Judges announced for 2014 Canada Post E-commerce Innovation Awards

Industry leaders from Google and Twitter part of this year's panel

OTTAWA, July 30, 2014 /CNW/ - Canada Post has announced the judging panel for the third annual Canada Post E-commerce Innovation Awards. The returning and new judges are all prominent and respected leaders in Canada's rapidly evolving digital and retail industries.

Returning judges include Duncan Payne, Hut2Hut Events President and DX3 Co-Founder; Rafe Petkovic, Google Canada Head of Industry (Retail); and Stéphane Ricoul, Sid Lee Director of Client Relations, eBusiness, and eComMTL Founding President.

Canada Post is also excited to welcome two new judges to the Awards this year: Diane J. Brisebois, President and CEO of the Retail Council of Canada; and Kirstine Stewart, Managing Director of Twitter Canada.

"We are delighted to have such outstanding judges, who are experts, thought leaders and successful entrepreneurs. They will bring an exciting energy to the Awards, which are growing in popularity every year," says René Desmarais, Senior Vice-President, Parcels, at Canada Post.

The judges will be tasked to determine the finalists from this year's applicants and then ultimately decide the winners who will share in $1 million worth of total prizing. The winners will be announced at a gala event in Toronto on September 23.

Diane J. Brisebois
Ms. Brisebois is the President and CEO of the Retail Council of Canada (RCC), the largest retail association in Canada, serving over 45,000 retail establishments including independent merchants, chain stores, mass merchants, big box and online retailers. RCC's membership covers all segments of the retail market including general merchandise, grocery and pharmacy. Ms. Brisebois is also the Immediate Past Chair and a member of the Executive Committee of the Forum of International Retail Association Executives, which represents retail associations from more than 35 countries to collaborate on issues affecting the global retail sector.

Duncan Payne
As Co-Founder of Hut2Hut Events, Mr. Payne launched Dx3 Canada in 2012 and helped it grow into Canada's largest technology event for digital marketing and retail. Mr. Payne interacts with leading executives from Canada's advertising, retailing and technology communities, giving him a unique understanding of the challenges faced by Canadian companies in the digital space. Before this, Mr. Payne was Executive Vice-President of Business Development Worldwide at dmg world media. His knowledge and expertise across a number of diverse industries, from oil and gas to the retail and food industries, have helped Mr. Payne bring fresh ideas and innovation to new projects, culminating in Dx3.

Rafe Petkovic
As Head of Industry (Retail) for Google Canada, Mr. Petkovic leads the sales teams that guide customer online/omni-channel strategy development and implementation, helping them drive more customers to their stores, and, in the process, positively redefine the Canadian retail industry. Before joining Google Canada, Mr. Petkovic developed and implemented Google Australia's mid-market acquisition strategy, working with Australia and New Zealand's most dynamic retailers. Most recently, he performed this role with Australia's largest publicly listed retailers. Mr. Petkovic previously worked in sales and change management in the pharmaceutical industry.

Stéphane Ricoul
Mr. Ricoul is the Director of Client Relations, eBusiness, at Sid Lee, which handles the e-commerce accounts of major companies including Rona, the SAQ (Société des alcools du Québec), and Cirque du Soleil. In his role, Mr. Ricoul is responsible for developing promising e-commerce projects into successful and innovative strategies. Mr. Ricoul is also co-founder and President of eComMTL, a popular industry event attended by key e-commerce players to discuss, share and drive online retail strategies and best practices. The event is considered an invaluable resource to the e-commerce community in the city and beyond.

Kirstine Stewart
Ms. Stewart is Managing Director for Canadian operations at Twitter, including its advertising business and partnerships. Prior to joining Twitter in May 2013, Ms. Stewart was the executive vice-president of CBC's English services, CBC/Radio-Canada, where she oversaw CBC's English radio and audio, television and digital operations. Earlier, she was senior vice-president of programming for Alliance Atlantis where she headed up brands HGTV, Food Network, National Geographic, BBC Canada and others. In 2012, Playback magazine named Ms. Stewart their Person of the Year, while Strategy magazine recognized her for her leadership by naming CBC its Brand of the Year.

Canada Post created the annual Canada Post E-commerce Innovation Awards in 2012 to recognize Canada's leading and emerging online retailers, and to reward the best of them with a total of $1 million in prizing. With these Awards, Canada Post is building excitement around Canadian e-commerce, and supporting the retailers that are working hard to grow it through innovation, technology and entrepreneurship. For more information on the Awards, visit canadapost.ca/ecommerceawards.

SOURCE: Canada Post

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