Meet the Senior Judges for the 2016 CMA Awards

TORONTO, May 19, 2016 /CNW/ - The Canadian Marketing Association (CMA) is pleased to announce the Senior Judges who will be overseeing a prestigious panel of marketing leaders to select the recipients of the 2016 CMA Awards.

Selected by BizBash for the third year in a row as the #1 Marketing & Advertising Awards in Canada and the #1 Marketing & Advertising Event in Toronto, the CMA Awards celebrate the best in Canadian marketing.  Specifically, the CMA Awards focus on the partnership between client and agency — the outstanding work these teams produce — and has been recognizing exceptional marketers for over 45 years.

Each year, judges are drawn from some of the most experienced, talented and well-respected marketing professionals:

Senior Judge Co-chairs:

• Sandra Sanderson, Chief Marketing and Quality Officer, Walmart Canada
• Brent Choi, Chief Creative Officer, J. Walter Thompson, New York & Canada

Senior Judges:

Advertising

• Judy John, CEO, Chief Creative Officer, Leo Burnett
• Cheri Chevalier, General Manager, Microsoft Office Division

Community Engagement (PR/Social Media)

• Dean Lee, Executive Creative Director, DDB Canada
• Monique Giroux, Vice-President, Sponsorship Marketing and Strategic Partnerships, CIBC

Digital

• Nancy Crimi-Lamanna, Vice-President, Creative Director, FCB Toronto
• Connie Stefankiewicz, Chief Marketing Officer, BMO Financial Group

Direct Engagement

• Hayes Steinberg, Executive Vice-President, Executive Creative Director, Weber Shandwick Canada
• Geoff Craig, Chief Marketing and Communications Officer, Heart & Stroke Foundation

Experiential & Innovative Media

• Steve Mast, President, Chief Innovation Officer, Delvinia
• Peter Furnish, Vice-President, Marketing, Cineplex Entertainment

Promotion/Shopper Marketing

• Robin Whalen, Managing Partner, 6 Degrees Integrated Communications / Real Interactive
• Kerri Dawson, Vice-President, Marketing, LCBO

Integrated

• David Leonard, CEO, MacLaren McCann Canada
• Devorah Lithwick, Vice-President, Marketing Communications, Bell Mobility at Bell Canada

"This year's group of Senior Judges is a who's who of top Canadian marketing talent," said Doug Brooks, President & CEO of the Canadian Marketing Association.  "We couldn't be more excited that they will be applying their expertise to judging this year's entries and guiding this year's broader judging panel. The 2016 CMA Awards Gala on November 25 will no doubt be an event to remember as the work showcased will be the very best of Canadian marketing."

For marketing leaders interested in joining this year's Senior Judging team, applications are available at www.CMAawards.ca.  Eligibility is based on the following:

• Senior level marketer, agency or advertiser
• Minimum 10 years of marketing experience
• Breadth of background in more than one category or discipline
• Innate sense of fairness, impartiality and desire to make the CMA awards represent the science and art of marketing
• Ability to judge award submissions online at some point between August 4 and 12, inclusive

Important Dates for 2016:

Judges application deadline:	June 10
Call For Entries early-bird deadline	June 16
Call For Entries final deadline	July 14
CMA Awards Gala	November 25

For full details please visit www.CMAawards.ca 

About the Canadian Marketing Association
The Canadian Marketing Association embraces Canada's major business sectors and all marketing disciplines, channels and technologies. Its corporate members encompass all facets of marketing and represent consumer and business-to-business marketers plus agencies. These organizations make a major contribution to the economy, driving commerce, investments in media and new marketing technologies while providing employment for millions of Canadians. For more information, visit theCMA.ca.

SOURCE Canadian Marketing Association

Video with caption: "Video: For the third-year running, the CMA Awards was selected by BizBash as the #1 Marketing & Advertising Awards in Canada and the #1 Marketing & Advertising Event in Toronto.". Video available at: https://youtu.be/bmtZgeAPf3M

Tim Bishop, Vice President of Marketing & Member Engagement, Canadian Marketing Association, [email protected], 416.644.3738, theCMA.ca