Media People Podcast

Data—it has always played a role in advertising and marketing, and its prominence & demand has only grown over time. As a matter of fact, many thought leaders refer to data as the new oil to illustrate just how important it has become. And at the heart of all this is today’s guest, Janice Liu. Janice is the Senior Vice President and General Manager of Magnet, a data & engineering consulting business. Born in China and raised in Vancouver, Janice has held senior level roles at both the agency and client level, and is also the founder of multiple start-ups including Filling The Gap: a bi-annual not-for-profit women’s empowerment conference. Janice Liu stops by to chat about growing up in Vancouver, attending university in Montreal, a career that includes companies such as PHD, Cossette, and CIBC, along with her entrepreneurial ventures. www.mediapeople.ca www.instagram.com/vicgenova/

Media, adtech, renewable energy, and seafood? It’s quite the eclectic mix of business interests, but it’s just a selection of the many professional endeavors of today’s guest, Andrew Murray. Andrew is the CEO of Broadside9, a media agency specializing in interactive media solutions. Andrew was born in Ottawa, but spent the majority of his youth in Prince Edward Island. You’d think a media agency CEO would be armed with a business degree, but Andrew studied Neuroscience, focusing his research on learning and memory functions of the brain. And it’s a degree that comes in handy when you consider persuasion, brand engagement, and recall, are all major parts of marketing. Andrew Murray stops by to chat about growing up & studying in Atlantic Canada, his passion for art, his entrepreneurial ventures in the media space, the innovative way he’s modernizing legacy infrastructure to bring green energy to homes in Prince Edward Island, and jumping into the restaurant business during the global pandemic. www.mediap

Darrick Li’s Comscore career started directly after university, and continued for more than a decade. He began as an analyst before pivoting into sales—a move that would launch his career within the company and take him all the way to Senior Director of Sales. It should be no surprise that Standard Media Index tapped him to lead their foray into the Canadian market. Outside of work, Darrick has a history of giving back—both within and outside of the media industry. Darrick Li stops by to chat about growing up in Markham, his time at Comscore, what brought him to Standard Media Index, tips for anyone looking to chase a promotion, his teaching career at Seneca College, his passion for the culinary arts, but also how he has fused said passion with his philanthropic efforts. www.mediapeople.ca www.instagram.com/vicgenova/

Think managing media a country with two national languages is complicated? Try handling media and marketing in India—a country with over 1.3 billion people, a number of languages & dialects, and a variety of cultural nuances that need to be accounted for. But that’s only one of the many pieces that make up the life and career of today’s guest, Maz Tannir. Born in Lebanon, Maz’s father moved his family to Oman in order to escape the war happening at home. After high school, Maz moved to Cyprus to study business at Cyprus College. But while most students enter workforce after graduation, Maz relocated to England to study acting. Maz eventually returned to Oman, taking a role at OHI—an agency now part of the DDB network. From there opportunities to work both agency and client side took him Dubai, Morocco, and India—to name a few. Maz Tannir stops by to chat about his early life in Lebanon and Oman, studying theatre in the UK, the differences between agency life in Dubai and Oman, emigrating with his famil

Working at a media agency can provide ample opportunities to support a variety of clients across a number of different industries. But no two industries—let alone clients, are truly alike. Opportunities to support theatrical movie studios can be particularly limited given that there are only a handful of them in the entire world. But today’s guest, Larry Medeiros, has worked with the likes of Sony, Paramount, and Warner Brothers. You’d expect most kids to gravitate towards TV and video games, but a young Larry Medeiros found his passion in radio. And he pursued that passion—enrolling in the radio broadcasting program at Canadore College. After graduation, Larry worked both on-air and behind the scenes for small market radio stations in North Bay, Brockville, and Cornwall, Ontario. But the radio opportunities began to dry up, leaving Larry to ponder what was next for his career. A friend recommended an entry level role at a media agency, and the rest is history. Larry Medeiros stops by to talk about his e

