By its very definition, power tends to be visible—something that commands attention. Today’s Quiet Power list highlights people that, generally speaking, would not be described that way.
It is made up of 10 people whose names might not be widely known across an industry that, let’s face it, has more than its share of big personalities, and, well, big egos. But these are people who have amassed considerable power through business acumen, ability, career progression and professional remit, or some combination thereof.
Any list ascribing “power” to individuals is ultimately going to come with a degree of subjectivity, and that was particularly true in this case. How do you pin down something as undetectable and elusive as quiet power?
It includes people in bureaucratic roles making big decisions that affect the industry and its members, all while very intentionally avoiding the spotlight. Many are almost virtually Google-proof, which is saying something at a time when having no digital footprint is almost impossible.
But it also includes the founder and president of one of North America’s leading healthcare marketing agencies, a Canadian pioneer in programmatic advertising industry, and perhaps THE most sought-after director for executing “big idea” creative in the country.
They are powerful within their respective industries, but carry out their role without the fanfare that accompanies other names on the list. They are the quiet ones.
Jill King
Managing Director, Supply Ontario
In many ways, Jill King is the perfect embodiment of quiet power. As managing director, advertising and communication services procurement brand with the province’s procurement arm, Supply Ontario, she is the person who decides which agencies get a piece of the province’s massive ad budget.
According to the French research firm COMvergence, Ontario spent approximately $145 million on measured media advertising in 2023, making it Canada’s third largest advertiser behind only P&G and Rogers Communications. (We’re also granting bonus power points for the Ontario government’s decision to commit at least 25% of its annual advertising spending for Ontario publishers last year.)
“More ad money goes through her than anyone else in the country if you think about it,” said one agency executive, speaking anonymously with Campaign.
But it’s a job that comes with little fanfare or media recognition. The inner workings of government procurement are deliberately opaque, and King, who first joined what was then the Advertising Review Board in the province in 2017, is adept at staying under the radar.
But King also brings the better part of three decades of agency experience—including just over three years as president of Due North Communications—to the role. “She is very fair, as she knows what it is like to be on the other side of the table,” said the executive.
Bertrand Cesvet
Chief Creative Executive, Psycho Bunny and Kanuk
For nearly 25 years, Bertrand Cesvet led Sid Lee, an agency which believed that the power of creative thinking—in all its forms, not just advertising—was at the core of all great brands, and a foundation for all successful businesses.
He left Sid Lee in November 2021, but he wasn’t ready to retire. Instead, he took his passion for building brands, his belief in the power of creativity and turned himself into fashion impresario. Cesvet became a shareholder and chief creative executive for menswear brand Psycho Bunny, which has grown rapidly since his arrival: revenue doubled in the two years after he joined, the brand expanded its retail presence into Canada, and now has more than 100 stores across North America, Latin America, the UAE, Japan, and South Africa (up from less than 60 in 2022).
They’ve made deals to become the official athletic apparel sponsor of Tennis Canada, recently signed the Australian-born rising star Alexei Popyrin as the brand’s first on-court tennis ambassador, and broke into F1 by signing presenter Will Buxton as a brand ambassador. “Sport style is where we want the brand to live,” said Cesvet at the time.
To reach Gen Z consumers, Psycho Bunny opened a wildly successful in-game store on Roblox that generated 7 million brand impressions, 220,000 in-store product interactions in the first 10 days.
But rather than coast on the Psycho Bunny success, last spring Cesvet led a group of investors in the acquisition of another Canadian outerwear brand, Kanuk, with plans to expand the product range to offer clothing for all four seasons.
“I believe that my experience at Sid Lee and more recently at Psycho Bunny will definitely be an asset in relaunching Kanuk,” he said. "In my view, innovation and especially creativity, are the main drivers of value creation for brands.” That’s a powerful idea.
Arianne Reza
Deputy Minister of Public Services and Procurement
The Federal Government is one of the biggest advertisers in the country, spending $107 million on paid advertising in 2023, good for seventh on the total ad spend list compiled by ComVergence.
But when we first asked around about who is THE person overseeing all the spend, it wasn’t easy to get a name. As we dug into it and kept asking, we came to Arianne Reza.
Reza has spent more than 25 year in the federal civil service, and as Deputy Minister of Public Services and Procurement, she oversees the department that supports all the other departments choosing their creative and media planning partners, and implementing their advertising plans, including all the procurement tools like standing offers and supply arrangements.
PSPC also manages the single AOR contract with the single AOR—awarded to EssenceMediacom in 2024—for media buying, ad serving and trafficking, ad verification, reporting, and reconciliation services for all media buys across the Federal Government valued at more than $25,000.
It’s entirely possible that Reza not only does not read Campaign, but has never even heard of us. But sitting atop the org chart for the government body overseeing all that Federal ad money—that’s a lot of power. Even if she is very quiet about it.
