The Moment That Changed Everything

Ido Aharoni serves as Global Distinguished Professor for international relations at New York University's Graduate School of Arts and Science. He is a member of the International Advisory Council of APCO Worldwide, a Global Ambassador for Maccabi World Union, Chairman of the Charney Forum for New Diplomacy and a co-founder of Emerson Rigby Ltd. In this episode we sit down with Ido in California to chat about the concept and how he brands a place versus a product.

Rory Sutherland is the Vice Chairman of Ogilvy & Mather Group, one of the largest and most renowned advertising agencies in the world. He's also the author of the best-selling book, Alchemy: The Surprising Power of Ideas That Don't Make Sense, he's done countless keynotes on the impact of human behavioural science on marketing and advertising at TED Global as well writing regular columns for the Spectator, Market Leader and Wired. In this episode, we sit down with Rory at his home outside London, England, to chat about one of his favourite subjects, namely how brands need to think laterally to solve large-scale challenges, why Uber's secret is making you feel like a King, and why Tushy and air fryers are a godsend.

David Drebin is a world renowned photographer, artist, and author. He has worked on global campaigns for iconic brands. He has produced stunning art that has been exhibited in Europe, across the United States and beyond!

Neil Patel is a best-selling author and a top influencer on the web. Forbes named him one of the top 10 marketers, and Entrepreneur Magazine noted his marketing agency as one of the 100 most brilliant companies. He was also recognized as a top 100 entrepreneur under the age of 30 by President Barack Obama and a top 100 entrepreneur under the age of 35 by the United Nations. In this episode, we catch up with Neil at his home in Las Vegas, where we talk about how the digital age has impacted small business owners, why mass media still works, and why it's key to pursue your own goals if you want to be successful.

With 90 million fans on Wattpad and their hunger to see their favourite stories exist on screens and shelves around the world, Aron Levitz connects the entertainment and publishing industries with new voices and original content. What is unique about Aron's work is his approach, leveraging data and community insights to co-produce Wattpad stories for film, television, print and digital formats.

Terry O'Reilly is best-known in the Canadian advertising industry as an award-winning writer and director, co-founding one of the country's leading production companies, Pirate Radio & Television. Today, he continues as host and creator of the hit podcast, Under The Influence, as well as being a sought after keynote speaker. In this episode, we take viewers back to his hometown of Sudbury Ontario, explore his humble beginnings as Copy Chief of a local radio station, and his experience in becoming a CBC celebrity.

Fred Waks started his career as a junior in a local sales office before becoming one of Canada's leading real estate developers, growing his previous firm from $100 million to $15 billion. Today, he acts as President and CEO of the Trinity Development Group. In this episode, we talk about Fred's early years, his journey of building developments, and a life of philanthropy.

Daniel Brooks is one of Canada's bright lights in live theatre. Playwright, director, actor, the list of awards he has garnered exemplifies his talent developed over decades working on some of the country's more notable productions. Brilliant, interesting and erudite we talked about theatre in Canada, what inspires him and his approach to living with stage 4 cancer.

Peter Sussman's career is known by millions that have watched his work. Since 1985 he has brought to market hundreds of films and TV series in both drama and comedy, and they've been sold around the world. Peter has been personally nominated for three Primetime Emmy Awards and four Golden Globe awards, and hardly anyone outside of Hollywood has ever heard of him.

Today we sit down with national treasure, Rick Hansen. Rick became a hero to those with disabilities and an inspiration to the world when he embarked on his famous Man in Motion World Tour. Inspired by Terry Fox, he not only crossed Canada in a wheelchair - he crossed the entire globe to demonstrate the limitless potential of those with disabilities. Before becoming a household name, Rick represented Canada in the 1980 and 1984 Paralympic Games, winning three gold, two silver and one bronze medal. Today, he is Founder of the Rick Hansen Foundation, an organization that has raised over $360 million dollars and has delivered programs that have heightened awareness, changed attitudes and improved the quality of life for people with disabilities. In 2006, he was inducted into Canada's Sports Hall of Fame. In this episode, we catch up with Rick in his hometown of Vancouver to talk about who inspired him to see the positive side after his devastating accident, his relationship with Canadian legend Terry Fox and the amazing story of how he became the inspiration behind the top 80's song, "Saint Elmo's Fire".