When Acast—one of the world’s leading podcast companies, wanted to expand into Canada, they tapped Heather Gordon to lead the charge. A digital media sales veteran, Heather got her start at CHUM, working as an unpaid office assistant. She moved over to a paid role at CHUM Interactive, providing sales support for one of their first digital sales teams. She rose through the ranks before taking the reins of the digital sales team responsible for the legendary Canadian music television brand—MuchMusic. From there Heather moved to the CBC, where she led digital sales for the public broadcaster. Heather Gordon stops by to chat about the women who influenced her career, leading digital sales for some of Canada’s biggest online media brands, and launching Acast’s first Canadian team. www.mediapeople.ca www.instagram.com/vicgenova/

Sales reps: Stop me if you’ve heard this line—“You’re only as good as your last quarter”. Success in sales is quantifiable, and it can seem like an endless chase to hit one’s target—with little room to breathe when you do. The constant hustle can massive repercussions on mental health. But there is hope. Today’s guest, Jeff Riseley, is tackling the mental health issues plaguing sales professionals. Motivated by experiences from his own sales career, Jeff is the founder of Sales Health Alliance—a company that teaches salespeople how to improve their mental health, build resilience, and manage stress. Prior to this Jeff started in media & marketing, working for Mindshare and Melaine Communications. From there he moved into a series of sales rep and sales leadership roles at companies such as Aussie Farmers Direct, World Trade Group, In-Acuity, and Crowdbabble. If you’re a sales professional looking for ways to manage your mental health, then be sure to visit saleshealthalliance.com for tips, insights, an

In the push persuade audiences to choose your product or service over the competition, it’s easy to forget that advertising is in itself both a form of art and expression. This is part of what motivated today’s guest, Simón Rojas Gajardo, to pursue a career in advertising’s creative side. Simón is both the Creative Director and a Partner at Derooted Immersive—a creative technologies company that specializes in producing uniquely memorable and interactive experiences for brands and live events. Simón was born in Santiago, Chile, while the country was under dictatorial rule. His parents were part of the opposition, and it’s here he learned the role artists can have at resisting tyranny. At a young age his family moved to Canada, settling in Toronto. Computers and graphic design software peeked Simón’s interest. And he pursued those further, enrolling at the International Academy of Art & Design where he studied advertising and art direction. Simón Rojas Gajardo sits down to talk about living under the fo

We’ve had our share of worldly individuals on the Media People Podcast, but very few have criss-crossed the globe like today’s guest, Amina Mattern has. Born in Pakistan, Amina’s personal, academic, and professional journey has taken her to places such as Dubai, Houston, Kuala Lumpur, Vancouver, and Montreal – to name a few. Amina is currently based in Toronto, where works as the Financial Services Lead for LinkedIn Marketing Solutions. But marketing wasn’t part of the original plan. Amina originally wanted to be a journalist, obtaining a graduate degree in journalism from Montreal’s Concordia University. Like many budding journalists, she found herself working in public relations after graduation. This was at a time when brands were beginning to experiment with social media. As advertiser interest in social media increased, so did the opportunities for experienced professionals. This served as the perfect springboard for Amina’s career. She was able parlay her experience into leadership roles with m

Hustle—it’s a requirement for anyone trying to make it in media. And it’s a word that today’s guest, Amy Foster uses to describe herself. Amy is a New Business Manager at Dentsu Canada—the Canadian division of Dentsu International, one of the world’s largest multinational media & marketing communications companies. On the outside, media might appear to be one the more exciting and sexier industries. But little is ever made about the demands, let alone the impact it can have on a person. Amy gives us a candid look into how after suffering from burnout she decided hit the pause button on her career, and used the time to find a role that incorporated what she loves about the industry. Amy Foster drops by to chat growing up in Cambridge and St. Catharines, Ontario, being raised by a single mother, the positive impact community workers had on her childhood, and a media career spanning broadcast buying, integrated media sales, leading planning teams, to prospecting, pitching, and closing new agency clients. w

