audience growth for all Rogers Media’s consumer brands. Louise has also worked at Corus Entertainment as General Manager and Bell Globemedia as Vice President of Market Development. She has served on the Board of Directors of IAB Canada and as Co-Chair of the 2006 & 2007 CMA Digital Marketing Conference. Louise holds a bachelor’s degree in political science from York University and is fully bilingual.

Michael Cleland currently leads a team responsible for Business Development in the City of Mississauga’s Recreation and Parks Division.  His background in policy, strategic and operational planning and market research has been shaped through experience and project work in human services sectors including library services, parks, recreation and social services.  Michael has a Masters degree in Planning and has worked in both the public and private sectors.

Director, Centre of Excellence for Public Sector Marketing (CEPSM)
President, CMG Canada

Bernie Colterman is Co-Founder / Director of CEPSM and President of the Colterman Marketing Group (CMG) Canada, an Ottawa-based marketing solutions provider whose clients include federal, provincial and municipal governments, national associations and non-profit organizations.

Throughout his 20-year marketing career, Bernie has facilitated numerous marketing campaigns for the government, consumer and the business sectors. A master at brokering strategic alliances and partnerships, he has facilitated hundreds of collaborative arrangements for both industry and government, raising over $25 million dollars in sponsorships and spearheading high profile partnership initiatives for Industry Canada, Canadian Heritage, Citizenship and Immigration Canada, Public Safety Canada, Province of Ontario and National Capital Commission.

Through his consulting practice, Bernie offers strategic advice to a wide range of public sector and non-profit organizations in the areas of strategic marketing planning and program delivery, partnership and sponsorship development, social marketing, performance measurement and cost-recovery strategies.  Current or recent clients include the Canadian Association of Defence and Security Industries, Canadian Air Transport Security Authority, Parks Canada, Nature Canada, Veterans Affairs and the Public Health Agency of Canada.

Bernie is Executive Producer of MARCOM, an annual marketing symposium dedicated to the specialized needs of the public and non-profit sectors. He is also Co-Program Director and faculty member of Carleton University's Sprott School of Business, Professional Certificate in Public Sector and Non-Profit Marketing where he teaches a two-day module on Partnerships, Strategic Alliances and Collaborative Arrangements. His highly acclaimed Designing and Selling Your Sponsorship Program and Revenue Generation Boot Camp workshops are attended by hundreds of professionals each year. Bernie is a regular contributor to publications and a speaker at conferences aimed at government and not-for-profit audiences.

Bernie’s Sponsorship and Partnerships Blog can be found at www.berniecolterman.ca

Jocelyne Daw is Vice President, Marketing and Community Engagement at Imagine Canada where she oversees Canada's largest corporate community engagement program. She has over 25 years of experience in the nonprofit and public sectors working for social, arts and health organizations with a focus on business-community partnerships, marketing, social enterprise and fund development. Jocelyne has been recognized by the American Marketing Association for her work creating community and business partnerships and social ventures for nonprofit organizations. She is the author of the book Cause Marketing for Nonprofits: Partner for Purpose, Passion and Profits (AFP/John Wiley, 2006).

Chief Executive Officer
Venture Communications Ltd.

Arlene Dickinson is CEO of Venture Communications Ltd. and a 20-year veteran in marketing communications.

After joining Venture as a partner in 1988, Arlene took over sole ownership in 1998. Her vision has driven Venture’s growth, successfully building it from a local firm into one of Canada’s largest independent marketing firms, with offices in Calgary, Toronto and Ottawa.

Arlene believes strongly that marketing’s purpose is to deliver business results. She is well known for pioneering how marketing can be accountable to delivering on clients’ business goals.

Her accomplishments, vision and leadership have been recognized with several honours and awards. They include: Global Television Woman of Vision; PROFIT and Chatelaine magazine’s TOP 100 Women Business Owners; the Pinnacle Award for Entrepreneurial Excellence; Canada’s Most Powerful Women Top 100 Hall of Fame; Ad Rodeo’s Lifetime Achievement Award; and McGill University’s 2008 Management Achievement Award. Perhaps the greatest honour was recognition of Venture as one of Canada’s 50 Best Managed Companies for three consecutive years.

