Speakers Bios

• Mary-Ellen Anderson
• Kevin Bartus
• Richard D’Alessio
• Dominique-Sébastien Forest
• Paula Gignac
• Renée Hill
• Jennifer Holgate
• Rachel Krauss
• Robert Levy
• Hunter Madsen
• Chantal Rossi
• Mike Sharma
• Annette Stieler
• David U.K.
• Chris Williams

Mary-Ellen Anderson

Mary-Ellen Anderson, Executive Producer, MSN Canada, is part of a global media team striving to make MSN's portals the number one destination for users around the world.

Mary-Ellen comes to Sympatico/ MSN from CTV.ca where she was a Senior Producer leading news and entertainment teams in the creation of daily and special content across multiple platforms including Web, Broadband and Mobile. As well, she produced CTV.ca's inaugural Enhanced TV offerings for the Oscar and Juno Awards. Mary-Ellen began her Online career as one of the original writers/producers for CBC.ca. Prior to that, she worked on a variety of programs in both television and radio for private and public broadcasters.

Kevin Bartus

Kevin Bartus, Vice-President, Digital Media, Rogers Media, provides strategic and operational leadership for the digital and Online assets of Rogers Media Inc. Prior to joining Rogers in late 2006, Mr. Bartus was the Founder, President and CEO of Blue Spark Inc., an Interactive professional services company focused on delivering strategic, creative and technology solutions to leading companies. He sold Blue Spark to OnX in April 2005 and became Vice President of Sales and Marketing for OnX Professional Services. He has also held executive positions with several Toronto venture capital companies, Compugen Consulting Services, Boston Consulting Group and Anderson Consulting (now Accenture).

Mr. Bartus has a strong understanding of the digital market, the needs of digital consumers as well as the priorities of current and potential Online clients. That understanding combined with his leadership and people skills allow him to provide valuable strategic guidance. The fact that Kevin had already worked with many Rogers divisions in his role at Blue Spark made him a natural fit for this position.

Mr. Bartus holds an undergraduate and graduate degree from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.  He also holds an MBA from Harvard Business School which was awarded to him in 1994. 

Richard D'Alessio

Richard D'Alessio is the Founder and Owner of Unplugged, a digital entertainment studio, which continues to break ground in the field of branded content and flash animation. At Unplugged he has produced and/or directed branded content and entertainment series’ for such clients as BMW, Schick and most notably he worked alongside Barry Levinson and Jerry Seinfeld as the animation director for the “Adventures of Seinfeld and Superman” for American Express. Currently Unplugged is producing Knob Hockey (www.knobhockey.com) for Heavy.com for the upcoming Stanley Cup Finals and ,the daily internet Webby Award winning show Good Morning World is a multi faceted creative director who is disciplined in the areas of film, television, interactive, animation and mobile technology.

Richard began his career by writing, producing and directing a local cable TV comedy show in New York at the age of 19. Since then he has directed seven full-length documentary films, including a film for the currently running National Geographic Explorer series, produced and directed two internationally acclaimed short films, directed over five hundred television commercials for major advertisers around the world, and most recently produced and directed a television show for the Comedy Network entitled “The Shakespeare Comedy Show”. His television commercials, have won numerous international awards including three Lions at Cannes, a USA Today number one Super Bowl commercial for Bud Light, and inclusion in four separate television specials highlighting the world's best commercials and most recently the top Super Bowl commercials of all time.

He is represented for television and feature films by the William Morris Agency and for commercial directing by Radical Media in North America and Europe. Currently he’s in pre-production on a feature film entitled “Devil‘s Martini”.

Most recently he has focused his attention on emerging mobile technology bringing together his skills as a filmmaker, animator and interactive storyteller to focus on creating viral mobile content and browser based applications that will allow people to share their own content with others. Unplugged was awarded the “Most innovative use of Flash” on mobiles by Macromedia in 2006 with the Chelsea Project. Currently Unplugged produces the Leather Chef for mobile down load.

Dominique-Sébastien Forest

Dominique-Sébastien Forest, General Manager Digital Media, is responsible for Canoe's digital content and wireless distribution strategy. His mission will be to implement effective video and audio platforms as new ways of accessing information proliferate. Mr. Forest was previously Vice President, Business Development at Puretracks, a North American leader in the development of Online music platforms. He was previously the French editor of MSN Canada. Mr. Forest also founded Creative Research and Technology, Canada's first company specialized in advergaming (the use of games for advertising purposes), and has served as Marketing Manager with Insight.com.

Paula Gignac

Paula Gignac, President of the Interactive Advertising Bureau of Canada (IAB), and former Vice President of Rogers Women’s Group of Websites, is recognized throughout the industry -- not only as a pioneering Web publisher -- but also as an award-winning Interactive marketer and author of digital marketing programs for clients as diverse as AirMiles, GlaxoSmithKline, Ford, Proctor + Gamble, Hershey, etc. With more than 15 years of experience in the medium, and an unmatched record of helping clients achieve success in the Online arena, she is also chief instructor for IAB Canada’s Intensive, One-Day Course in Interactive Marketing + Online Advertising.