Leadership jobs are some of, if not the most sought-after roles. But stop me if you’ve heard this, it can be lonely at the top. And even leaders need an experienced person to lean on. That’s exactly the gap that today’s guest, Kristine Lyrette aims to fill. Kristine is the founder of Authentic Leadership Coaching—a company that helps leaders become better at what they do. With an HR diploma from Confederation College in hand, a career in media didn’t seem like an obvious path at the time. But an opportunity to join Due North as a media assistant changed that. Kristine excelled at media buying and planning, and parlayed her experience at Due North into senior roles at Cancom Entertainment Group, Deutch LA, and OMD. She joined Zenith as their Executive Vice-President, and moved into the role of President when the opportunity presented itself. Kristine has worked with an impressive roster of clients that include the likes of Apple, Rogers, and Mitsubishi Motors, to name a few. She’s taken all that experie

Making the jump to digital advertising can be challenging, especially if you’re coming from the broadcast world. Moving to a new medium while pivoting careers can make it even more difficult. But today’s guest, Cheryl Luciani, did just that. Cheryl’s the Director of Digital Sales at Star Metroland Media, but it was broadcast buying where she got her start—planning and negotiating multimillion-dollar television campaigns for brands such as Johnson & Johnson and Coca-Cola. She pivoted not only into digital media, but also media sales when an opportunity to cross the aisle with Rogers Media presented itself. Cheryl Luciani sits down to chat with us about growing up in small-town Ontario, her time in college studying desktop publishing & advertising, moving from media buying to media sales, and leading digital ad sales for one of Canada’s largest news media companies. www.mediapeople.ca www.instagram.com/vicgenova/

Vice President, drummer, and fellow podcaster, Corby Fine sits down to chat with us about the twists and pivots that comprise his story. A lifelong Toronto native, Corby attended Ryerson University where he studied Administration and Information management. After graduation, he jumped into the dot com start-up world as a project manager. He would pivot into sales, focusing on pharmaceuticals with Pfizer. This was at the time when Viagra was arguably worth more than gold, and made Pfizer reps the target of burglars and thieves. Corby’s digital media career started agency side, but his move to Rogers Communications is where he experienced significant career growth, holding multiple roles at the Sr Director and VP level. He left Rogers after an opportunity to join CIBC—one of Canada’s largest banks, presented itself. But the Telco world would once again come calling. Corby was recently appointed VP of Digital Marketing and Sales at Bell. If you are interested in hearing more from Corby, then be sure to ch

Both personally and professionally—Saeed Zaman is probably one of the most globalized individuals you’ll ever meet. Born in Pakistan, his family moved to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia when he was just four. When it came time for University, Saeed applied to a number of schools in the United States, ultimately landing at Purdue University in Indiana. His media career started immediately after graduation when he was recruited by Starcom’s Chicago office. From there he would continue to grow. Senior level opportunities presented themselves taking Saeed to places such as Los Angeles, Dallas, Toronto, and Dubai. Saeed Zaman sits down to chat with about his media career that spans multiple cities in three countries across two continents, his passion for music, and the caution he was forced to employ in a country where western music was discouraged. www.mediapeople.ca www.instagram.com/vicgenova/

Content Marketer, producer, entrepreneur, educator, and author—these are some of the many roles comprising the career of today’s guest, Mohit Rajhans. But if the name sounds familiar, it’s probably because you’ve seen his work in front of the camera. Mohit’s eclectic career includes various reporting roles for the CBC, Breakfast Television, and OMNI Television—where he was Canada’s authority on Bollywood Cinema. Mohit Rajhans sits down to chat about his life growing up in Mississauga, attending an arts high school where he focused on the drama arts, his experience as a movie extra, and working as both an on-air talent and marketer. We’ll also get an interesting story about the time he was given an 11th hour opportunity to interview then Canadian Prime Minister, Stephen Harper. www.mediapeople.ca www.instagram.com/vicgenova/

