12/4/2025 2:30:00 PM
Toronto @ 9:30AM - 10:30AM ET CMA Café Executive Networking

CMA Café: Future of Brand Agency Collaboration in 2025

Members: $0

Members and Chartered Marketers* preferred pricing will be automatically applied. *Must be in good standing.

Location: Canadian Marketing Association
145 Wellington St. W Suite 203 Toronto Ontario M5J 1H8 Canada
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Welcoming members Director level and up, to join up to 15 Marketing Leaders in this executive round table discussion.

As marketing becomes more complex, the relationship between brands and agencies is being redefined. With data and technology increasingly managed in-house, platforms reshaping the media landscape, and rising expectations for speed, transparency, and measurable impact, what does effective collaboration look like in 2025?

This roundtable with Rita Steinberg and Aleena Mazhar Kuzma of FUSE Create will explore how senior marketers and agency leaders can build trust, clarify roles, and co-create work that is both creatively bold and commercially effective. Together, we’ll discuss the balance between in-house capabilities and external partnerships, new models of integration, and what is required to navigate this evolving dynamic.

Please submit your questions and come prepared to chat. Only 15 spots available.

Aleena Mazhar Kuzma
SVP, Managing Director, Partner

Aleena has grown up in the ever evolving and dynamic advertising and marketing business, starting in experiential marketing to now leading FUSE Create, an independent creative agency. Her passion for the business surrounds creative problem solving, and working with incredibly smart and talented people, partners and clients. As Managing Director, Aleena works closely with teams to create work that Turns Heads, fills us with pride, and makes an impact for the people she works with.

Through the years Aleena has worked on campaigns for brands like CIBC, Absolut, Ricola, Purolator, Tourism Las Vegas and AIR MILES. She also sits on the board of People of Colour in Advertising and Marketing (POCAM), working to make the marketing industry a more inclusive space for people of colour.

In her free time Aleena loves to read, write, go on walks with her mini schnauzer puppy, and binge watch the latest on Netflix.


Rita Steinberg
Vice President, Media

Rita has over 15 years of experience, transitioning from client-side roles to agency leadership. She joined FUSE Create in fall 2020 to help drive strategic growth and broaden the agency’s media offerings. Rita brings a holistic perspective to media strategy, recognizing the vital need for integration across business units to achieve cohesive and impactful outcomes.

At FUSE, Rita employs data-driven insights to craft media strategies that respond to diverse client objectives and redefine traditional omni-channel concepts adapting to an evolving media landscape that prioritizes consumer attention. She manages a comprehensive client portfolio including CPG, Retail and Non-Profit verticals. Rita is an active member of the CMA Media Council and dedicates significant efforts to the WPI Next Gen Council and mentorship programs.

speaker

Aleena Mazhar

SVP, Managing Director, Partner

FUSE Create

speaker

Rita Steinberg

Vice President, Media

Fuse Create

Major Sponsors

  • CIBC-800x450
  • Microsoft-2023