Behind the Scenes: Coming and Goings
By
Debbie Bolton
VP Volunteers
AMA’s new fiscal year has brought some changes to our leadership team. Thank you to our team-mates who have helped us do great work for the marketing community in the past and a big welcome those who will be taking us forward.Â
Our Sincere Thanks to Three Great Leaders
Barbara Boyd, our outgoing president, has led our chapter to new heights this year. Her energy, support and contributions have truly helped us flourish. Thank you for your enthusiasm and commitment Barb!
Arthur Fleischmann, our Advisory Council co-chair, has generously shared his wisdom and support and opened the WPP office doors for meetings and social activities. Thank you for the difference you’ve made for AMA Toronto Arthur.
We also give a shout-out to VP Strategic Partnerships, Miglena Nikolova, whose energy and hard work has been invaluable. Miglena, thank you for your willingness to remain with us in an advisory role.
Board Changes
Some board members have stepped down from their roles after years of contributions. Some board members are new to AMA. Others have already demonstrated their AMA leadership potential and been promoted. We’re fortunate to work with such a dedicated and talented team.Â
We welcome Santo and Jessica to their new roles as President and President-Elect. Special thanks to our retiring board members: Christine Andrew, Christopher Stathousis, Darko Rakin, Linda Antonacci, Matt Chong and Oscar Rank. You have been great team members and your contributions have been critical to our success.Â
- Past President: Barbara Boyd
- Incoming President: Santo Ligotti (promoted)
- Incoming President-Elect: Jessica Zuckier (promoted from Marcom)
- VP Canada’s Marketing Hall of Legends (CMHOL): Jacob Kessler
- VP Digital Marketing: Adam Luck
- VP Finance: Heather Purcell
- VP Events: Dawn Becker
- VP International and DEI: Tina Portillo (moving from Past-President role)
- VP Leadership Excellence: Craig Lund
- VPs Marcom: Jason Hui (promoted from Membership), Laurie Freeman (new)
- VP Membership: Maxim Rakov (returning)
- VP Operations: Olga Pigeon (promoted)
- VP PR: Robert MacLean
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VP Strategic Partnerships: Puneet Thadani (promoted from Partnership),
advisor Miglena Nikolova - VP Research and Insights: Margaret So (promoted from Research)
- VP Volunteers: Debbie Bolton
Finishing the Fiscal Year with a Bang!
Our board worked hard this year. And to celebrate our successes, we held our last board meeting of the year in Barbara Boyd’s backyard oasis. Pizza, drinks, non-stop conversation and some fun gifts for board members new and old.Â
Mentor Exchange Graduation
An unsinkable group of volunteers, mentees, mentors and board members braved torrential rain to celebrate another great year of Mentor Exchange on June 27. Our fortitude was rewarded. By the time we arrived at RCYC on Toronto Island, the skies had cleared and we enjoyed a windy (check out our windswept photos) but great evening in beautiful surroundings.Â
Congratulations to our latest Mentor Exchange graduates and a big thank you to the volunteers, mentors and supporters who have given so much to make this program one of the most successful mentoring programs in Canada: Craig Lund, Victoria Bomben, Jagriti Malhotra, Lindsay Tohana and Maggie Bolt.
July Rockstars
This month we’re celebrating the accomplishments of 3 Rockstar volunteers and 5 volunteers who have been recently promoted. We’re very fortunate to have so many talented volunteers in the AMA community. Â
Jal Sonpal
Manager PR
Jal has shown great commitment and dedication to the PR and AMA volunteer teams since joining us this spring. His contributions to AMA’s inaugural Marketing Leadership Week in June were especially noteworthy. He has a great sense of humour and always brings ideas to the table. He’s also a welcome attendee at AMA events.
Jal is in Account Management at APEX Mobile and has a strong background in sports marketing. He’s graduating from Schulich’s Master of Marketing program in August 2023.
Jeff Powell
Director Video Marketing
Jeff has made a huge impact on the Toronto chapter. Leveraging his passion for film he has been able to elevate the caliber of video content that we are sharing whether it’s with podcasts, the strategic direction for Legends Journey, or the powerful insights from our guest speakers. We now have an impressive library of video, that is also merchandised professionally and further delivering value to our community. Thank you Jeff! Jeff is the Digital Marketing Manager for B2B communications for Grant Thornton.
Tarik El Assal
Director Membership Operations
Tarik has shown an extremely high level of professionalism and unwavering commitment to AMA Toronto and his volunteer role since joining the Membership team. He has been instrumental in building a successful membership operations function, onboarding new members, ensuring they understand AMA member benefits and providing ongoing analysis of the member database. He will be training his successors on member onboarding and membership analytics as he transitions into a new role with another AMA team. Thank you for your invaluable contributions Tarik! Tarik has more than 8 years experience in product and brand marketing and analysis in CPG, telecom and market research. He is currently Bilingual Analyst for the Sobey’s account at IRI.
Moving Up in AMA Toronto
Many of our volunteers find opportunities for advancement within AMA Toronto. We’re happy to congratulate the following outstanding volunteers who have been promoted in recent months.
- Corinna Esih: Director Events from Manager Events
- Koohzad Khatami: Director Events from Manager Events
- Maggie Bolt: Director Career Accelerator from Manager Career Accelerator
- Sonika Kamra: AVP Marcom from Director Marcom
- Zeel Gandhi: Director Social Media & Content PR team from Manager PR
Join our volunteer team
Please check our website for ongoing information on our programs and events. And don’t forget to watch for our posts on social and check your email in-box. There’s always something happening at AMA Toronto.
If you’re interested in learning more about our talented volunteer community and opportunities, please contact me at [email protected]