Leerom Segal
Co-founder and group CEO, Klick Health
Leerom Segal is an inveterate builder of things. He created his first company at the age of 12, sold his first company by 14, and by 16 was the CTO of a publicly traded company. But it’s with Toronto-based Klick Health that he has truly made his professional reputation.
"Leerom is one in a gazillion,” said Klick Health CEO Lori Grant. “His unwavering commitment to innovation and his fearless approach to overcoming challenges are beyond rare. He dares the impossible, pushes through new boundaries, and consistently inspires our team to be the best we can be.”
Since its formation in 1997, Klick has evolved into not just one of the world’s premiere healthcare marketing agencies, but a leading agency, period. It is creating the type of resonant and engaging marketing that was once the sole domain of shops servicing traditional advertising categories. There’s a strong argument that Segal should be on our “Hard Power List” coming Thursday and Friday, but the truth is Klick—and Segal—have been way under the radar for years. The industry is famous for the agency founders and execs who love the spotlight but Segal is not that.
But after winning eight Lions, including an Innovation Grand Prix, in Cannes last year, his agency moved up to third in the independent agency rankings while retaining its second place ranking among healthcare agencies.
It has been recognized as a Global Company to Watch by the World Economic Forum, as well as one of Canada’s 50 best managed companies and 50 best employers. And quietly (a key word here) presiding over the venture is Segal.
Grant said that Segal fosters a company culture rooted in “conscious curiosity and humanity,” and has created an advantage for the agency with attributes including warmth, generosity and visionary leadership. “I, for one, am beyond proud and grateful to be in his orbit.”
Mark Zibert
Director, Scouts Honour
Mark Zibert has become a go-to director for Canadian marketers seeking truly distinctive advertising, with that bears little resemblance to most traditional 30-second spots.
It's a truism of the industry that the most famous work is associated with creative directors and ad agencies, rather than directors and production companies. But Zibert's imprimatur is all over Canada’s “big” work in recent years, ranging from SickKids Foundation’s epic “SickKids Vs.,” to the Royal Ontario Museum’s “Immortal,” Kruger’s “Unapologetically Human,” and right up to last month’s “Finish It” for the Terry Fox Foundation.
“He’s the consummate Canadian commercial filmmaker” says Diamond CCO Peter Ignazi.
“Mark brings an extraordinary clarity of vision to his treatments,” added chief strategy officer, Lori Davison, who has worked with Zibert several times over the past decade. He has an unmatched ability to take viewers on unexpected and poignant emotional journeys, she said.
Ignazi, who enlisted Zibert for several SickKids spots while at Cossette, said the director is able to shock viewers into feeling by shifting category paradigms. “You’re never seen a hospital ad like that before,” he said. “Or a toilet paper ad done that way.”
And both praise Zibert’s unmatched eye for detail. Ignazi points out that in the recent spot for the Terry Fox Foundation, when Fox arrives at the top of a rise in the road, the trees frame him in the map of Canada. “He noticed it,” said Ignazi. “That’s why he shot there.”
Catherine Bate
President and CEO Advertising Standards
We did consider putting Catherine Bate on the Hard Power list. She is president and CEO of Ads Standards, meaning she has the power to reject ads which, in their assessment, do not comply with the Canadian Code of Advertising Standards.
In 2023, Ad Standards reviewed 7,350 ads for compliance, and managed 1,581 complaints. By definition that is a lot of power. “Catherine Bate is a driving force in promoting fairness and integrity in Canadian advertising,” said one exec who recommended her for this list.
For the most part, Ad Standards is a neutral gatekeeper for the industry; sometimes a source of frustration, but not an activist force for the industry. But—as we’ve said elsewhere with these lists—context is everything.The industry is dealing with a lot of large emerging issues these days—from environmental claims, to diversity and inclusion, influencer marketing, and the rise of AI in advertising.
A current example is the sudden spike in what is almost a whole new type of advertising that may be here for good: “Made in Canada” advertising.
Within days of the announcement of proposed tariffs, Ad Standards put out an industry advisory, while confirming an increase in complaints about that type of advertising. With so much uncertainty in the industry, it seems likely that Bate could become an impactful force in the industry in ways much of Canadian adland hasn’t seen in recent memory.
Stephan Argent
Founder and principal at Listenmore
Agency reviews are a source of high intrigue—fascinating melodrama played out with a cast of characters all jostling for the spotlight.
While they are usually thought of as a series of two-part scenes—marketer and pitching agency—Stephan Argent is often cast in the vitally important role of pitch consultant.
Argent launched his consulting firm Listenmore 14 years ago, and along with his match-making skills, has become an industry thought leader with a reputation for taking a stand on important industry topics. His annual Pitch Report is required reading for many, and he’s added international insight and perspective through a partnership with Australian-based expert Darren Woolley.
