Five of Canadian marketing’s most successful and accomplished professionals can now officially call themselves legends.
Canada’s Marketing Hall of Legends—which honours visionaries, enablers, builders and mentors for their impact throughout their careers—revealed the inductee class for 2025 Wednesday morning.
“Our 2025 Marketing Legends are all trailblazers, they’re creators, innovators, entrepreneurs, philanthropists and thought leaders,” said David Pullara, a marketing consultant and long-time member of AMA Toronto’s Advisory Council. “Representing agencies, brands and different marketing disciplines, each of these marketers has made significant and positive contributions to our industry.”
This year’s inductees are: Michael Adams, co-founder and president of Environics Research Group; Joanna Griffiths, founder and president of Knix; Mark Harrison, founder MH3 Collective; Serge Rancourt, co-founder The Grid; and Ted (Theo) Rosnick, recently retired creative director of Vapor Music (read more about them below).
“These exceptional Canadians are Marketing Legends — they’ve influenced and elevated our industry at home and abroad,” said Olga Pigeon, president of AMA Toronto, the association that runs the awards program. “Through Canada’s Marketing Hall of Legends, their career stories are celebrated to inspire us, share wisdom, and ultimately help empower new leadership and business growth throughout our community.”
Since launching in 2004, the Hall of Legends has inducted more than 100 of Canadian advertising best and brightest, while the program has evolved to a year-long program for mentorship and knowledge-sharing, including the ”Legendary Leadership series of events, blogs, as well as the video podcast series “Legends Journey: Lessons in Leadership.”
“To inspire and develop the next generation of leaders in our industry, the stories and experiences of our most accomplished marketers need to be shared,” said Sharifa Khan, CEO and founder of Balmoral Multicultural Marketing, presenting sponsor for Canada’s Marketing Hall of Legends. This year’s inductees are:
Michael Adams: A prominent international thought leader in research and communications and an Order of Canada recipient, whose award-winning book Fire and Ice: The United States, Canada and the Myth of Converging Values, changed the way marketers looked at societal trends.
Joanna Griffiths: Founder and president of Knix, one of the fastest growing intimate apparel and activewear brands globally. Griffiths was recently named an AdWeek Women Trailblazer in recognition of her bold vision and category-defining advertising for women.
Mark Harrison: Founder of the MH3 Collective (including T1 and SponsorshipX), known for game-changing marketing and sponsorship strategies and experiences for major international brands. He was also behind the Black Talent Initiative and Park Street Education to support underserved youth.
Serge Rancourt: A visionary leader, entrepreneur, and industry trailblazer. Earlier in his career he led Canadian and German operations at Y&R, transformed Publicis Canada, and more recently co-created The Grid—a collection of independent agencies including No Fixed Address, Courage, Mischief, and NFA Health.
Ted (Theo) Rosnick: A pioneer in the modern Canadian sound production industry, he founded multiple ventures, including RMW Music. A highly respected creator, innovator and mentor whose creativity in music and sound design has defined the sonic identity of countless Canadian brands and iconic campaigns.