Today we sit down with Lorne Gertner - businessman, architect, brand builder, serial entrepreneur and global dreamer, who's trained as an architect, went into the family schmatta business, turned a clothing manufacturer into a fashion brand and started dabbling in cannabis thirty years ago. Today he worships great design and has started and built a number of great brands, as well as advising countries about a new economy in cannabis agriculture throughout the world. Today Lorne joins us as we talk about creativity and business smarts that brought him along his journey to where he is now known as the Godfather of Cannabis.

Jas Takhar is a Real Estate Investment broker, Author, and Founder of the R-E-C Experience - a podcast that specializes in real estate, entrepreneurship and business leadership. A Toronto native, Jas has been in the sales and service industry for over 25 years and today oversees a team of realtors and staff that advises over 700 buyers, sellers and investors yearly across the Greater Toronto Area. In this episode, Jas shares his insights on why Toronto is anything but a bubble, the psychology of buyers and sellers in a market with very little inventory. and how his humble beginnings has lead him to a life he could have never imagined.

David Shore is a Canadian writer with a spectacular career in television. Trained as a lawyer Shore worked on Family Law, NYPD Blue and Due South, as well as the critically acclaimed series House and more recently, Battle Creek, Sneaky Pete and The Good Doctor. In terms of reach David show House where he is Creator, Executive Producer, Writer and Emmy award winner reached 16,000,000 households weekly. In 2018, David received an honorary degree in law from the University of Western Ontario, ironic for a television writer who has produced two of the most successful medical dramas. David joins us from from Muskoka where he shares his insights on character development, who Dr Gregory House's is based upon and the difference between a who dun it, and a why done it.

Cho-liang Lin or as he is affectionately known as Jimmy, has performed as soloist with virtually every major orchestra in the world for over 27 years. He has recorded 20 albums which have won Gramophone Record Of The Year and numerous Grammy nominations. He is on the faculty of The Juilliard School of Music, appointed professor at Rice University, he is the past music director of La Jolla SummerFest and music director of the Hong Kong International Chamber Music Festival and Taipei Music Academy and Festival. He has performed to an indoor audience of 53,000, and played in both Petco Park in front of a Padres Cardinals game, as well as Yankee stadium and is the soloist on a HellBoy 2 track, a favourite film of mine. Much to my continuing dismay Jimmy is a huge Yankee fan. He performs on the 1715 Stradivari named “Titian” and let' start with a few moments of Jimmy as a 15 year old student in a Itzack Perlman masterclass.

Meaghan Ogilvie is an award winning and internationally recognized Photographer and visual artist. Her diverse artistic collaborations are often aimed at raising awareness about water conservation. Using her photography work as a platform to talk about environmental and social issues that are important to her. In todays episode, we talk about how she found her way to underwater photography, advice to aspiring creatives looking to find their niche in their own work, and the future of physical galleries and art shows in a post pandemic world.

David Kaufman has had an illustrious career with high net-worth clients, including the Stronachs, Magna Golf Club, and Menkes where he led the development of Four Seasons Private Residences of Toronto. He has also spent time in broadcasting as the producer and co-host of his own show Alternative Investing on the Business News Network. Currently he is President and CEO of Westcourt Capital, an investment firm he founded in 2009. In this episode, David shares his experience working from home, and managing the portfolios of some of Canada's wealthiest families and institutions, as well as the uninspired story behind the naming of his company.

Sarah Stockdale is the CEO and Founder of GrowClass- an online growth marketing training company. She's also an author, speaker, and guest tech expert for the CBC and CTV as well as a TEDx speaker. Today, we talk about the myth of the "lonely genius", a concept that brings clarity to an ongoing narrative surrounding successful figures like Mark Zuckerberg and Steve Jobs. how to balance having a competitive side and a team player side, and why taking an approach of helping others means you'll always be employed.

