Encouraging excellence in Canadian Advertising and Design since 1948.

President Alexis Bronstorph

No Fixed Address Chief Creative Officer

Alexis is co-Chief Creative Officer at No Fixed Address, but started her career in advertising at 9 years old, when she did voiceover work for a radio commercial. She was hooked immediately. Since then, Alexis has worked on numerous international award-winning campaigns, creating beautiful, disruptive, and effective work for world class brands across all disciplines. Alexis’ approach to problem solving is rooted in strategy and innovation, aiming to create work that gets noticed, talked about, and shared on your favourite social media platform. Most recently, Alexis was named to Adweek’s Creative 100 list for 2021.

Vice-President Ryan Crouchman

LG2 Toronto Partner, VP, ECD, Design

For over twenty years Ryan has helped build brands, from local startups and cultural institutions to Fortune 500 corporations. His main areas of focus are branding and visual identities, packaging, editorial, motion and interactive design. Over the course of his career he has held design and leadership positions at some of Canada’s most awarded design studios and agencies, and in 2018 he founded the Branding and Design department of LG2 Toronto, helping grow Canada’s largest independent creative agency

Chair Claire Dawson

Underline Studio Co-Founder, Creative Director

A graphic designer and creative director, Claire Dawson co-founded the design firm Underline Studio over ten years ago. Claire’s work has been widely published and honoured with awards from the most distinguished national and international competitions, among them the ADCC, D&AD, the Society of Publication Designers (NY) and the Art Director’s Club (NY). Claire’s writing on design has been published by Applied Arts and she has curated panels for Canada’s largest design conference, DesignThinkers. She has given numerous lectures on design topics, including for the speakers series CreativeMornings. She has served as a judge for the One Show, as well as many other national and international creative awards competitions.

Board Member Angela Bains

TransformExp Strategic Director

Angela Bains is a designer, strategist, businesswoman and educator. She is Co-Founder and Strategic Director of TransformExp, an award-winning design firm in Vancouver, BC. Angela holds two positions at the Ontario College of Art & Design University (OCAD U): Graduate Program Director of Strategic Foresight & Innovation and Assistant Professor in the Advertising program, specialising in decolonising advertising. She has 12 years of teaching experience including the University of the Arts London (UAL) and teaching Strategic Design for Business at the British Columbia Institute of Technology. She has been honoured with seven local and national nominations and teaching awards of excellence in Canada. Originally from the UK, Angela has over 25 years of experience in the design industry working on social change projects, including the Free Nelson Mandela and the first World Aids Day Campaigns. Angela’s commercial accounts have included; BBC Television, Swatch Canada, Westinghouse Canada, and The Ritz-Carlton. She has been a speaker and host of many business and creative industry events including; Vancouver Board of Trade, Small Business BC, Design Management Institute (DMI), International Council of Design (ico-D), Registered Graphic Designers of Canada (RGD) DesignThinkers, Graphic Designers of Canada (GDC), Vancouver Design Week, and most recently, Angela’s expertise was broadcast on CBC Media.

Board Member Zachary Bautista

Rethink Partner, Creative Director

Zachary Bautista is a Partner, Creative Director at Rethink, ranked #2 Global Independent Agency of The Year at Cannes 2023. From art school dropout to one of the most consistently recognized creatives in Canada, his work has been awarded at every major international award show from Cannes to Clios with acclaim from figures like Jimmy Fallon and Drew Barrymore, and headlines on publications like CNN and FastCompany. Zach was ranked the #1 Art Director back-to-back in Strategy Magazine’s Creative Report Card for 2022 and 2023. He was among AdAge’s 40 Under 40 last year and the only Canadian on the list. You can find his work on a billboard near you or in the 6th Edition of Hey Whipple Squeeze This along with Pearson’s Fundamentals of Marketing Textbook. In addition to his impassioned dedication as an industry mentor, Zach is a recurring instructor at Miami Ad School in Toronto. In his role as teacher he has elevated the talents of up-and-coming art directors and copywriters. His approach to his students is teaching peers to become future co-workers. Zach spends most of his money on sports memorabilia. He spends most of his time making money to afford sports memorabilia.

Board Member Dhaval Bhatt

Courage Founder & CCO

Dhaval Bhatt is a 20-year advertising veteran, educator and mentor with an eye for culture-setting and business driving creative concepts. In 2022, he co-founded indie Toronto-based agency Courage, the fastest-growing agency in Canada. Over his career, he has created internationally celebrated work for major brands like KFC, IKEA, Molson-Coors, General Mills, and many more.