In addition to her busy roles as CEO of Venture, mother of four children and grandmother of two, Arlene finds time to lend her skills and leadership to benefit the industry and the community. She served for many years and in various board roles – including chair – with Ad Rodeo and is past co-chair of the National Board for Kids Help Phone. She is a director of the Calgary Municipal Lands Corporation, 2016 Homeless Foundation and a member of the International Women’s Federation (IWF).

Since October 2007, she has appeared as one of the “Dragons” on CBC’s Dragons’ Den – a national television series which invites people to pitch business ideas to the Dragons, in an effort to persuade them to invest.

Director, Consumer Protection Branch
Government of Ontario

Chris Ferguson is the Director of the Consumer Protection Branch (CPB).  CPB includes the Consumer Services Bureau, which mediates complaints and provides consumers with information and an Investigations Unit to deal with consumer law violations.  The Branch also regulates collection agencies, consumer reporting agencies and cemeteries, and provides operational and compliance support to the Ontario Film Review Board (OFRB). 

A key component of CPB’s mandate is consumer education, and Chris has pursued this with zeal with products including the popular and often-imitated Smart Consumer Calendar, a multilingual outreach to “ethnic” media, an educational module for secondary school students, and emerging social marketing partnerships with post-secondary colleges.

Chris has been a member of the board at the Canadian Motor Vehicle Arbitration Program and the Ontario Association of Credit Counseling Services and currently serves on the Ontario Board of Funeral Services.  

Chris lives in Toronto's Junction district where he occupies his spare time with restoring his Victorian home, coaxing vegetables from his back-yard grow-op, gourmet cooking, working out to offset the impact of gourmet eating and availing himself of the city's many attractions from live theatre to Leafs games -- the ultimate in tragi-comic theatre. 

Creative Director
Key Gordon Communications Inc.

Grant Gordon is Creative Director of Key Gordon Communications. A copywriter by trade, Grant worked at a surfeit of Toronto and Montreal ad agencies before realizing that selling processed food, rapacious investments and SUVs was a lousy way to earn a living. In 2001, Grant quit the mainstream and hooked up with Michael de Pencier, Chair of Key Publishers, to create Key Gordon—an advertising & design firm for sustainable products and services. Since founding Key Gordon, Grant has stuck slavishly to the firm’s motto “Branding the good guys”. Projects range from selling organic food and water purification systems to alternative energy, energy conservation and eco investing. Grant lives in downtown Toronto with his wife, Gill Deacon, and their three young boys. He is happiest when playing outdoor hockey with the boys (which might explain why he’s so eager to stop global warming).

Executive Director of Development
Canadian Blood Services

Steve leads the fundraising and development office and is responsible for establishing their new fundraising office.  Prior to this new assignment, Steve led the Marketing and Communications team at Canadian Blood Services, and was responsible for social change strategy to promote the act of blood donation.

Steve is passionate about customers and uncovering unique insights to build relevant competitive strategic advantage for the organization.  Steve has over 20 years of progressively senior experience in consumer and business marketing roles, gaining a balanced perspective from both the client-side and agency-side of the Canadian business community in the sectors including beer, telecom and healthcare.

Steve is a founding member of the Conference Board of Canada’s newest Council for Chief Marketing Officers, and is a founding member of the International Blood Services Benchmarking council for marketing and donor loyalty made up of representatives from Canada, the UK, USA and Australia.

Social Media Expert;
Member of Obama’s New Media Team;
Associate Director of the Global Cooperation Initiative at the World Economic Forum

Rahaf Harfoush is an expert on technology’s impact on business, education, and government. In 2008, she was a part of the Obama campaign's social media team, at its headquarters in Chicago. Recently, Harfoush was announced as the Associate Director of the Global Cooperation Initiative at the World Economic Forum, a post that begins [began] in March 2009. A new media specialist, she has worked with InnoSpa-Unilever, British Telecom Wholesale, and The Web Foundation, among others, and is actively involved in organizations such as The Overlap, which combines cross-disciplinary expertise to tackle the challenges of sustainable innovation. She was the research coordinator for the international bestseller Wikinomics: How Mass Collaboration Changes Everything, and is a contributor to Grown Up Digital: How the Net Generation is Changing Your World. Her book, Yes We Did: AnInside Look at How Social Media Built the Obama Brand, will be released in May, 2009.

