We are closing out our first ever Power Week, with what we are calling our Hard Power List. Industry leaders with the power to make decisions and pursue strategies that can ripple across the industry.
These are people with economic clout, strong networks and professional connections, and the magnetic appeal that comes from personal accomplishment and achievements.
Strength in any one area was important to us, strength in all three makes one uniquely powerful.
Unlike the other lists, we have also ranked our Hard Power players. We shared the list from 20 to 11 yesterday, and today we are sharing the rest of of that list: 10 to two here, and our choice for the most powerful person in Canadian advertising, marketing and media here.
10.
Scott Knox
President and CEO, ICA
An irrepressible Brit who speaks often and eloquently about his love of his adopted country. Outspoken, opinionated, and not one to back down from a verbal tussle. ICA president and CEO Scott Knox is a polarizing figure.
But in his nearly 10 years as ICA president and CEO, he has also emerged as a tireless—and hugely influential—advocate for Canadian agencies and Canadian creativity. His critics might not always agree with his pugnacious approach, but even they would probably grudgingly admit that he knows how to get results.
“They say ‘it takes a village’ when it comes to changing things and making an impact. Well, the ICA village has Scott Knox,” said Ira Baptiste, ICA past chair and president of Evolve Agency Group. “Scott works tirelessly, not only for all member agencies of the ICA, but for the advertising and marketing industry in Canada. Through his continued efforts, he has been an advocate and voice of the incredible work that is created in Canada and then shared on the world stage."
Like any powerful leader, Knox has proven adept at whipping up industry support for his various initiatives, no matter how ambitious. No easy feat for the leader of an organization whose members are among some of the most highly influential business leaders in the country.
Since joining the ICA in 2016, he has led the organization through a protracted, bitter and ongoing dispute with ACTRA over the National Commercial Agreement; has brought the Effie Awards to Canada, establishing a new global benchmark for advertising effectiveness; and helped launch PrideAM celebrating the achievements of members of the 2SLGBTQ+ community.
He’s also a member of three councils within the Canadian Chamber of Commerce (DEI, digital economy, economy and taxation). More recently, he and his chief lieutenant, Leah Power, have been leading the charge to get more Canadian agencies on the radar of international clients. His reasoning? The world needs more Canada.
“I truly believe that my push to say the things and do the things that are needed make me one of our industry’s most powerful leaders,” he said.
9.
Mary McIsaac
CMO, Loblaw Companies Ltd
As a business that takes in nearly a third of all grocery spend in Canada, (total revenue of $61 billion in 2024), Loblaw is a true power player in the Canadian economy, and the unquestioned leader of the grocery industry. That power manifests itself in a number of ways, such as enormous leverage to negotiate hard with food suppliers, for example.
But as a marketing organization, its scale and scope, both as an advertiser and more recently as a media player, are unique. And leading that group is Mary MacIsaac, who was recently promoted to CMO, a role giving her oversight of an extraordinary array of some of the country’s best-known brands, including President’s Choice, Loblaw’s and Shopper’s Drug Mart.
“As a marketer, it’s not lost on me that I have the privilege of cultivating brands like [these],” she said. “Their impact on the everyday lives of Canadians is evident.”
In recent years, Loblaw has also moved aggressively to build up its in-house resources, and created the most powerful loyalty program in the country—Loblaw’s two Canadian competitors, Sobeys and Metro, have both been playing catchup.
And now Loblaw is using the massive amount of consumer data gathered through its PC Optimum to expand into retail media, a channel predicted to see strong growth as if brand leaders remain fixated on performance marketing. While Lauren Steinberg oversees retail media and data, it’s an important and powerful tool—unrivaled in Canada—to enhance consumer experiences while also driving revenue for Loblaw. The importance of retail media was evident last year in what some agency bosses have characterized as a contentious review for its approximately $35 million media account led by MacIsaac.
The executives may not have liked it, but it was clear Loblaw and MacIsaac have a vision for the future—no longer just a buyer of advertising, but a major player in the fast-growing retail media space—and has the power to stick to it.
