VERONICA LOW - President

Veronica Low brought 25 years of media and sales experience to Active Media Services (Canada) as Vice President, Business Development and Sales and will focus on growing key accounts in the Canadian marketplace. Fluently bilingual, her expertise in sales, marketing and media gives her a unique ability to connect with clients in the province of Quebec and provide additional insight into their needs.

Prior to joining Active, Veronica most recently was Director, Business Development for CBS Radio Quebec, where she created a new division uniting three major broadcasters in Quebec and increased market share for CBS Radio Quebec, for the past 2 consecutive years. Prior to that role, she was Director, Business Development for Astral Media Radio where she developed new business categories and raised the profile of AMR in the Toronto Marketplace and on the national level.

An avid equestrian and down-hill skier, Veronica is also a past civilian volunteer with The 140 Aurora Royal Canadian Air Cadets and taught broadcast sales at Ryerson University in 2008. She is a certified Level 2 Reiki Practitioner, and her interests include writing, mentoring, tennis, skiing and horseback riding. She lives in the country and has a son attending university. As a published author, she is currently working on her second novel. 

SYLVIA CRIGER- Vice President

Sylvia Criger brings over twenty-five years of media experience to her position as Managing Director at MediaCom Canada.  Sylvia also acts as Media Director of Television Media. 

Prior to joining MBS, Sylvia was responsible for the placement and administration of Federal Government media, at the time Canada’s largest AOR account.  Her previous agency experience includes J. Walter Thompson managing the Labatt’s and Ralston Purina AOR’s.  Sylvia started her career at Foster Advertising after graduating with a Bachelor of Science degree from Ryerson.

At MediaCom Sylvia has client responsibilities for the Province of Ontario, Ontario Lottery and Gaming, Volkswagen Canada and Warner Bros. Entertainment. She also oversees the Broadcast Buying Group and Vancouver operation. Sylvia is also active in the media community on the Broadcast Executives Society Board of Directors.  Sylvia is married and loves to travel and scuba dive with her two sons.

BYRON  J. GARBY - Past President

Byron J. Garby is  Vice President of Sales for Milestone Radio's New Flow 935 in Toronto and has held that position since 2004.  Byron has a 20 plus year background in senior radio sales management, having also worked for Standard Radio and Telemedia Broadcasting in various capacities, including VP Sales Ontario. 

Byron has been a large supporter of the broadcast industry associations. In addition to his role with the BES, he has been extensively involved with the Canadian Association of Broadcast Representatives having held various board positions including President; he has done charitable work for NABS.   Byron has been a BES board member since 2000 and was president of the board from 2004 to 2007.  He is currently past president of the BES and chair of the BES Christmas Luncheon committee

NEIL KERR - Secretary Treasurer

Neil Kerr is a Chartered Accountant (Price Waterhouse) and earned a Bachelor of Commerce (Honours) at Queen's University.   He is currently Vice President, Finance at Warner Music Canada overseeing a team of 10 in the areas of finance, IT and operations. 

In the ever evolving world of recorded music, Neil has brought a results oriented focus to the group and is leveraging his strong contract negotiation skills.  He previously worked at Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment after spending nearly a dozen years at Molson Canada where he held various senior finance roles. 

Neil is married to Kim and has 3 children (Danielle, Emma and Nathan) and currently resides in Toronto.

GARY M.  BELGRAVE - Honorary Vice President

Gary M. Belgrave is President of the Radio Marketing Bureau, Inc. Gary has over 25 years of international marketing and advertising experience garnered in key assignments in Toronto, Montreal, Detroit and London, England.  Gary started his career in radio in Montreal before turning his skills to marketing and advertising for some of the world’s largest agencies like JWT, BBDO and Y&R.

