Western University

University of Toronto - Rotman School of Management

Humber College

Leading external marketing efforts to help build awareness of our portfolio of ventures with funders, expert advisors and overall social impact ecosystem.

Overseeing internal marketing communications to help nurture a positive culture of belonging amongst a globally dispersed team.

Rippleworks

Head of Marketing

Executive advisor working with Founders on strategy for marketing, sales and brand partnerships.

Fandrop

Executive Advisor

Executive advisor helping with strategic growth, including C-suite coaching, operations, team structure, strategic planning, partnerships and talent recruitment.

Forward Studio

Executive advisor helping global scale-ups with sustainable business strategies and organizational design across multiple countries, including C-suite coaching, team structure, governance, operating models, change management, facilitating team off-sites, internal communications and talent management.   

Fractional CMO leading brand transformation and storytelling efforts, building internal marketing teams, developing strategic partnerships and driving performance through innovation.

Clients include: 
- World Resource Institute (WRI) - org. design, governance, change management, in partnership with Rippleworks.
- Nestabl - executive advisor, business modeling, strategic partnerships.
- Fandrop - executive advisor, business development, marketing, strategic partnerships.
- Forest Carbon - executive advisory, executive coaching, branding, change management, organizational design
- Forward Studio - executive advisor, business development, operations
- Meta4 - executive advisor, business modeling, value proposition, marketing, business development

Freelance

Fractional C-suite / Executive Advisor / Growth & Innovation Consultant 

Freelance photographer and journalist covering music festivals, including SXSW, Shaky Knees and Canadian Music Week and live music performances in Atlanta, Austin, Brooklyn, Los Angeles, Montréal and Toronto.  Contributor to the Pop Break. Covered musicians including Raine Maida, Dan Mangan, Gary Clark Jr, Judah & the Lion, Karen O & Danger Mouse, Ride, Tame Impala, and The Waterboys, among many others.

Freelance Photojournalist

Executive advisor helping scale the team with an organizational design strategy across multiple countries, including C-suite coaching, team structure, governance, operating models, change management, facilitating team off-sites, internal communications and talent management. 

Fractional CMO leading brand transformation and storytelling efforts.

Forest Carbon

Executive Advisor / Fractional CMO

• Retained 75%+ of global network clients in 2023 by prioritizing client needs and providing value to their business.

• Improved client referral ratings to top quartile of industry average by elevating quality of the team’s craft through empathic thinking.

• Delivered data and financial transparency internally by working with finance team to centralize salesforce and financial reporting tools

• Key member of global executive team who helped define and implement new product-based operating model, as documented in Michael Farmer's "Madison Avenue Makeover".

Huge

Global Chief Client Officer

Led the Canadian operations and served as a subject matter expert in the delivery of strategic long-term vision work, business strategy, change management, digital and brand transformation, as well as in the development of digital/physical product design capabilities. 

• To help increase the number of students from underrepresented populations, led the design and implementation of a 3 year scholarship program called the Experience Exchange, inside George Brown College's Design School.  
• To help address the gun violence issue in Toronto, partnered with Director X to launch Operation PreFrontal Cortex to bring mindfulness to at risk communities. 
• Developed and launched a new brand for Sinai Health, who had never advertised in their 100 year history. Managed the Board of Directors and stakeholders through numerous production challenges that arose due to the pandemic, subsequent lockdown, and a shift entirely to a model of remote production. The campaign, See What Care Can Do, an evocative docuseries, over-delivered on business results through both awareness +16% (12% over target) and over 40% lift in donations (50x over target).

North American clients included: Google, Audi, Four Seasons, Co-operators, McDonald's, MaRS Discovery District, Sinai Health System and the University of Ottawa.

• Achieved 30-40% year-over-year growth in business by leading strategic business initiatives and launching an effective CRM practice to re-envision Audi's Loyalty Strategy.

• Sustained positive employee NPS scores through pandemic by leading high-performing teams and supporting a human-centered culture.

President, Canada

In this role, services such as social media marketing, demand generation, relationship planning, email marketing, content production, digital product UX, analytics, and brand development were created, established, and grown under my leadership. Clients won/managed - Boeing, Longo's/Grocery Gateway, Netflix, PC Financial, DAZN, MaRS Discovery District, TJX, and Unilever.

• Established, cultivated and retained digital practice by over 400% through the delivery of innovative digital, data & social media solutions.

• Led re-brand of MaRs Discovery District and Grocery Gateway; Led social media strategy for Netflix North America and DAZN Globally; 

• Won "Bronze Digital Agency of Year Award" within Strategy Magazine, 2018.

SID LEE

Managing Director, Strategy & Innovation, Partner

In this role, I led a team of 100+ people in the Toronto office and proactively managed clients globally,  as well as in the U.S., Hong Kong and Canada. To retain worldwide clients, I built and operated a Hong Kong office and helped a team relocate there. Our clients leveraged my professional competence in UX innovation, mobile development, creative technology, and social media strategy and content development. Infiniti (Worldwide, Canada, Australia), House of Anansi Press, Nissan Canada, TJX, AT&T, World Pride, Scotiabank, and Citibank's Global Design and Strategy Team were among my global clients.

• Awarded Cannes Lion for House of Anansi IPad app by delivering ground-breaking creative product.

• Secured multi-million-dollar clients in Hong Kong office and Australia by cultivating/retaining positive client relationships.

Critical Mass

SVP, General Manager

Managed a team of innovation specialists to help drive business growth and offer new services to existing clients, including Business Sciences, Comms Planning, Research, Branded Content & Experiential Marketing. Developed and introduced a new engagement planning model to bridge paid, owned and earned connection planning.  During my tenure, Mediacom won media agency of the year.  Clients included Audi, Diageo, Revlon, Starbucks, TJX, VW.

MediaCom Canada

Chief Strategy & Innovation Officer

As part of the executive team, led the client services team, helped the agency grow from 50 people to over 200 by picking up Global and North American business and won Digital Agency of the Year, Cannes Lions, LIAAs, Best in Show at the Food & Beverage Awards and CMAs, among many others.  Select digital & CRM clients included Gillette Global, HP Global, Pepsi QTG, Doritos, Mars (Food, Pet & Confectionery) and Campbell's Soup.

Proximity Canada

SVP, Managing Director

Started as employee #1 in Toronto in  2002 when Tribal DDB was relaunched.  Helped integrate digital into the overall DDB offering, grew the office to 25 people and $7M in revenue over 4 years and won Digital Agency of the Year.  Select clients included BMO InvestorLine, Canadian Tourism Commission, Brita, Energizer and Gatorade.

Tribal DDB Canada

Director of Client Services

Leo Burnett

Account Manager

Launched the 1st e-commerce site for MAC Cosmetics, shortly after their acquisition by Estee Lauder.  Helped CIBC convert telephone banking customers to online banking customers and Microsoft to gain new hotmail subscribers through some of the first cost per acquisition digital campaigns. Led early feasibility research for Alliance Atlantis to launch a streaming service.  Select clients included MAC Cosmetics, FedEx, Microsoft, MSN Hotmail, CIBC, and Alliance Atlantis.

Devlin

Director of Emarketing

Clients included M&M's, Uncle Ben's, HP Sauce, Maille Mustards, Tabasco, the Tea Council of Canada and Glaxo Wellcome.

Matt Di Paola