Board Member Mo Bofill

One Twenty Three West Partner, Executive Creative Director, Design

Mo is a Partner and Executive Creative Director at One Twenty Three West (123w) – one of Canada’s leading agencies based out of Toronto, Vancouver and Montreal. Born and raised in the Philippines, and growing up in Ontario, she brings a diverse point of view that mixes her passion for design, creativity and business strategy to Canadian design and advertising. She believes in building brands through a human experience: How can we bring humanity into how we work – in how we approach working together, in how we communicate as people and as brands? How can we design something that has a direct impact on our everyday experience? She believes that we should use creativity to not only build business, but to use creativity to appeal to the best in us all. Outside of driving business growth for her clients, her work has also been awarded and recognized internationally by D&AD, One Show, Cannes Lions, The Webby's, Luerzer’s Archive, How Design Awards, Communication Arts, The Advertising & Design Club of Canada, Applied Arts, Marketing Magazine, among others. With over 15yrs of experience, Mo has helped transform some of Canada’s most iconic brands from the ground up: Bell, President’s Choice, No Frills, Home Hardware, Winners, Shoppers, and Koodo to name a few. She has also helped transformed global brands like Apple, KFC, Coca-Cola, Plenty of Fish, Corona, Audi, Subaru, Mitsubishi and helped them become relevant brands to Canadians. A strong believer in mentorship, she mentors at the Miami Ad School Toronto, The Remix Project and the RGD (Registered Graphic Designers of Ontario). Most recently she also joined the Board of Directors of the ADCC (Advertising & Design Club of Canada).

Board Member Nancy Crimi-Lamanna

FCB Canada Chief Creative Officer

Nancy accidentally became one of Canada’s first interns when she offered her copywriting services free of charge over 25 years ago. Eventually she went on to become a salaried employee and an awarded creative working at agencies ranging from small independents to large multi-nationals. While there, she led many of Canada’s largest brands and created some of Canada’s most recognized campaigns. Her work has been awarded nationally and globally at virtually every show including the Cannes Lions, D&AD, London International Awards, CLIO’s, Effies, One Show and was recently ranked among the top 10 Creative Directors in Canada. Nancy also has the distinction of bringing home Canada’s first Integrated Lion for her Ministry of Health Social Smoking campaign and creating the most awarded Canadian Campaign in 2017 at Cannes. “Down Syndrome Answers” was also recognized by the UN on World Down syndrome day and chosen as Adage’s best campaign for good. It’s innovative work like this that has helped make FCB Toronto Digital Agency of the Year 3 years in a row and the most-awarded Canadian agency at Cannes, 2 years in a row. Last year, she was chosen by Adweek as one of 33 Brand Stars that are shaping Toronto into the creative hub it is today. Beyond creating iconic campaigns, Nancy is an industry thought leader: She's an inaugural member of the Times Up Advertising movement addressing gender inequality and has committed FCB Canada to #FreeTheBid, an effort to enlist more female directors. Occasionally, Nancy still works for free judging both local and international shows, being on the board of the Advertising and Design Club of Canada and looking for the next generation of interns as Co-Chief Creative Officer at FCB Toronto.

Board Member Ian Mackenzie

Performance Art Chief Creative Officer

First as writer then creative director, Ian has spent the past 15 years working at the forefront of digital and creative innovation. In 2014, while at Tribal DDB, Ian was ranked #1 Copywriter in Canada in Strategy Magazine’s Creative Report Card. He was also co-creator and writer of the influential “Our Food. Your Questions.” radical transparency platform for McDonald’s – which led to a direct improvement in both brand trust and food quality perception scores for McDonald’s around the world. As creative leader of the creative data agency FCB/SIX, Ian helmed a series of innovative, effective, and award-winning creative-data projects, including the LGBTQ+ travel utility “Destination Pride” for PFLAG Canada, the racial slur-reframing “Go Back To Africa” for Black & Abroad, and the stock market-inspired e-commerce platform “Publicly Traded” for Lifestyles Healthcare. His work has earned many international awards, including the Grand Prix in Creative Data at Cannes, the D&AD Black Pencil and a Global Grand Effie. Under Ian’s creative leadership, FCB/SIX was the #1 ranked Canadian agency at Cannes in both 2018 and 2019 and became Ad Age’s first ever Data & Analytics Agency of the Year. In 2022, Ian co-founded a new creative-data network within IPG called Performance Art. Major clients have included Honda, AB/InBev, Cadbury, Johnson & Johnson, Taco Bell, McDonald’s and BMW.