There aren’t many operators in the pitching space, and only a small handful that seem to be regularly called upon. But when Campaign was talking with industry leaders about the Power List, one exec put it this way: “Stephan Argent was the first name that came to mind, I think few people realize how influential he’s become in the movement of clients to new agencies.”
Earlier this year, long-time marketing exec Esther Benzie decided to join Argent at Listenmore. “Stephan operates like a corporate psychologist,” she said. “He really wants to understand the needs of the relationship between agency and client and figure out the best plan forward. I appreciate his ability to listen, but also his ability to be direct—very direct, very, very direct—on what each party needs to do better.”
“Stephan taps into his vast experience seeing many different agency/client relationships around the globe to ensure each group is represented,” said Benzie. “He values objectivity, transparency and integrity to ensure that both agencies and clients are well served.”
Matthew Boswell
Canada’s Commissioner of Competition
Last winter, as part of our Made in Canada content series to launch Campaign in Canada, we identified a general lack of competition in multiple Canadian sectors and industries as a flaw holding back the economy itself, and Canadian advertising in particular.
Last summer, Bill C-59 was given royal assent, confirming Ottawa’s willingness to encourage competition in Canada and signalling a more muscular attitude for the Commissioner of the Bureau, Matthew Boswell.
In a speech about this “new era” in Canadian competition before the Canadian Bar Association, Boswell said lawyers were describing the changes as "landmark", "transformative", a "sea-change", and "breathtaking."
“In this new era you should expect a more aggressive and active enforcer, one that will be using all the tools at our disposal for the benefit of Canadians and the Canadian economy,” he said.
Proof of that new era came in November, when the Bureau joined the growing chorus to break-up Google over anticompetitive conduct in the online ad industry. “Google's conduct has prevented rivals from being able to compete on the merits of what they have to offer, to the detriment of Canadian advertisers, publishers and consumers,” said Boswell.
“The ongoing legal battle with Google is a pivotal case that will have significant and far-reaching implications for our entire media ecosystem,” said Canadian media expert Sarah Thompson.
While that is just one example, it does sound like Ottawa believes more competition will be good for Canada. Boswell will be leading that charge, and the changes could be significant. Boswell concluded his speech to the Bar Association with this advice: “Buckle up.”
Andrew Casale
President and CEO, Index Exchange
Love it or hate it, there is no denying the sheer pervasiveness of programmatic advertising in today’s advertising marketplace.
And one of the key architects of the programmatic industry is Toronto native Andrew Casale, whose family was once memorably described by Forbes as the “first family of ad tech.” Casale has been involved in digital advertising since the age of 10, when he ran fan sites dedicated to topics like reality TV and monetized them via banner ads.
Since 2015, he has been president and CEO of the Index Exchange, which was founded as Casale Media by his father Joe in 2001. He has presided over the company’s emergence as one of the leaders in the programmatic space, a global advertising supply-side platform which now boasts 15 offices across North America, EMEA and APAC.
He’s also emerged as one of ad tech’s thought leaders and is a much sought-after on the speaker circuit, and was an important witness at the Google ad-tech focused antitrust case in the US last summer.
He also recently received a lifetime achievement from IAB summer for “his advocacy in ensuring quality supply and his unwavering support of IAB Tech Lab’s vision for the ad tech industry.” Casale may have got his start posting reality TV fan content as a kid, but today he’s one of the most powerful people in ad tech.
Jeff Rogers
CEO Salt XC
Salt XC launched as an experiential agency in late 2019, just weeks before the world shut down.
But when the pandemic forced marketers to rethink their approach, it was ready. “We embraced that, and by the time the crisis ended we had a great blend of both digital and physical agency services. That blend meets the needs of where modern marketing is going,” said founder Jeff Rogers.
Even though he likes to operate behind the scenes, Salt XC has become one of Canada’s biggest industry success stories in recent years, and Rogers, who is known for orchestrating some of the biggest sponsorship and partnership deals in Canada’s sports and entertainment industry, has been leading the way. “Jeff connects major advertisers with powerful opportunities,” said one industry executive.
Today, the agency boasts more than 200 employees, an A-list client roster spanning Canada and the U.S. that includes AB InBev, Coca-Cola, RBC, Kraft Heinz, PointsBet, and Toyota, and undertook an aggressive yet strategic expansion that has seen it become a full 360-degree service provider. It even played a key role in launching Kraft Heinz’s in-house agency, The Kitchen, now a frequent award winner.
The agency’s rapid success is reflected in its ability to attract top talent from competing agencies and client-side roles. Rogers, widely recognized as one of the most connected figures in the industry, credits long-term relationships for his success.
“Integrity matters. Do what you say you’re going to do. Own mistakes and find solutions,” he said. Having spent his career working with Fortune 50 clients, he continues to shape the marketing landscape, proving that smart strategy and strong relationships drive sustained success.