A recap of who’s headed where in Canadian marketing and communications.
Astral Mix adds an account manager. Launch appoints a CEO.
JEFF THIBODEAU joined SMG Canada as senior vice-president, digital media. Part of his duties includes new product development and expansion. He was most recently SVP, digital media at Mediacom Canada.
Blue Ant Media appointed SAM LINTON to executive in charge of production. Prior to Blue Ant, Linton was vice-president, executive producer at RTR Media Inc. where she oversaw development and production of series and pilots. She has also held positions at Shaw, Cineflix and Discovery Canada.
Astral Mix appointed KIM JOUBERT to group manager in Montreal. Joubert was most recently with Cossette where she held assistant media planner and account manager positions.
TRISH AULT returned to Weber Shandwick Canada as vice-president and general manager of the PR agency’s Ottawa office. She also takes on duties as national practice leader for social impact, leading the agency’s team of “social impact storytellers, content creators and advocates.”
CHRISTOPHER CHONG joined Blue Chip Productions in Vancouver as vice-president, strategy, sales and marketing. Chong’s industry experience includes VP of sales and marketing for TripTelevision, CEO of Chalk Media Corporation and director of business development for Blast Radius.
Hill+Knowlton Strategies Canada (H+K) named MICHELLE MCLEAN vice-president and group leader of its Ottawa communications unit. McLean worked at H+K from 2008 to 2010 as a health stakeholder specialist in the firm’s public affairs group. She left for the Mental Health Commission of Canada where she spent nearly three years as vice-president of public affairs.
JENNIFER SPENCER joined Thornley Fallis in Toronto as vice-president. Spencer brings over 30 years experience to the role, having held senior level positions at Kerbel Communications, Canadian Blood Services, Hill & Knowlton and National Public Relations where she formed its pharmaceutical group. She founded Veritas Communications in 1993 and stayed for eight years before heading client side, joining Canadian Blood Services as executive director, communications and public involvement.
Cundari hired ANDREW SIMON as chief creative officer, a role left vacant by Brent Choi who joined JWT in January. Simon spent the last two years as a partner and chief creative officer at Blammo Worldwide and prior to that was ECD at DDB Canada. He starts in his new position at the end of February.
Meanwhile, Blammo Worldwide named MICHAEL MURRAY its new partner and chief creative officer. Murray was previously executive creative director at CP+B Canada, which he left when it began operating as Union. He was with Taxi two years before that.
Launch appointed KELLY MCCARTEN to the CEO position to grow the promo/experiential marketing agency. McCarten spent the past five years leading her own company, McCarten Marketing, serving a variety of clients including the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada.
GARY WATSON joined Capital C as executive creative director after working freelance for nearly a year with agencies such as Taxi, Innocean and Entrinsic. Watson has also held senior level positions at Bos Advertising/DentsuBos, MacLaren McCann and Publicis.
John St. promoted NELLIE KIM and CHRIS HIRSCH to co-creative directors. The creative team has been with the agency for almost eight years.
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