Board Member Lyranda Martin Evans

Fellow Human Creative Chief Creative Officer

Lyranda is an award-winning creative director, speaker, podcast host, and bestselling author. She's also the host of the best podcast ever, ADCC Created, which unpacks how the best campaigns in Canada get made. 'It's a must listen!' says definitely everyone. Also check out the Google podcast Lead By Womenwill which inspires young women to rise to the C Suite as she hosts that too. Lyranda is the author of the bestselling humour book “Reasons Mommy Drinks” which has been published in multiple languages and makes a great baby shower gift, just sayin'. She’s also a contributing author to various publications, the host and jury member for several international industry shows including One Show and Cannes, and was a guest on The Today Show. She’s a working mom with two young boys and a dog at home, and her hobbies include coffee.

Board Member Craig McIntosh

Broken Heart Love Affair Chief Creative Officer

Craig is currently a Chief Creative Officer at Broken Heart Love Affair, with over 20 years of experience as an award-winning copywriter. He has built iconic brands for renowned clients such as Nike, Budweiser, SickKids, Walmart, and many others. In his downtime, Craig enjoys indoctrinating his two kids with a love for the Philadelphia Flyers, Kurosawa films, Wu-Tang Clan, and Hawaiian pizza.

Board Member Blair Thomson

Believe In Founder / Creative Director

Blair Thomson is the Founder and Creative Director of design practice Believe in, with studios in Canada and the UK. During his 25 years in business, Blair’s adaptability, versatility and desire for creative excellence has allowed him to successfully work with clients both large and small across diverse industries and scales. A harmony between strategic foundation, unique ideas and beautiful outcomes lie at the heart of Blair’s approach and creative processes. His work is multi-award winning and has featured in many leading design publications worldwide. In 2015 he was selected by The Coca-Cola Company as one of 100 global leading creative talents. Born in Toronto, Blair moved to the UK as a teenager where he went on to train and cut his teeth in the industry. In 2015, he returned to Canada permanently. On his return he established the Canada Modern archive, a physical collection and study of Canadian graphic design from 1960 — 1985. Through this important endeavour, Blair champions, educates and inspires the world with this remarkable body of work, created at a pivotal time in Canadian design history. He guest lectures at the School of Visual Arts, New York on Canadian Design and the International Typographic Style. Blair is also the co-author of the book Graphic Stamps by revered design publishers Unit Editions in London, England.

Board Member Amin Todai

OneMethod Founder & CCO

Amin is a multi-disciplinary designer, angel investor, and entrepreneur. In terms of design, Amin has created brands & experiences for companies such as The Toronto Raptors, Drake, Ebay, Microsoft, Nike, Scotiabank, and Kit Kat. As an angel investor, he has helped fund businesses like Ritual, #Paid, Tromba Tequila, plus a number of international restaurants & bars. And as an entrepreneur Amin’s home base is OneMethod, a highly awarded advertising & design agency he founded in 2001. But he is also a partner of Bensimon Byrne & Narrative, La Carnita, Dagger Beer, Faded Lifestyle (streetwear label), Model Citizen (hospitality design & consultancy), and most recently Chaos EC, an emerging esports franchise co-owned by Pusha-T, Logic, and Pharrell. Across all of the above, what truly distinguishes everything Amin tackles is his unique understanding & intersecting of business & creative. Oh, and he is also a mentor & advisor, sort of a DJ, and kind of a chef… with heavy emphasis on the “sort of” and “kind of”.

Board Member Man Wai Wong

Leo Burnett Toronto Group Creative Director, Design

Man Wai Wong is an internationally recognized designer who specializes in design that is rooted in conceptual thinking and meticulous craftsmanship. These two factors can be seen in every facet of design she has delved into, including the art of branding, design of physical and digital experiences, motion graphics, environments, and products. Her design background hails from York-Sheridan Design in Toronto and notably the Bauhaus in Germany. Having studied many areas of design, in different countries with varied design philosophies, she has a discerning eye and particular sensibility for work that resonates globally. Her work has been recognized in several publications and awarded in virtually all national and international shows including The One Show, the D&AD, the Art Directors Club, the Clios, London International Awards, among others.