Planning and transacting media used to be a straightforward process. You hired an agency, and benefitted from their collective buying power, vendor relationships, and knowledge. But in an age of data, disruption, and a slew of new platforms, many marketers are rethinking this time-old formula. One option involves finding new & innovative ways of working closer with your agency partners. But in some cases, it might involve taking certain responsibilities in-house. These are some of things that today’s guest, Gah-Yee Won, has been tasked with navigating. Gah-Yee is the Director of Account Management, Agency Operations, & Marketing Channel Strategy at Scotiabank, one of Canada’s largest financial instructions. A Toronto native, storytelling was a big passion of hers growing up, and was one that she fostered through drama and visual art in high school. One of the OG’s of the Canadian digital media space, Gah-Yee jumped into agency life at time when traditional media was still king, and digital advertising w

Joel Dembe, Paralympian and former #1 ranked Canadian wheelchair tennis player returns to the show. When I first introduced Joel back in Episode 15, he had just retired from wheelchair tennis and was balancing a corporate communications career with becoming a media personality. Joel still works in corporate communications, but with increased responsibilities that include public relations. But that’s not the only thing he’s been up to. His media roles have also expanded to include a TED Talk, an ambassadorship with the Rick Hansen Foundation, Paralympic broadcast commentator for the CBC, and most recently—consumer tech influencer. It’s that last role which has been gaining steam. A passionate technophile, Joel is becoming a leading voice on how technology is revolutionizing life for people with disabilities. www.mediapeople.ca www.instagram.com/vicgenova/

Model, entrepreneur, talent manager, ad tech and marketing professional—these are just some of roles comprising the eclectic career of Amanda Dorenberg. A native of Prince Edward County, Canada. Amanda fast-tracked her education, graduating high school when she was just 16 before moving on to study computer programming in college, and marketing in university. Modelling was Amanda’s first big career move, which took her on shoots around the globe. While modeling, she saw an opportunity to put her marketing prowess to work and began representing some of her fellow models. But all of this came to a grinding halt one day, as Amanda would be rushed to the emergency room with an arteriovenous malformation—a traumatic brain injury that’s guaranteed to be lethal if not treated immediately. Amanda would wake up from brain surgery hours later, virtually immobile, and forced into months of rehabilitation to regain many of her basic functions. She went on to make a full recovery and would begin her assent through t

For most of us? 2020 hasn’t been good for business, but if you work in the sport media world, it has been an absolute disaster. Professional leagues abruptly shut down mid-March because of COVID-19, and would spend months trying to find ways to safely restart. For today’s guest, Jamie Saull, his professional world came to a grinding halt. Jamie’s the Head of Brand Partnerships at TSN, a Canadian sports media company that produces live broadcasts and news content for its portfolio of online, TV, and radio platforms. When the sports world stopped, Jamie had to think fast to keep clients invested in TSN. Jamie has always been a sport nut. Playing and watching was a big part of his youth, and when it came time to pick a university program? He enrolled in sports business. He landed his first gig with the CBC while in university. From there his professional career began to take off, and it was doing so well that he had to defer graduation for years until the final class he needed to complete his degree was a

Do you work in digital media? If so, then you already know how comprehensive it can be. You could be working with anything from data to content to search or social—and that’s not even the full list. Today’s guest, Celeste Normington, has seen her career grow with the evolution of digital media. Celeste started out at the old Toronto.com, which offered local search engine advertising solutions well before Google was known for it. From there Celeste moved to Olive Media, where she rose through the ranks from sales executive to management—working on everything from monetizing partnership inventory to leading their charge in the mobile solutions space. Leading French-Canadian news company La Presse came calling, tapping her to lead sales in their Toronto office. Celeste has pivoted away from content and media sales, joining Pelmorex Data Solutions where she is currently their Head of Data Sales and Product Strategy. We chat about everything from growing up in small-town Ontario to the culture shock and exc