President and CEO,
HBS Marketing

Don has over 30 years of experience in strategic marketing and communications planning, creative and agency administration. He received his training at two of Toronto’s major agencies and one of its premier design firms before moving to Ottawa. At HBS, he heads the strategic planning team and has particular expertise in public sector branding and marketing. Some of his work includes developing a brand strategy and visual expression for the Canadian Museum of Civilization, the National Gallery of Canada, Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada and the Canada Revenue Agency.

Jim is the Interactive Marketing Manger at Canadian Blood Services. He leads the organization’s online strategy and social media initiatives. Jim gained his experience and knowledge from building the online presence for non-profit, government and corporate organizations. Prior to his position at Canadian Blood Services, Jim was the principal of a web development company providing simple, affordable solutions for small to medium sized businesses. Jim applies his background in Communications and Visual Arts to his projects to develop creative solutions.

Marketing and Social Media Strategist
Centre of Excellence for Public Sector Marketing

Mike Kujawski is a passionate marketing & social media strategist, on a mission to help public sector and non-profit organizations excel at what they were mandated to do. In 2005, Mike helped launch the Centre of Excellence for Public Sector Marketing (CEPSM), where he now leads all of CEPSM’s digital marketing projects. Mike’s most recent tasks at CEPSM include the development of strategic digital marketing and social media engagement plans for the Public Safety Canada, National Gallery of Canada, Canadian Air Transport Security Authority and the Foreign Credential Recognition Program at HRSDC. He has also recently led the development of comprehensive marketing/communications plans for the Department of National Defence, the Public Service Commission and the City of Burlington. Mike is a distinguished blogger, engaging speaker and highly praised workshop facilitator in his field. He created Canada’s first national workshop and comprehensive workbook on how to develop a social media marketing strategy in a public sector setting. Mike also created the Government 2.0 Best Practices Wiki, which has garnered international attention as the first collaborative central archive of government social media initiatives in Canada and abroad.”

Co-founder and Executive Vice President
Strategic Objectives

Judy Lewis is the Co-founder and Executive Vice President of Strategic Objectives, one of Canada’s leading public relations firm.  A highly respected communications and public relations specialist, Judy provides strategic senior counsel to many of Canada’s leading organizations.  Her proactive, effective public relations strategies and solutions-driven crisis and issues communications advance market position, brand strength, positive media profile and public reputation.  Judy is a recognized speaker on public relations in Canada and the United States and was honoured to be invited to address the United Nations 57th Annual DPI/NGO Conference.

Strategic Objectives represents a variety of International and Canadian leading brands including The Body Shop, Cadbury, Reitmans, Interac Association, Build-A-Bear Workshop, M&M Meat Shops, Kraft, Tetley among others.  Strategic Objectives PR programs have won more than 100 prestigious top national and international awards, including the United Nations Grand Award for Outstanding Achievement in Public Relations for The Body Shop’s STOP Violence Against Women campaign.

Before co-founding Strategic Objectives with her sister Deborah Weinstein in 1983, Judy was a radio current affairs producer with the CBC (Canadian Broadcasting Corporation) and a television producer with Canada’s leading national television network, CTV.  Originally from Montreal and a graduate of McGill University, Judy is a member of Canada’s Top 100 List of Women’s Business Owners, and has been honoured with the Queen’s Golden Jubilee Medal.  Judy lives in Toronto with her husband and two children.

Director
Centre of Excellence for Public Sector Marketing

James (Jim) H. Mintz was formerly Director of Marketing and Corporate Communications at Health Canada. His responsibilities included directing social marketing campaigns in numerous health areas. He was also responsible for all advertising, strategic alliances/partnerships (marketing), publishing, exhibits, audio- visual and on-line and web services. He also developed a bilingual e-learning Social Marketing Tool.

Jim is presently Director of the Centre of Excellence for Public Sector Marketing (Ottawa-Toronto-Regina-Calgary). He is also Program Director of the "Professional Certificate in Public Sector and Non-Profit Marketing" and the “Executive Certificate in Public Sector and Non-profit Marketing Leadership” at Carleton University’s Sprott School of Business. Jim lectures in the Undergraduate Program at Sprott in his specialty areas of Marketing Communications and Non-Profit/Public Sector/Social Marketing. He also teaches public sector and non profit marketing at the Social Marketing Field School at the University of South Florida, College of Public Health in Tampa . He was formerly Adjunct Professor of Marketing in the School of Management at the University of Ottawa . He has given social marketing workshops in the USA, Australia, Europe and Japan.