Besides leading the RMB, where he also sits on its Board of Directors, Gary is also an ex-officio board member of the Canadian Association of Broadcasters, The Canadian Association of Broadcast Representatives and The Broadcast Executive Society. Gary is a regular featured columnist in Broadcast Dialogue Magazine and is often a featured speaker/panellist at critical broadcast and advertising industry seminars and conventions. He is a well known spokesman for the radio industry and is committed to radio’s power and effectiveness in achieving and exceeding business goals.

THERESA TREUTLER - Honorary Vice President

Theresa Treutler is a senior media executive with over 25 years of broad-based advertising agency experience in both strategic planning and executional disciplines.

Theresa began her career at Ogilvy and Mather, and then spent the majority of her agency years  at Leo Burnett, where she expanded her proficiency through major client assignments such as Kellogg’s, Visa, Diageo, Buena Vista, and Procter & Gamble.

In her new role as President of TVB Canada, Theresa enjoys leading a team of young research analysts and business writers as well as the Telecaster group. She is also an active member of a number of Boards and Committees working on behalf of the television industry. 

Has a Masters Degree in French Linguistics from the University of Toronto.

DAVID CRAMMOND - Director

David Crammond has a long history of leading clients to success.  His expertise in both planning and buying for several national retail and brand accounts crosses all media, including broadcast, print, ambient and online. 

After graduating from the University of Western Ontario in 1985, David worked for several major agencies before landing at Mediaedge:cia in 1992.

 
Over the past 17 years, he has led several of MEC’s key client teams and, in 2006, took on the responsibility of heading up MEC’s Broadcast team.

David was appointed SVP, MEC Trading in June 2008 and is now responsible for implementation across all media channels.
 

Helena Shelton brings over 20 years of media experience to her role as EVP, Director of Trading and Accountability at PHD. A strategic negotiator with a reputation for consistently delivering value across all media platforms, Helena’s passion for media is well known in the industry. She is a leader with the ability to manage, inspire and mentor. Helena has lead media negotiations in both Canada and the US and has successfully delivered integrated negotiations for her clients.

Always eager to weigh in on issues she has written and shared her opinions in Media in Canada and Marketing. Her background includes both packaged goods and retail with a focus on Broadcast.

When she is not strategizing on how to deliver the most for the least for PHD clients she relaxes with hot yoga, a run and a glass of wine, not always in that order.

ERROL DA-RÉ - Director         

Errol Da-Ré is Executive Vice President of Sales at Canwest. Prior to Canwest, he was Executive  VP Sales at Alliance Atlantis. He started with Alliance Atlantis in 2001 as Vice President English Sales. Prior to joining Alliance Atlantis, Errol was Director of National Sales, as well as Group Director-Network Sales at CTV.

After graduating from the University of Windsor in the early 1980’s, Errol moved to Toronto where he started working in the advertising industry at Leo Burnett, (now Starcom), as a media estimator and buyer.

Errol then moved on to the CBC briefly to become a Marketing Analyst and then took a position as a Sales Representative at AP&D (Alexander, Pearson and Dawson), one of the more prominent independent television rep shops. He sold airtime for numerous stations, including CTV affiliates such as CFCF-12 Montreal and CKY-TV Winnipeg, plus independent stations such as NTV Nfld, ATV/ASN-Atlantic Canada, Citytv and the New VR.

Mr. Da-Ré grew up in Windsor Ontario.

KY JOSEPH - Director

Ky Joseph is Executive Vice President - Sales with The Evanov Radio Group, one of the fastest growing independent broadcasters in the country. She also shares in ownership of four radio stations including CKHZ-FM & CKHY-FM in Halifax, CJWL-FM in Ottawa and CKHK-FM in Hawkesbury.

Ky is currently a proud member of Canadian Woman In Communications, sits as a board member on The Humber College Advisory Council for Media Studies and has been named “Community Liaison” of Etobicoke General Hospital’s Perinatal Bereavement Program.

She is also the founder of E.L.L.A. (Ever Lasting Little Angels), a not-for-profit organization dedicated to creating tools and literature to help woman work through the grief of losing a baby.

