The marketing environment is intensely challenging. From signal loss and channel fragmentation to privacy concerns and pressure to “do more with less,” marketers are dealing with a lot. These new challenges require a new approach. That approach requires data collaboration. Join Environics Analytics’ Evan Wood as he discusses why data collaboration is being called today’s engine of growth and innovation.

Space is limited: rsvp for this VIP breakfast session by emailing Neil Ewen newen@brunico.com

Speaking

Evan Wood

EVP and Chief Strategy and Transformation Officer

Environics Analytics

Tony Chapman will open the conference by exploring how AI will revolutionize marketing, and in record time. For CMOs, the stakes couldn't be higher. Just as the printing press, radio, television, and digital platforms once transformed the status quo, AI will eclipse these innovations by harnessing and harvesting intelligence on your consumer, and your competition. This intelligence will uncover insights, ideas, and strategies and tactics, at an unprecedented speed and scale.

The future isn't coming—the future is now.

Speaking

Tony Chapman

Partner & CEO

Chatter AI

The only constant is change. But we’ve never seen such accelerated change at a pace like this. Join Mastercard's Amanda Fraga as she explores three cultural and demographic shifts: the transfer of wealth to women, the broadening definition of families, and burgeoning economic diversity. This session will leave you with a framework for shaping and influencing the future of product design and consumer experiences.

Speaking

Amanda Fraga

VP, Insights

Mastercard

Every brand has something that makes them unique, but shockingly few seem to be able to translate those things into genuinely distinctive advertising. Maybe that's why consumers consider only 5% of brands as unique. By exploring which strategies to embrace and which to avoid, Nestlé's Tracey Cooke and Courage's Tom Kenny will demonstrate how they’ve helped distinguish KitKat, Nescafé and Turtles by unlocking what makes each brand special.

Speaking

Tom Kenny

CSO & Partner

Courage Inc

Tracey Cooke

CMO, SVP Head of Marketing & Commercialization

Nestle Canada Inc

In this panel discussion, Canadian startups 99Ravens and AgencyCoLab will share how marketers are adopting Gen AI tools into their day-to-day workflow. Moderated by Thinkingbox's Alex Panousis, the conversation will focus on real-world use cases and the ways AI can streamline marketing processes, from creating faster briefs to using data for better decision-making. Whether you're new to the tech or already using it, this session will offer practical insights for marketers to up their AI game.

Speaking

Greg Shortall

Founder & CEO

AgencyCoLab

Fab Dolan

Founder

99 Ravens

Andrew D'Souza

Creator, Mad Scientist

Boardy

Alexandra Panousis

President Media and Chief Growth Officer

Thinkingbox

The U.S. election. Data breaches. Artificial intelligence. The housing crisis. Climate change. Sean Stanleigh, a journalist and content marketer, bridges his two worlds with an informative look at how the fast-moving news cycle affects marketing, and the strategies brands should consider as they craft their own messaging.

Speaking

Sean Stanleigh

Head of Globe Content Studio

The Globe and Mail

Discover how AI is reshaping the way search engines operate and how the most forward-thinking brands are adapting to thrive. In this session, you'll learn actionable strategies to stay ahead of evolving algorithms, optimize search presence, and dominate SERPs in a competitive, AI-powered world.

Speaking

Nasser Sahlool

SVP Client Strategy

DAC

The future of sports viewing is undergoing transformation, with streamers getting into the game and an explosion of women's sports leagues bringing more fans to stadiums and screens. The space is growing in scope as more marketers love sport and the fans that give love back to their brands. This session will explore how they're looking to the sports calendar to connect with Canada's diverse communities using inclusive marketing strategies.

Speaking

Mark Harrison

Founder

MH3 Collective

Kimberlee Welch

Head of Partnership Marketing and Media Integration

MLSE Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment

Heather Cameron

Head of Brand and Creative

DoorDash

Bob Park

Chief Brand Officer

GE Appliances Canada – MABE

Meet the experts and dive further into their sessions. CMO Forum speakers will be available for discussions over the lunch break. Please see our staff at the registration desk to sign up for a Lunch and Learn roundtable. Lunch will be served in the Gallery.

*Advance sign-up is required.

Speaking

Table host

Bob Park

Chief Brand Officer

GE Appliances Canada – MABE

Table host

Tony Chapman

Partner & CEO

Chatter AI

Table host

Amanda Fraga

VP, Insights

Mastercard

Table host

Alexandra Panousis

President Media and Chief Growth Officer

Thinkingbox

Table host

Kimberlee Welch

Head of Partnership Marketing and Media Integration

MLSE Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment

Table host

Tom Kenny

CSO & Partner

Courage Inc

Table host

Adrian Fuoco

CMO

Pizza Pizza Ltd

The pace of change in marketing is unprecedented with shifting consumer behaviours, emerging channels, and disruptive AI technologies reshaping the landscape. This workshop will enable CMOs to upskill marketing teams to better build their brands. Join Manoj Raheja and Debra Kavchak-Taylor from strategy and insights advisory firm Sklar Wilton & Associates as they share hands-on tips, tools and frameworks for marketers to transform ways of working and turbocharge their teams of tomorrow.