He has been a member of the steering committee for the "Innovations in Social Marketing" conference (Washington) and  MARCOM. He served on the Professional Chapters Council of the American Marketing Association (AMA) and was President of the AMA Chapter in the National Capital Region. His team at Health Canada was awarded the AMA "Marketer of the Year Award". He served on the Treasury Board Secretariat Committee responsible for the development of the Federal Government Communications Policy.

In addition to his many years working on health issues, he has been involved in areas such as environment, energy conservation, numerous social issues (children/youth/seniors/women/aboriginal peoples) and public safety/emergency preparedness/security. Prior to joining the federal government held senior marketing positions in the private sector. As well, his past experience includes working at a large advertising agency. Mr. Mintz is fluent in both English and French.

Founder / Publisher
Canadian Immigrant Magazine

Naeem ‘Nick’ Noorani had dreams of getting into advertising or marketing when he migrated from Dubai after working for affiliates of McCann Erickson, Saatchi & Saatchi and Lowe Lintas to name a few handling brands like BMW, Land Rover & Coca Cola. Faced with challenges in entering this profession, Nick got a job with a small publishing company.

Today Nick is living the dream, literally. Dubbed an expert on marketing to immigrants, a social entrepreneur and an immigrant advocate, Nick Noorani, author of Arrival Survival Canada and founder/publisher of the Canadian Immigrant magazine (www.canadianimmigrant.ca), takes his work to a higher level through extensive community involvement.

A sought-after speaker and member of the Dominion Institute's speakers' bureau, his frank and humorous presentations bring in stories from his own immigrant journey as he discusses the importance of diversity in business and the successful integration of immigrants in Canada. Nick enjoys touring the country delivering his ‘Seven Success Secrets for Canadian immigrants’ talk and is a radio host with Radio Canada International (RCI) for the popular show for immigrants called The Link where he answers questions from potential and existing immigrants.

He is also an active community volunteer and leader. He is President of the Vancouver Multicultural Society, Advisory member Vancouver 2010 Olympics Advisory Committee (BACSP), RCMP - Commissioner's Advisory Committee on Visible Minorities and is a member of the Ethno Business Council, the Greater Vancouver Citizenship Council and committee member for the Institute for Canadian Citizenship.

Nick received the Inspiration Entrepreneur of the Year award in 2005 and was a finalist for the 2005 Spirit of Vancouver Award, the Ethics in Action award in 2006 and the Burnaby Board of Trade award for Entrepreneurship among others. In 2007 he was honoured by the North American Association of Asian Professionals (NAAAP) as Vancouver’s leading business professional and in 2008 he received the award for best editorial from the Canadian Ethnic Media Association.

Executive Director
Pollution Probe

Bob Oliver is the Executive Director at Pollution Probe in Toronto. He holds a Bachelor of Mechanical Engineering from Carleton University, and brings fifteen years experience managing industrial projects and developing strategies for energy efficiency and greenhouse gas emissions reductions.

Bob was most recently the Director of Pollution Probe’s Transportation Programme. In that position he worked effectively to support the development of policies and programs to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from transportation activity in Canada. Bob researched and wrote Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Vehicle Fuel Efficiency Standards for Canada, a major report supporting the development of policy options to reduce emissions through improvements in automobile technology and fleet composition. Bob also focused on the potential for alternative fuels and transportation infrastructure to contribute to reducing emissions of air pollutants and greenhouse gases.

In addition, Bob was instrumental in building a collaborative partnership between the Canadian Automobile Association (CAA) and Pollution Probe to promote “eco-mobility” – a plan to reduce automobile emissions that views the driver, the vehicle and the road as part of an integrated system. As well, Bob has led Pollution Probe’s research of the auto market and consumer behaviour in order to develop more effective communications tools to promote more efficient transportation choices.

Before joining Pollution Probe, Bob worked at Marbek Resource Consultants in Ottawa, focusing on environment and energy management program development for government and industry clients. He has also worked at Cintas Corporation, increasing the energy efficiency and productivity levels of production plants in Canada and the U.S. through improved operations logistics, equipment modernization and programs to conserve water and energy. He has additional experience in intelligent transportation systems design and hazardous-source radiation detection systems in the heavy transport industry.