MacIsaac also co-chairs PC Children's Charity that is focused on feeding one million hungry children every year and is involved in several associations, including serving as co-chair of the Canadian Marketing Association Awards.
And at a time when some organizations are retreating from their DEI commitments, MacIsaac will not. "I believe it's more important than ever to double down on our efforts," she said. "For over three years, I was proud to lead Loblaw's Go Further Women employee resource group, empowering women across the organization to reach their full potential."
8.
Sabrina Geremia
Vice-president and country managing director, Google Canada
When we asked leaders from across the industry who should be on our “Hard Power” list, Google’s Sabrina Geremia was named multiple times. It may be fighting battles on multiple fronts, but Google remains a dominant power in Canadian advertising and media, with Geremia leading the charge.
Born in Ontario, Geremia started her career in Europe, working mostly in CPG marketing, except a brief period with Ask.Com in the early 2000s. She joined Google in the United Kingdom in 2006, before moving to Canada one year later. Since then she’s been named one of The Globe and Mail’s Best Executives in 2022, and in 2020, Women in Communications and Technology chose her as Woman of the Year. She’s an advocate for AI skills training, and last year helped bring AI Essentials, a new AI course to Canada.
But it’s Google dominance of the ad industry that puts Geremia on this list. Google takes in more ad revenue than any other media player in Canada, and Geremia oversees those deals. According to the Global Media & Internet Concentration Project, Google parent Alphabet “accounts for just under half of all internet advertising spending in Canada, with estimated revenue [in 2023] of $8.2 billion.”
According to Google, revenue spent with Google translated to “$53.7 billion in economic activity for businesses in Canada.” Truly Geremia belongs on Campaign’s Power List for 2025, though much of the ad industry will be watching to see what, if any, impact the Competition Bureau case against Google for anti-competitive conduct in online advertising, will have on that power in the months ahead.
7.
Diana Frost and Nina Patel
Global chief growth officer / Vice-president global Heinz brand
If you were asked to think of a marketer that has been disruptive and making (good) noise on the world stage over the past five years, Kraft Heinz would likely come to mind. It’s probably no coincidence that its emergence coincides with Diana Frost’s arrival.
Since then, the CPG giant has been continually putting out creative and campaigns that are truly innovative, original, in some cases brave, but above all else, deeply informed by an understanding of how to connect to modern consumers. It’s the kind of work that wins awards (lots of them) but it’s also often work that can grab your attention and make you smile.
Not only does a lot of that work come from Canadian agencies, but it’s for two Canadian clients: Frost, who joined Kraft Heinz as chief growth officer for Canada and is now global chief growth officer; and Nina Patel, who is VP global for the Heinz brand. Choosing just one of these women for our Power List seemed wrong, so we’ve put them here as a team.
“Heinz has put a swagger back into the power of iconic brands, and we're seeing incredible work from brands all over the world leaning into this,” said Rethink’s Mike Dubrick. “Nina is a huge part of that shift in the industry; her work on Heinz shows that these brands aren't limited to reflecting culture—they are part of culture.”
Frost, meanwhile, was one of just five finalists for the World Federation of Advertisers’ Global Marketer of the Year last year. “I would have described us five years ago as being a bank that sold food,” said Frost in a video created for her nomination. “And now what we’re doing is really and truly putting the consumer and creativity and innovation and marketing at the centre of our organization.”
Together, Frost and Patel are powerful for showing what it means to put creativity at the core of your brand, and for championing bold campaigns—and that such power can definitely come from Canada.
6.
Aaron Starkman
Global CCO, Rethink
One of the unique features of the advertising world is the power that comes from success. Hot shops attract top talent, show up on more RFPs, win awards, earn headlines, and set trends. It’s hard to think of a Canadian agency in recent yearsthat better fits that description than Rethink, and the creative cornerstone of that agency is Aaron Starkman. It was late in 2020 when the founders of Rethink stepped aside, and handed the reins to a handful of execs who are making many invaluable contributions including Sean McDonald, widely considered one of the best strategists in the industry, and Starkman’s creative right-hand Mike Dubrick (who we very seriously considered for our Quiet Power list).