Speaking

Manoj Raheja

Partner

Sklar Wilton & Associates

Debra Kavchak-Taylor

Partner

Sklar Wilton & Associates

As Canadians favour the convenience and flexibility of streaming platforms, Roku's Ivan Pehar discusses how understanding addressable TV streaming audiences is pivotal to maximizing media planning and building effective ads that resonate with viewers during premium TV viewing experiences. In this session, Pehar will uncover the top emerging trends in the fifth edition of Roku's Video-on-Demand (VOD) Evolution – 2025 study of Canadian TV streamers and their viewing habits, with a focus on ad innovation and the opportunities that addressable TV offers.

Speaking

Ivan Pehar

Ad Sales Director

Roku Inc

As retail media cements its role in the marketing ecosystem, it is projected to grow by 25% annually in Canada, reaching $5 billion in annual media spend by 2027. Brands are recognizing the value of high-quality first-party data being captured by major retailers’ loyalty programs and in-store purchases. In a significant advancement for retail media capabilities in Canada, discover how a new partnership between Loblaw and The Trade Desk is enabling self-serve offsite targeting and measurement through UID2, allowing advertisers to connect digital campaigns across all channels.

In Canada, marketers are often faced with budget, scale and regulatory limitations that threaten to stifle creativity. However, Molson's Leslie Malcolm argues that brands can find power in problems. From mastering the new speed of marketing to developing a solutions-oriented mindset, the brand leader will share the guardrails her team uses to unlock creativity via constraints using case studies of recent Molson work.

Speaking

Leslie Malcolm

VP, Marketing

Molson Coors

Sustainability is one the most critical areas affecting brands' future. Join Amarachi Chukwuma from Mintel Consulting, as she shares findings and strategies from the Global Outlook on Sustainability Consumer Study. This session will examine trended research at a global and market-by-market level, exploring shifting consumer sentiment regarding sustainability, the challenges and opportunities for brands, and recommendations on how to navigate them.

Speaking

Amarachi Chukwuma

Consultant

Mintel

More Canadians than ever are streaming the biggest plays in live sports. Join Rogers Sports & Media's Ken Davie and Questrade's Chris Diakos as they share the inner workings of their partnership, which led to the wealth management firm becoming a leader in the live sports marketing space. During their rinkside chat, they will share results from Questrade's 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs campaign and some of the shared learnings from the partnership.

Speaking

Chris Diakos

Senior Manager, Integrated Media, Strategy & Planning

Questrade Inc

Ken Davie

Head of Advanced Video Products

Rogers Sports & Media

For close to a decade, IKEA Canada and Pigeon Brands have collaborated on omnichannel marketing plans from flyers to campaigns. During this time, the retailer and agency have developed an approach for creating both authentic and impactful campaigns, which Jonelle Ricketts Head of Marketing at IKEA Canada and Elyse Boulet CEO & Managing at Partnerat Pigeon will share in this session. Learn from these leaders on how to navigate Canada’s evolving cultural landscape, and craft advertising that truly connects with diverse audiences who want to buy, love and recommend your brand.

Speaking

Elyse Boulet

CEO & Managing Partner

Pigeon Brands Inc.

Jonelle Ricketts

Head of Marketing

IKEA Canada

It’s become more crucial to teach future leaders to think critically, and with curiosity, amid workplace advances. Years of missing out on human connections could be putting marketing teams at a disadvantage. And, as a tsunami of automation tools upends the way we work, next-gen marketers risk losing out on learning opportunities. This session will discuss how marketers are developing and moving their people towards their potential so that they can deliver on their brand’s ambition.

Speaking

Tracey Cooke

CMO, SVP Head of Marketing & Commercialization

Nestle Canada Inc

Eva Salem

SVP, Marketing & Brand

Canadian Tire Corporation Limited

Manoj Raheja

Partner

Sklar Wilton & Associates

Andrew Oosterhuis

VP Marketing

Labatt

While no two marketers’ jobs are quite the same, there are challenges common to anyone trying to establish rapport with Canada’s increasingly complex consumers. This session aims to find solutions. A staple of the Forum, this year's CMO Interview will see two brand leaders confide in, and consult with, one another about what's keeping them – and their marketing peers – up at night.

Speaking

Mary MacIsaac

Senior Vice President, Loblaw Marketing & Control Brands

Loblaw Companies Ltd

Adrian Fuoco

CMO

Pizza Pizza Ltd