President
Manifest Communications

Mark Sarner is the President of Manifest Communications in Toronto. He is an Associate of the University of Toronto Centre for Health Promotion, member of the Board of the Canadian Journalism Foundation and member of the Editorial Board of Canadian Fundraiser magazine. Mark co-authored Social Marketing for Business: What to know, What to do? He has worked with companies such as Bell, Ericsson, Hewlett-Packard, Labatt, Kraft, Sears, and Sunoco to help them design and implement their philanthropy and community relations programs. He is recognized as one of the foremost authorities on principles and practice of social marketing. Mark was selected by Canadian Business Magazine in 1986 as one of Canada’s emerging business leaders for success in harnessing the power of marketing to the process of social change.

Vice President and Practice Leader
Environics Analytics

Rupen Seoni manages the government, health care and not-for-profit practice. He brings fourteen years of experience in market analytics, working with market leaders to unlock the value of information in decision-making and business strategy. His practice area specializes in helping public sector organizations understand population trends, segmentation and performance benchmarking. Previously, he has worked for both consulting and client firms in consumer packaged goods, financial services, retail and not-for-profits.

Executive Director
Smart Commute – North Toronto, Vaughan

Brian Shifman is the Executive Director of Smart Commute – North Toronto, Vaughan, and Smart Commute - Northeast Toronto. Brian brings to Smart Commute an extensive background in marketing-communications, business development, strategic planning, transportation and the environment. He has spoken at various conferences and events, guest lectured at Ryerson University, and addressed councils, committees and task forces at all levels of government.

Brian is passionate about solving the GTA’s traffic challenges through increased awareness of alternatives to single occupancy vehicles, investment in transportation options, and employer-based trip reduction programs.

Prior to joining Smart Commute NTV, Brian represented travel-tourism clients while working for a leading public relations-marketing agency. Brian holds a B.A. (Honours) from Queen’s University, and a post-graduate degree in Public Relations from Humber College. Brian is a member of the Vaughan Chamber of Commerce Advocacy Committee, Spadina-York Subway Extension Committee, the Public Affairs Association of Canada, and the International Association of Business Communicators. He is also Vice Chair of the Smart Commute Initiative Technical Committee.

About Smart Commute - North Toronto, Vaughan:
Award-winning non-profit Transportation Management Association (TMA). The first TMA in Ontario, it was established in 2001 and now represents more than 90,000 staff and students while working with 20 leading employers interested in going green - including Sunnybrook Hospital, York University, Enbridge Gas, City of Toronto and Vaughan Mills.

Founder
Brainspeaker Inc.

Brian Thwaits is an engaging and entertaining ‘brain trainer’, a learning and communications whiz with a wealth of experience in both the public and private sectors.  Brian first demonstrated his flair for performance as an award-winning educator and now is an acclaimed professional speaker who engages both the hearts and minds of his listeners – so they leave his presentations with sides splitting from laughter and heads bursting with ideas.

He launched his academic career by winning a national student award at Lakehead University and concluded it by receiving the President’s Award for Excellence from Mohawk College for his work both at the institution and in the community.

Brian is the founder of Brainspeaker Inc. and one of Canada’s most accomplished and respected professional speakers, delivering presentations to the Department of Education in Hong Kong, General Motors of Oshawa, the Learning Brain Expo in San Diego, PricewaterhouseCoopers in Banff, the Athena Foundation in Chicago, the Canadian Police College in Ottawa, and Washington Mutual Bank in Anaheim – to name just a few organizations from an extensive international client list that is rapidly expanding as his reputation continues to grow.

He has been featured in various media and is the author of “The Big Learn: Smart Ways to Use Your Brain” (www.thebiglearn.ca).  Thousands of people from all walks of life have experienced Brian’s unique and thought-provoking take on thinking, learning and communication skills.

His sessions cleverly combine the latest information from the disciplines of brain research, learning theory and the communication field to suggest innovative and practical approaches to issues we face in the workplace, in the classroom, and in our personal lives.

Brian’s signature keynote address, Train Your Brain, is creating plenty of buzz.  Audiences rave!