Mitch Joel is a visionary. Global brands like Google, Starbucks, Shopify and General Electric, look to Mitch to tell them what's on the horizon of change. His accomplishments are too many to mention but include being the author of several books including Six Pixels of Separation and CTRL ALT Delete, he is a world renown speaker and Founder of Six Pixels Group, he sold his agency Twist Image to WPP after nurturing it for close to two decades, and most recently he was the President of Mirum; a global agency operating in 25 countries with over 3000 employees. Suffice it to say he has a lot to share. Today we cover subjects such as following your instincts in business, what he sees as the clear innovations that will follow the global pandemic, and why remote learning is nothing compared to the real thing. PS- he's also the good friend of Scott Stratten and Ron Tite and is as likeable and gracious, as them both!

Erin Kawalecki, is an Executive Creative Director at DDB Toronto. Before rising through the ranks at DDB, Erin held positions at Juniper Park, Taxi and John Street, as well as freelance stints at Sid Lee and Red Urban. In this episode, we talk about the pros and cons of the remote working experience due to coronavirus, what positives some companies may take forward as we get back to the new normal, and how managing teams using constructive criticism is a skill that takes time and patience.

Erin Blaskie is a TEDx Speaker, Digital Marketing Instructor and Director of Marketing at Fellow - an app that helps managers better organize teams and their work. Erin is incredibly industrious. She started her own company at age 21, helping launch businesses for major league baseball players, Emmy-nominated actors, and multiple other 6-figure companies. Today, we talk about her passion for building brands from the ground up, how starting a new job during a pandemic has gone, the behind-the -scenes of talking at a Ted conference, and how being an entrepreneur can look cool from the outside but inside, it's a whole other story.

Jeremy Miller is a Brand Strategist, Keynote Speaker, Best Selling Author and Founder of the brand building agency, Sticky Branding. Jeremy worked in a family business that was on the verge of closing before he discovered that it wasn't sales that was the issue, it was branding. This discovery led to opening a brand consultancy, writing two books, and doing a lot of crisis management for clients. In this episode, we talk about his advice for businesses who are reeling due to the global pandemic, why companies should look within their own organizations for creative answers to tough questions, and how this unique moment in history is the most opportune time for new businesses and entrepreneurs.

Philippe Garneau is the President and Executive Creative Director of GWP Brand Engineering, a company he co-founded over 24 years ago. Philippe has penned some of the best work ever to come out of Canada, including the famous Signature campaign for Canadian Airlines, the launch of the Nissan Altima and Quest, as well as the long running ING campaign, “Save Your Money.” Today, he shares his views on how the industry is handling COVID-19, why leveraging human behavioural data leads to winning strategies and better creative, as well as his advice for anyone who wants to remain relevant in a business that can sometimes send people out to pasture a little too early.

Caroline Watters is a Stage Manager for the world's most successful contemporary circus, Cirque du Soleil. Behind all the bright lights, death defying acts by performers and artful choreography, is an equally death defying choreography of real-time decisions the audience is never aware of. Today, we get to go behind-the-scenes to talk about the creativity required to keep a show of this magnitude on the rails, how knowing what you want to be early on has paved the way to Caroline's success, and how simply asking can open the doors to your dreams.

Today we finally sit down with Michael Brenner, CEO and CMO of Marketer Insider Group. I say finally because this whole pandemic has thrown us off our game for a few weeks. Thankfully we're back to the new normal with this Zoom interview. Michael Brenner is the former VP of Marketing at SAP and today is a globally recognized keynote speaker on leadership, culture, and marketing. He is the author of the bestselling book The Content Formula, and his work has been featured by The Economist, The Guardian, and Entrepreneur Magazine. A recognized expert in content marketing, he encourages companies and brands to leverage one of the most powerful tools in marketing currently. Today we get into how COVID-19 is affecting brand messaging, why it is a mistake to not recognize the context of the times we live in, and why content marketing would be better described as self-publishing.