In the advertising industry, the focus is on the creative directors, and Starkman has been the face of, and creative force behind, Rethink becoming the most powerful agency in Canada, and a giant on the world stage.
At the time of the leadership changes, Rethink was already a hugely successful and respected agency in Canada. Since then, it has gone to a whole new level. It opened in New York in 2022, and in the past year has won both Independent Network and Agency of the Year at Cannes, The One Show, The Andy’s, the Clios and the London International Awards, and was ranked #1 on WARC's 2024 Global Independent Agency ranking.
And for anyone who claims awards aren’t a true metric of agency success, Rethink also saw topline revenue rise 14% year-over last year—the most in its 25-year history—and a 50% increase in the past three years. In 2024 it added Uber Eats, Telus, Unilever’s Dove Men+Care, and COBS bread to its client roster, serviced by a staff of 380 “Rethinkers.”
5.
Dave Lafond and Serge Rancourt
Co-founders, The Grid
One of the challenges we had when making this pick was questioning if Serge Rancourt, the much respected, highly accomplished and distinguished—but mostly behind-the-scenes—executive, should be on the Quiet Power list.
But ultimately, we couldn't separate Rancourt from his business partner Dave Lafond (who would not be described as quiet). Besides, their agencies have just been making too much noise over the past five years.
Lafond and Rancourt launched No Fixed Address in 2016, with a laser focus on creativity and talent. Early success attracted one of the world’s top creative leaders in Greg Hahn, who in 2020 asked to work with them.
Hahn had read an article about the NFA model—looser, leaner, more fluid, with a premium on talent rather than overhead—and was instantly intrigued. "I was like 'Oh my God, these guys have grown to 140 something people, and they've been killing it for the last three years," he told us at the time. "They're already doing what everyone else is pontificating about."
That led to Mischief@NoFixedAddress, which quickly became one of the hottest agencies in New York.
That home run was followed by the launch of Courage in Toronto in April 2022. Five months later, it was the lead creative agency for CIBC, and comes up in any discussion about hot Canadian creative shops.
In baseball that’s known as “back-to-back jacks.” And while for a long time its architects balked at being called a “holding company,” Lafond and Rancourt have now brought together their three creative agencies, along with No Fixed Address Health, to form The Grid. In two years, The Grid has nearly doubled in revenue and taken home nearly a dozen Agency of the Year awards.
Lafond and Rancourt launched their agency less than 10 years ago, and have turned it into a multi-brand network with levels of success that make other agency execs. They must be doing something right.
"When we founded No Fixed Address in 2016, we asked ourselves one question: What would you do if you weren’t afraid?" said Lafond. "That mindset quickly became the foundation for everything we’ve built–not just NFA, but eventually The Grid. And damn, we are proud of it."
4.
Devorah Lithwick
SVP, chief brand officer, Bell Canada
Let’s be honest, telco is not exactly a category that engenders the warm and fuzzies. Canadians generally aren’t prone to rhapsodizing about their cell phone or home internet provider.
What they are prone to, however, is dissatisfaction with their current provider, often leading them to seek out an alternative. Which is why Canada’s big three telcos spend a ton of money each year—a combined $395 million in 2023, according to COMvergence—to entice new customers (or maybe repatriate lapsed customers).
As Bell’s senior vice-president and chief brand officer, Devorah Lithwick is the person charged with generating consumer interest for her company’s vast array of products. Bell spent $144 million on measured media advertising in 2023, making it the country’s fourth largest advertiser.
But her role also makes her the steward of the country’s fourth most valuable brand, a 145-year-old company whose name is synonymous with communications, that was valued at $14.2 billion in the most recent Kantar BrandZ Most Valuable Canadian Brands study.