Renée Hill

Renée Hill, Co-founder of eyeReturn (1999), launched the first Voken™ (top layer ad) in North America. Over the past 7 years, Renée has played an integral role in the growth of rich media advertising industry in Canada. Renée has championed the acceptance of streaming media, expanding units and Vokens™ on countless Websites. In addition, Renée has developed an extensive market for national Online contests including trivia games, collect-and-wins and instant-wins that engage and educate users about a brand for an extended period of time. A veteran of advertising sales and marketing, Renée has extensive experience on the agency side of the industry. Renée holds an Honours BA in Communications from Queen’s University.

Jennifer Holgate

Jennifer Holgate is Vice President, Broadcast and Interactive for the Sales and Marketing Division at CanWest MediaWorks, which includes conventional and specialty television, Online, mobile and broadband. In this position, she manages sales strategy for both broadcast and Interactive, as well as sales processes for Interactive including distribution, marketing and content integration and implementation for the canada.com network.

With over twenty years of retail, national advertising and marketing experience, Ms. Holgate has expertise and understanding of branding as well as extensive knowledge of both traditional and new media. Coupled with her excellent communications skills, Ms. Holgate has succeeded in leading a variety of sales and marketing teams within the CanWest divisions including National Sales for New Media, as well as high-level contract negotiations with key strategic partners.

Ms. Holgate has been with CanWest MediaWorks since 1999 where she began as a Team Leader in the Interactive department. Prior to her work at CanWest, Ms. Holgate was an account executive in retail marketing and a sales representative.

Rachel Krauss

Rachel Krauss, Research Manager, Dynamic Logic, A Millward Brown Company, joined the company in 2005, and is responsible for managing the design and implementation of research studies measuring the brand effectiveness of Online advertising campaigns. As such she evaluates various media and creative elements, including emerging digital technologies, to determine which executions optimize brand impact. Before joining Dynamic Logic, Rachel worked in the field of human service research, where she gained experience as a focus group moderator and facilitator of training sessions. Her knowledge of the Online space and insight into human engagement, response and decision-making give her the quantitative and qualitative expertise in an ever-changing digital world. Rachel received her BA in Economics from Colgate University, where she studied the ways in which psychology, family structure, and culture impacts economic systems.

Robert Levy

Robert Levy, is President and CEO of BrandSpark International, a market research and branding strategy firm with a focus on brand positioning, new product innovation and media optimization.

BrandSpark focuses on multiple perspective research that places heavy emphasis on building internal consensus around organizational opportunities and issues.

Prior to founding BrandSpark in 2002, Robert Levy was VP of Cara Operations’ Branding Group where he developed an internal consulting group to the Cara Operations group of restaurant brands. Prior to joining Cara, Robert spent 5 years living in Geneva, Switzerland and Prague Czech Republic, operating a legal and business advisory consulting practice that facilitated Canadian investment in the Czech Republic – including the development of a Harveys’/Swiss Chalet restaurant in Prague. Robert also practiced law in Toronto for over 3 years at Meighen Demers (now Ogilvy Renault).

Since founding BrandSpark, Robert and his team have undertaken numerous branding and research projects for leading Canadian and international clients, including BRP (Bombardier Recreational Products), Loblaws, Genuine Health, Lone Star restaurants, Transcontinental Media Group, Learjet, The Hockey Company, Ocean Spray, and others. BrandSpark helped develop the Interactive Advertising Bureau’s (IAB) CMOST cross media effectiveness study project and has developed and manages the Best New Product Awards.

Robert obtained his B.Comm. from McGill University and his LL.B. from Osgoode Hall Law School in Toronto.

Hunter Madsen

Hunter Madsen, Director of Marketing, Yahoo! Canada, joined Yahoo! Canada as head of marketing programs, to accelerate Yahoo!’s growing momentum in the Canadian market. He previously headed product marketing for Yahoo! Marketing Services, as well as product management for the company’s industry-leading advertising delivery system. In that position, Madsen drove Yahoo!’s innovations in advanced ad targeting, analytics, rich media ad formats, and promotions services for advertisers.

Originally a social scientist, Madsen received his doctorate from Harvard University and subsequently lectured there before beginning his marketing career with J. Walter Thompson, the advertising agency. Soon a Senior Partner at Thompson, Madsen developed award-winning marketing programs for Unilever, Kodak, Ortho, Sunsweet, and other major brands through the Eighties and Nineties, including the well-known “People Do” environmental campaign for Chevron, and the long-running Candace Bergen campaign for Sprint Corporation. In 1995, Madsen won the first-ever Grand Prix in WPP’s international Atticus competition, for his contributions to ‘fresh thinking in brand communications.’