Today we sit down with Craig Brownrigg, commercial director for Hobby Film. Craig started his career as an art director and writer, working at agencies like Cossette, MacLaren McCANN, Gee, Jeffrey & Partners, and Zig. Before slowly making his way into directing. Now he splits his time between Toronto and Los Angeles. Producing commercials that get people and brands to laugh. In this episode we talk about his transition from art director to getting behind the camera. His advice for those who want to do the same. And how to charm actors and DOP's to shoot extra scenes during their lunch hour.

Gary Watson is a freelance Creative Director and Writer who has held senior positions at creative shops across the country, including Zulu Alpha Kilo, TAXI, Capital C and DentsuBos. In this episode, we tackle a subject that is increasingly top-of-mind with senior freelance staff. Namely, ageism and the impact of fewer intermediates in creative departments. We also get his sage advice for young creatives, the state of content marketing, and the things that inspire him creatively these days.

Steph Mackie is the Co-owner of the agency Mackie Biernacki in Toronto. Steph has held positions at a number of creative shops including Lowe Roche, TBWA Chiat/Day, Leo Burnett and other notables, before hanging a shingle herself. In this episode, Steph talks about her start following in her father's footsteps, how cultural differences impact creative development (she was once reprimanded for disgracing a tea bag while working in England) and how we view opportunities as risk when going it alone in business but rarely talk of the risk of not pursuing our dreams.

Alen Palander is the Creative Director and Lead Photographer of Palander Studios Inc. Alen began life as a lover and student of architecture but solidified his career as a world-class photographer while covering his travels visiting architectural sites across the globe. In this episode, we get into how he ascended from casual Instagram user to full-blown Influencer, how you should always remain true to who you are if you intend to be successful and the fine line between perception and reality when it comes to social platforms.

Steve Miller is the Executive Creative Director and Vice President of Fuse Marketing. In this episode, we hear how he got his start as an account executive and made the jump to creative, his advice for senior teams who want to move up the management ladder, and why wearing sunglasses to an interview is…how we should say this…inadvisable.

Today we sit down with Ari Elkouby, Executive Creative Director at Wunderman Thompson. Ari's career has taken him from a package design department at Loblaws. To Fallon Worldwide in Minneapolis. To several senior positions at agencies across Toronto. In this episode, we go into detail about his interactive agency pedigree and how it informs his approach to creative. How he likes to form close relationships with clients to build trust, and an agency partner who specialized in updating brand mascots like the Jolly Green Giant.

Paul Wales is the Founder of Upstream; a content creation company in Toronto. Previously at Jay Walter Thompson, Paul is responsible for creating one of the most iconic brands in Canada. Trust us, you are intimately aware of his work because at some point you've likely watched, listened, interacted or consumed, the beloved brand that is Tim Hortons. In this episode, we cover his upbringing in Hamilton Ontario where the Tim Hortons brand began, and learn how the stars aligned for him to shepherd one of Canada's most recognizable brands.

Baron Manett is the President of Per Se Brand Experience and Co-Founder of The Ensemble Company; a speaker series that provides learning experiences for the next generation of leaders. In this episode, we learn about his beginnings working in the music industry, how starting from a sound strategy leads to the best work, and how Per Se uses empathy to connect with brands and their audiences.

David Footman is currently a Cinematic Director at Ubisoft in Toronto, where he lends his craft to telling powerful stories for some of your favourite games such as Far Cry 5, Splinter Cell Blacklist. and Assassins Creed Unity. In this episode, we cover his early career in traditional filmmaking, his transition to storytelling in games, and how the next generation of consoles will revolutionize the world of gaming.

Patrick Ingoldsby is an Art Director at Ubisoft Toronto, heading up the design of such games as Assassin's Creed Unity and Watchdogs Legion. In this episode, we get into exactly what's involved in creating games with authenticity, where he sees the future of gaming going, and how he finds time to have a family while also immersing himself in playing the games, himself.