Those numbers alone make Lithwick inherently powerful in Canadian marketing and advertising. But it’s also how Lithwick has gone about allocating those dollars that led to her inclusion in our first-ever Power List.
Bell’s success has been achieved not only through national brand and product campaigns, but also major sponsorships of Tier 1 events like the Olympics, as well as its divisive Bell Let’s Talk program, which has raised $184 million for mental health initiatives.
“She is not only a visionary leader, but also a decisive and principled marketer — an incredible force in shaping the Bell brand, a great partner to her agencies, and a wonderful human,” said Ben Tarr, president of Bell agency, Leo. “Her ability to identify and champion smart, creative, and consistent advertising has reinforced Bell’s credibility in an increasingly crowded landscape.”
"Bell has successfully remained one of the most coherent and relevant brands throughout the years
largely due to Devorah's marketing vision,” said Marie-Christine Cayer, general manager of Bell agency LG2 in
Montreal. “[She] has been an incredible business partner, both keeping the advertising industry strong and
demonstrating incredible leadership.”
3.
Andrew Bruce
CEO, Publicis Groupe Canada
When it came time to discuss Publicis’s successes in Canada, a number of individuals were in the conversation. On Brett McIntosh’s watch, Publicis Toronto has expanded by 50% in the past two years alone, for example. And as the CCO turned national CEO of Publicis Worldwide nationally, the publicity shy Duncan Bruce could be on our Quiet Power list. But instead, it’s Duncan’s brother Andrew Bruce who ultimately made the “Hard Power” list.
As CEO for Publicis Groupe Canada, Bruce oversees the entire Publicis portfolio in Canada: media, creative, PR, data, digital, production and technology practices. He’s on the global management committee, and when global CEO Arthur Sadoun decided to merge the Publicis Worldwide creative agency network with Leo Burnett to create the new global brand, Leo, he asked Bruce to become chair of Leo North America.
A lot of network execs and holding company bosses talk about better integration, one-office models and working across borders. The upside is not just operational efficiencies, but actual synergy that comes from being able to access diverse skills, abilities and capabilities that better meet client needs in an increasingly complex world—and do it quickly. A lot of execs talk about it, but there is really only one in Canada who can back it up. That’s Andrew Bruce.
2.
Terrie Tweddle
CMO, Rogers
As the top marketer at one of Canada’s biggest advertisers, Terrie Tweddle, by definition, has a lot of power. According to COMvergence, Rogers spent about $152 million on paid media in 2023, behind only P&G.
(It’s the kind of marketer power that one could theoretically use to get a holding company to create an ad agency just for them… if you know what we mean.)
That alone would qualify Tweddle for this list, but as Rogers’ chief communications officer, her impact goes beyond ad spend.
She is the person with ultimate responsibility for all aspects of the Rogers voice, overseeing how it communicates across both social and traditional media. That’s a massive task when you’re one of the most talked about brands in Canada.
Rogers topped $20 billion in revenue last year, but has also seen notable increases in its brand health metrics, including a double-digit increase in brand familiarity, and what Tweddle described as a “meaningful” improvement in brand likeability in key growth markets.
Those are important data points in a category where customer dissatisfaction is rampant, with Tweddle saying that the improvements are testament to better integrations between its brand, communications, and partnerships programs.
Last year also saw Rogers embark on marquee sponsorships, including Taylor Swift’s gargantuan Eras Tour and the start of a new three-year deal with the Toronto International Film Festival as its presenting sponsor. These partnerships contributed to a more than 20% increase in brand perception, said Tweddle.
She also attributed some of its recent success to its “new” agency partner Publicis. The agency, which held the business between 2005 and 2020 and won it back early last year, is behind the brand’s “We Got You” positioning that has so far included the use of a pair of major celebrities in John Krasinski and, more recently, Keanu Reeves.
“They understand the unique DNA of Rogers,” said Tweddle. “Our campaigns have become much more effective and harder working, and we are consistently executing as a brand.”
