As we welcome our new 2021-2022 year, I am both excited and humbled to serve as your President, working alongside a dedicated team of volunteers and the Board of Directors. They contribute their time and talents to build an essential and inclusive community for marketers. The opportunity to lead a diverse and dedicated team of volunteers is both an honour and a privilege. As I reflect on the year ahead, I’m inspired by the African proverb:
“If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.”
This year, our team’s rallying cry to “AMPLIFY” together serves as a reminder of what is possible when we amplify our voices to achieve great things as a team.
With deep gratitude to our immediate Past-President, Miglena Nikolova, we have so much to amplify. Under her leadership, we built a solid foundation that allowed our chapter to achieve a great deal, particularly during a time of great uncertainty. Miglena encouraged us to learn and grow, ultimately celebrating several firsts as a team:
- pivoting quickly to adapt to change with resilience and agility
- shifting to virtual programming and launching our first virtual Canada’s Marketing Hall of Legends (CMHOL) Gala
- formalizing an exciting partnership with the Canadian Marketing Association (CMA) to champion mentorship and leadership development
- solidifying our commitment to advance and support DEI by signing the AMA DEI chapter pledge and increase diversity amongst our 2021 CMHOL inductee winners and stakeholders this year.
Looking to the Year Ahead: Our New North Star
I am most excited about amplifying our new brand promise – to empower leadership potential. It is our ‘north star,’ a vision that validates, focuses and fuels the work we do, with a deep sense of purpose and clarity. For the past 12 years, AMA Toronto has built a solid mentorship program with over 550 graduates who have catapulted into leadership positions. This year, we are further amplifying our mentorship program with enhanced opportunities at all levels and publishing a new book, Mentorship Matters, Now More than Ever, written by our long-time mentor & former Schulich Executive Education Centre’s Executive Director, Dr. Alan Middleton. Our Mentorship portfolio will also be piloting a new Executive Coaching program that will run in tandem with Mentor Exchange.
In the last 15 years, AMA Toronto’s Canada’s Marketing Hall of Legends has inducted over 80 marketing and business leaders and luminaries who continue to inspire our community with their profound leadership. Through our annual Legendary Leadership Series, we continue to provide direct and interactive access, learning and networking opportunities with these legends to facilitate leadership potential across our community. This year, we are excited to launch our first virtual ‘Hall of Legends’ where we will engage past and current Legends, curating a ‘Legends Legacy’ platform that will benefit leaders of today and tomorrow.
Networking Opportunities
Additional leadership and professional development opportunities will continue through volunteering at the committee and Board levels and recognition within the marketing community. This year, we are also launching the Career Café – a dedicated network and resource that AMA Toronto provides to support individual marketers looking to advance their careers. Our members can also attend free monthly Member Networking Group events and chat peer-to-peer on our Slack channel.
Amplifying Our Diverse Voices
Another critical focus is to amplify the diversity of our voices and strengthen the role that we play in enhancing equity, diversity, and inclusion in the community alongside our partners. In support of this, I have formalized a DEI role on our Board of Directors. We have re-committed to signing the AMA Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion pledge this year alongside 65 other AMA chapters, to further increase representation across all our programs, volunteer ranks, and in our communities. AMA Toronto intends to strengthen further our commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion today and tomorrow.
Over the coming months, you will hear regular updates through our Monthly Digest Newsletter, highlighting key activities and things that excite us. I will also be launching “Leadership Conversations” to inspire and empower your leadership potential. I encourage each of you to continue engaging with us on social media and to reach out to learn, connect and grow wherever you are in your journey as a marketing professional.
I look forward to helping you amplify your unique voice and empower your leadership potential. Together.
Cheers,
Tina