Shane Ogilvie is the co-founder of the Toronto agency The Garden Collective, working with such clients as Samsung, Roots and The United Way. In this episode, we chat about his beginnings working in the gold mines of his home town Timmins, selling Electralux vacuums door-to-door (no, we're not kidding), to becoming one of the top ten global leaders who are reinventing the advertising industry.

Ron Tite is an award winning writer and Creative Director. Speaker, Author and Founder of Church & State, a content marketing agency with such clients as Air France, Evian, Microsoft, Hershey's, Johnson & Johnson and Volvo. Previously, he was the Executive Producer & Host of the award-winning CBC show Monkey Toast. In this interview, recorded live before a studio audience, we discuss his second book THINK. DO SAY. among other subjects including the state of social media influencers, developing your brand beliefs, and why it matters to “Do” what you “Say”.

Cameron Labine is a Lead Writer for Ubisoft in Toronto. Before penning such games as Assassin's Creed and Watchdogs Legion, Cameron worked as an accomplished director and screenwriter producing such films as Mountain Men and Control Alt Delete. In this episode, we get into his past as a child actor, his beginnings as a filmmaker, and exactly how he creates video games with an R rating.

Elma Karabegovic is currently an Associate Creative Director at FCB in Toronto and has held senior creative positions at agencies such as Ogilvie & Mather and Juniper Park. In this episode, we learn about her move from war-torn Bosnia to Canada, what it's like to overcome being a new Canadian while getting a start in the ad biz, and how having an egalitarian attitude has served her well throughout her career.

Ron MacDonald has worked at 40 different agencies in 7 different countries on 4 different continents. To this day, he remains a freelance CD in high demand. In this episode we cover his insights on being a gun-for-hire, advice for those who want to follow suit, and a quirky story of when Ron was a senior creative on the McDonalds account.

Drew Frohmann is one of the funniest writers in advertising. Not just for his witty approach to campaigns but also as a self-starting comedy writer for his past web series, Hotdog Boy. Hear his refreshing point-of-view on strategy, directing talent, and creating a show with a former neighbour.

Trevor is a sought-after creative consultant at the company he created, Brooklyn 7. Before that, he was the Chief Creative Officer at Sandbox Advertising, CD at Ariad, and Senior VP at Young & Rubicam. Today, we hear about how he spent his childhood dreaming of being an ad writer, developing a strong sense of strategy to sell work, and travelling the US re-organizing a multi-national agency.

Paul Evans is used to beating the odds. After becoming a successful copywriter for many Toronto agencies, he started his own production company with zero capital. Hear his story, along with his insightful advice for young creatives, and what it's like to create solutions for clients starting from a blank page.

Joe Musicco is currently a Professor at Sheridan's Pilon School of Business. While education may not be the first thing that comes to mind when considering a career in advertising, as a former Creative Director, Joe makes a very strong argument as to why the industry needs more. This, and many other key takeaways are shared in this interview!

Scott Stratten remains one of Canada's most influential people on Twitter. Hear how he took a chance on a burgeoning new media to become a best-selling author, creator of Unmarketing Inc., and sought-after speaker advising brands such as PepsiCo, IBM, Cirque Du Soleil and Microsoft. Scott gives us his insights on entrepreneurship, the power of taking risks and becoming an author.

Jana Peck speaks on her beginnings as a writer in a predominantly male dominated industry, to becoming a commercial director and bearing her soul as an actor. In our second episode, hear her truly refreshing perspective for young creatives and her foray into comedy via her new series Madge & Peck.

On this episode we sit down with Chris Hirsch. Partner, and Executive Creative Director of the agency LG2. Before opening the Toronto office of the Montreal-based agency Lg2 with his partner Nelli Kim, Chris worked as a group head at the highly awarded agency, John St. In our inaugural episode we cover various topics including the importance of selling your work, key advice for young creatives who want to break into the agency business, and how SNL inspired him to become a copywriter.

We all have a defining moment in our career that altered our course forever. This series explores stories from notable people across a number of different creative fields as they share the defining moments that shaped who they've ultimately become. The Moment serves as inspiration for young creatives looking to break into communication fields, while providing valuable insights for senior marketing/communication executives.