In 1993, Madsen founded JWT Interactive, Thompson's primary digital marketing unit at the time. JWT/I pioneered early and highly regarded programs Online for diverse clients such as Sun Microsystems, PBS, and the California Board of Tourism. (For his client Sprint, he joined the first-ever media buy of ad banners on the nascent Internet, at Hotwired.com.) Madsen subsequently led marketing for Wired and its Online properties, including Wired News, Hotwired, and HotBot, during their heyday, and then drove product marketing for several Online startups launching advanced media platforms and marketing-automation technologies, before joining Yahoo! in 2003.

Profiled in the New York Times, Advertising Age, and AdWeek, Madsen is a frequent speaker on marketing in new media, and his publications have appeared in Wired Magazine, Management Today, and elsewhere.

Chantal Rossi

Chantal Rossi, Account Executive with Google, joined Google in 2002 and works with leading Canadian marketers and ad agencies focused in the Consumer Packaged Goods, Entertainment, Finance and Healthcare Industries on national and international ad campaigns. Prior to joining Google, Chantal held positions at National Post and CanWest Global Communications. Born and raised in Toronto, Chantal is a graduate of the Richard Ivey School of Business at the University of Western Ontario.

Mike Sharma

Mike Sharma, Director of Interactive, zig, has 20 years experience in Online and direct marketing as well as creative, production and IT system development. Mike Sharma is Director of Interactive at zig, a communications company with clients such as Molson, Virgin Mobile, IKEA, Best Buy and Unilever.

Prior to joining zig in January 2007, Mike was with MSN (Microsoft) Canada, the nation’s most popular portal, where he held a number of key roles over a six-year period including Director of Sales and Partnerships from 2005-2007, and Manager of Network Programming at MSN from 2000-2005.

Prior to joining Microsoft, Mike was part of the team that launched Ogilvy Interactive Toronto (in 1994), where he led a department of top-notch art directors, writers, information architects and developers for clients across North America.

His award-winning Internet marketing and communications programs have been instrumental in establishing many brands Online, and Mike is a regular speaker and author on a variety of topics including digital marketing, consumer insight, and marketing ROI.

Annette Stieler

Annette Stieler, Director Account Services at comScore Canada, has over 10 years of media research experience including 7 years at comScore Media Metrix. Annette is responsible for bringing new measurement products into Canada, managing the dictionary reporting structure and working with key clients such as Yahoo Canada!, Sympatico/MSN, CanWest Interactive, Rogers and CTV Globemedia.

Annette’s commitment to the Online industry includes being a member of the Internet Day Committee with the Advertising Club of Toronto for the past 3 years, and previously volunteering for IAB Canada. She also sits on the Sheridan College Advertising Program Council.

In the past, Annette has worked at Harris Media Systems, Compusearch MicroMarketing and PMB which has allowed her to accumulate extensive time within Media Research.

David U.K.

David U.K. , Vice President and General Manager, Heavy.com (Canada), is a 14-year media veteran and has recently launched Heavy.com in Canada overseeing Heavy’s Canadian operations, including all revenue, ad sales, affiliate relations, content licensing and distribution. This is the first International division for the company outside of its New York City headquarters.

Heavy is a leading broadband destination in Canada providing an engaging and measurable marketing platform in a television-like environment reaching the elusive 18-34 year old male. Heavy currently reaches 1,473,000 Million Unique Visitors in Canada as reported by ComScore Media Metrix, March 2007.

Previously David U.K. launched and managed the interactive media division, Standard Interactive, for Canada’s largest private broadcast company, Standard Broadcasting. David held the position of Vice President, Sales and Strategic Alliances and during his tenure David U.K. increased gross revenues year-over-year, and increased the audience 636% with a 174% increase in ranking against the competition.

Prior to Standard Interactive, David held international management positions at a number of prominent media companies, including: Promenade Magazine, New York (VP and Publisher), and UGO Networks, Inc. New York (Director of Sponsorships, Sales and E-commerce), Shift Multimedia (East Coast Advertising Manager); and at TIME Inc. Asia/CNN/Time Warner, Hong Kong (Senior Advertising Manager), among other companies.

Chris Williams

Chris Williams, Managing Director, Media Contacts, was one of the initiators of Interactive Marketing in Canada, entering into the field in 1995. His experience spans client strategy, creative at agencies such as Arnold Advertising and BBDO Canada and media at Media Contacts. He has developed strong integrated strategic and creative solutions for such clients as Audi, Toronto Tourism, Canada Savings Bonds, Bank of Montreal, Canadian Tourism Commission, Monster.ca, Harris Bank, Excite.ca, Kanetix.ca, Pepsi, Miller Brewing (US), Chrysler, Apple, Bell Canada, Fedex and Chapters.ca. Awards include John Caples Awards, Marketing Magazine Awards and CDMA RSVP Awards.

Chris also sits on the board of the Internet Advertising Bureau of Canada.