Judges

Together with CMA, our Co-Chairs oversee the judging process. We're very proud to have these leading industry professionals take on this role.

Mary DePaoli
Executive Vice President & Chief Marketing Officer

Mary DePaoli is Executive Vice President & Chief Marketing Officer at RBC. She is responsible for building RBC’s brand and reputation globally across RBC’s retail banking, insurance and wealth businesses through an integrated approach to brand, marketing, corporate citizenship, sponsorship, social media, and corporate communications. In addition, Mary serves as Chair of the Board responsible for overseeing the RBC Foundation, one of Canada’s largest corporate donors.

Prior to joining RBC, Mary held a series of increasingly senior roles at Sun Life Financial where she led Sun Life’s business segment focusing on group retirement and investment solutions for corporate plan sponsors for more than a decade. In 2011, Mary was promoted to Executive Vice President, Public and Corporate Affairs and Chief Marketing Officer, with responsibility for leading the company’s marketing strategies in Canada, the United States and Asia.

In 2024, Mary received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Canadian Marketing Association and was also inducted to Marketing News Canada’s Marketing, Advertising, PR and Communication Hall of Fame. She was previously recognized as a Woman of Inspiration by Women in Sports and Events (WISE), named Marketer of the Year by Strategy magazine and distinguished as one of Canada’s Top 100 Most Powerful Women by the Women’s Executive Network (WXN). In addition to her role as Chair, RBC Foundation, Mary serves on the board of Women in Sports and Events (WISE), Western University’s Fundraising and Donor Relations Committee and the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF).

 

Stephanie Yung
Chief Design Officer
Zulu Alpha Kilo Inc

Stephanie is the Chief Design Officer at Zulu Alpha Kilo. Her expertise lies in establishing brand visions for the future and translating how a brand looks, feels, and behaves across experiences, products, and services. She has influenced Canadian and global brands such as President’s Choice, Bell, WestJet, BMW MINI, Canadian Tire, P&G, PepsiCo, Sephora, Under Armour and Gatorade. Stephanie’s work has been recognized at every major award show, including Cannes, D&AD, The One Show and Fast Company’s Innovation by Design. In 2023, Stephanie was named Designer of the Year by Strategy magazine. She also championed the development of the world’s first encyclopedia for microaggressions: The Micropedia, which has garnered international accolades.

Stephanie started her career in Toronto at Bløk Design. After developing her design craft, she moved to TAXI. During her time there, she worked on BMW MINI, where she won acclaim for her digital design, and where she started the design and interaction departments for TAXI NYC and TAXI 2. After TAXI, Stephanie spent over a decade at Smart Design New York, an innovation design consultancy, focused on behaviour change and business transformation for top brands, non-profit, new startups, and venture capitalists alike. Stephanie returned to Canada to take the post of Executive Creative Director, Design at Zulu Alpha Kilo (Z.A.K.) to build out the agencies design offering. During her time at Z.A.K., the agency was named one of Fast Company’s Most Innovative Companies, as well as Ad Age’s A-List Standout Agency of the Year and Campaign US Independent Agency of the Year.

Stephanie is an active contributor for thought leadership on topics like designing for social impact, inclusive design, and behaviour change. She inspires others with her passion for the industry and creativity. Stephanie has spoken at Cannes Lions See It Be It Toronto; is co-chairing the inaugural Young Lions Design Jury; and has been a National YoungArts mentor at The National Foundation for the Advancement of Artists, where mentees go on to be eligible for the U.S. Presidential Scholar in the Arts program. Stephanie brings local and global experience from judging from the Marketing Awards, Cannes, One Show and D&AD New Blood.

In her spare time, you’ll find Stephanie binging music documentaries or getting messy with her 6-year-old daughter — usually involving paint, Eye Spy puzzles, and K-pop duets

Andrew Au
Managing Partner
Intercept Group

Brent Wardrop
Founder, Chief Creative Officer
Elemental

Bruce Symbalisty
Chief Solutions Strategist
Reality Engine

Julie Pacheco
VP, Loblaw Agency
Loblaw Companies Limited

Madison Holton
Vice President, Client Experience
Proof Experiences

Rachel MacAdam
Vice President, Marketing
Skip

Scott Pinkney
Chief Creative Officer
Publicis Hawkeye

Steve Levy
Chief Operating Officer
Ipsos

Tim Welsh
Vice President, Managing Director
FCB

Brand Building

Josh Stein
Partner, Chief Creative Officer
LG2


Bob Park
CMO
GE

Business/Brand Impact

Nicole Grant
SVP, Marketing
North Strategic


Dawn Bednarski
Canada CMO
Sun Life

Customer Experience & Shopper Marketing

Aleena Mazhar Kuzma
SVP, Managing Director, Partner
FUSE Create


Matthew Cowling
VP, Marketing & Growth
Paramount+

Engagement

Erica Kokiw
President
PHD Canada



Lauren Bradeen
CMO
Deloitte

Innovative Media

Joseph Bonnici
CCO/Owner
Tadiem (Bensimon Byrne/OneMethod/Narrative XPR)


Ben Wise
Head of Programmatic Media
Google

Public Relations

Kate Dobrucki
Chief Communications Officer
Tag Americas


Ross Hugessen
SVP
Ipsos