A New Year. A New Chapter. Leadership evolution at The Brand Factory Group.
From the Desk of Joseph Sulpizi:
"Andy Warhol once said that time doesn't change things, people do. With that understanding, TBF Group now continues with Ashley Shearer and the next generation of leaders."
TORONTO, Jan. 14, 2026 /CNW/ - In 1997, I started The Brand Factory with one client, two borrowed desks, and an unshakeable belief that great creative work could change the way people experience and see the world. I named it after Andy Warhol's Factory, the legendary New York studio where poets, painters, musicians, and misfits came together to create something revolutionary. That spirit of fearless collaboration has been our heartbeat for nearly three decades.
Today, I'm honoured to announce that Ashley Shearer has formally assumed the title of President of The Brand Factory, a role she's been living and breathing for years. This isn't a changing of the guard. It's the natural evolution of something we've been building together since she walked through our doors 15 years ago.
A Journey Built on Old-School Grit and New World Vision
Twenty-nine years ago, I had a simple philosophy: work hard, play hard, and never stop pushing to create something new. We attracted the dreamers--the poets, painters, playwrights, musicians, sculptors, and filmmakers who believed that creative work should move people, not just inform them. We became a collective of artists who understood that brands aren't built with safe choices; they're built with courage, emotion, and an obsessive understanding of what makes people feel alive.
We've won hundreds of awards over the years: 146 BILD Awards, multiple CHBAs, Gold Lions, NAHB distinctions, London International and even a Juno for best album cover design. But what I'm most proud of isn't hanging on our walls. It's the communities we've helped imagine and bring to life. It's the tens of thousands of homes we've launched across North America. It's knowing that when someone walks into a space we branded, they don't just see a building, they feel something.
From our early days working with clients like Longo's, to partnering with industry titans like Tridel, Minto, Aspen Ridge, Pemberton, Somers West and Menkes on landmark mixed-use projects, we've never lost sight of what matters: TBF Group Invents Desire, by creating authentic, transformative experiences.
Building the Collective: Seven Companies, One Vision
What started as a scrappy, always ready for a fight agency in Woodbridge has evolved into a refined, strategically focused Yorkville consultancy. The Brand Factory Group has become a vertically integrated collective of seven specialized companies that represent the future of place-making and brand experience. We didn't build this structure to get bigger. We built it to get better. To offer our clients seamless, world-class expertise across every discipline.
The Brand Factory remains our foundation--where traditional branding transcends expectations and brand stories are not just told, but experienced and lived.
Joey Ai propels us into the future with leading-edge artificial intelligence and digital technologies, ensuring we're not just keeping pace with change, but shaping it.
TBF Motion creates visual symphonies that bind brands to hearts--cinematic storytelling that rewrites the rules of engagement.
Studio Humn envisions tomorrow through modern interior and environmental design, creating spaces that speak, breathe, and inspire.
Pixel Strategies brings immersive content creation to life, allowing audiences to touch, move, and be moved within the worlds we create.
Immersive Art and Technology merges breathtaking content with cutting-edge technology, designing environments born from imagination and precision.
Inclusion, Canada's premier ethnic advertising agency, ensures we speak authentically to every customer and honour the cultures that define our global community.
Each company is led by a full-time creative director--a structure unique in our industry that ensures exceptional results and unmatched speed.
The Leaders Who Will Carry Us Forward
Ashley Shearer embodies everything The Brand Factory stands for. She's been the connective tissue across our organization for years, guiding strategy, nurturing client relationships, and championing the people who make magic happen every day. She understands that this business is about more than campaigns and creative awards--it's about building powerful brands and pushing our capabilities forward across every company in our collective.
"The Brand Factory Group has always stood for bold thinking, transformative creativity, and a deep understanding of how places are imagined, built, and experienced," Ashley said. "Having grown alongside this group for more than a decade, it is an honour to champion the people who make that possible every day--our teams and our clients working together to build powerful brands and push our capabilities forward across every company in the collective."
Ashley will continue to lead alongside our Operating Committee, which unites specialists from each of the Group's companies and core disciplines, ensuring best-in-class leadership across strategy, creative, technology, design, and immersive experiences. This includes Managing Partner Joey Ai, Vance Carmel, who has been instrumental in our account management and digital vision since 2011, and Chief Creative Officer Ben Ren, who has elevated our creative output beyond world-class standards.
My Reflection: What Legacy Really Means
When you build something from nothing, you pour your soul into every pixel, every frame, every word. You fight for ideas. You lose sleep. You celebrate wins with your team like they're family, because they are.
But legacy isn't about holding on. It's about knowing when to pass the responsibility to people who will carry the fire further than you ever could. Ashley, Ben, Vance, and our Operating Committee represent the next generation of leadership, one that honours our roots while fearlessly embracing what's next.
I've always believed that people want authentic experiences over material acquisitions. They crave environments where they can live, work, and play--places that understand the human need for interaction and depth of experience. That philosophy has guided every brand we've built, every community we've brought to life. And I'm confident it will continue to guide us as Ashley and the Operating Committee steer this ship into the future.
Andy Warhol once said that everyone will be famous for 15 minutes. If that's true, work to leave a mark that will last a lifetime. I'm grateful that The Brand Factory has had far more than 15 minutes and I'm even more grateful that the mark we leave will be carried forward by leaders who understand what we've always known: great work starts with great people, bold ideas, and the courage to disrupt the status quo.
Here's to the next chapter. United we Brand.
Joseph Sulpizi
Founder
The Brand Factory Group
About The Brand Factory Group
The Brand Factory Group is the world's most award-winning real estate lifestyle agency and a vertically integrated collective of seven companies specializing in branding, technology, design, and immersive experiences. With over two decades of expertise, the Group serves as a strategic partner with deep knowledge of how real estate transacts, leveraging reseller channels, omnichannel strategy, and data-driven creativity to build brands, drive sales, and shape places where people live, work, and connect.
The Brand Factory Group: Inventing Desire. United we Brand.
Media Contact:
Gary Hu
The Brand Factory Group Head of Media
[email protected]
SOURCE The Brand Factory Group
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