RITA FABIAN - Director

Rita Fabian is Executive Vice-President, Sales and Marketing for CTV Inc., Rita Fabian is responsible for all of CTV’s sales and marketing initiatives, including national, retail, specialty and online. Appointed to her current responsibility in October 2007, Fabian is presently implementing a plan that focuses on multi-platform marketing solutions for advertisers.

Previously, Fabian was Senior Vice-President, Sales and Marketing for CTV Inc.  She joined the company in 1986, later holding various management positions.  Prior to joining CTV, Fabian was a Network Television Sales Account Supervisor at CBC.  She began her career as a Media Buyer with Ogilvy and Mather, and later moved to SSC&B Lintas.

Fabian is currently President of the Television Bureau of Canada, and serves on the Broadcast Executives Society Board as well as the Television Automated Supply Chain Initiative (TASCI).

Fabian holds a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Toronto.  She also studied business administration in the MBA program at York University, as well as Finance at Ryerson University.

IAN KILVERT - Director

Ian Kilvert brings more than 25 years of advertising experience to the Board at the BES - first through the eyes of account management at various advertising agencies and most recently as the head of Panasonic Canada’s Corporate Brand Management department.

Ian’s path began at Cockfield Brown advertising in 1981 where he worked on the Esso and Sony accounts at the agency’s sales promotion division. That led to a similar career opportunity at McCann-Erickson where Ian worked on Coca-Cola, Rogers Communications and Labatt Breweries. After a two year stint at FCB/Ronalds-Reynolds on the Mazda account, Ian moved client side with Panasonic Canada Inc.

In 15 years at Panasonic, Ian has risen from Director of Corporate Communication to his current title of General Manager, Corporate Brand Management. Along the way Ian has been responsible for overseeing Panasonic’s advertising and PR budgets as well as Panasonic’s sponsorship of various environmental, cultural and sporting events such as the upcoming Olympics in Vancouver in 2010.

Ian, a graduate of Ryerson’s Radio & TV Arts program, is married and has two children

DON LANG - Director

Don Lang is the Director, Revenue Management & Sales Operations for Rogers Television Sales.  Prior to that, Don held the position of National Sales Manager at OMNI Television moving over from Canwest to create an internal sales department in 2002. Don spent 12 years at Canwest as a Sales Executive, and in a management role as Group Head.

From 1986 to 2000 he worked as a Sales Representative at Canadian Communications.

Don started in this business in 1981 as a buyer at Grey Advertising.

Don graduated from the University of Weston, Ontario and currently sits on the board of TASCI and the BES.  He is also acting chair for SAC, and TV day and is a member of the BBM Executive Committee.

BOB REAUME - Director

Bob Reaume's career in advertising began in media at Ronalds-Reynolds Advertising in Toronto. He subsequently assumed responsibility for media and research undertakings at Bristol-Myers Company and the Global Television Network.

In addition to this corporate work and establishing his consultancy, Reaume & Associates, Bob also garnered extensive experience with industry associations. From 1988 to 1994, he was the ACA's Vice President of Marketing. He also served as President of the Outdoor Advertising Association of Canada and the Canadian Outdoor Measurement Bureau. Bob returned to the ACA in 1998 and now serves as Vice President, Policy & Research.

Bob oversees the research required to support the ACA's many projects, especially those related to media. His expertise is a valuable asset to the association in terms of presenting the advertiser's perspective on media issues before government and industry bodies.

Bob also plays a pivotal role in supporting and developing various initiatives undertaken by the ACA's New Media, Broadcast and Print & Out-of-Home Committees. Bob is a graduate of York University

RON SUTER - Director

Ron M. Suter has been named Executive Vice President/General Manager, Canada, NBC Universal Television Distribution and Executive Vice President, Universal Studios Canada. In this role, Suter will continue to oversee all Canadian television operations for NBC Universal Television Distribution and represent Universal Studios as a national leader for both the studio and parent company General Electric.  He is responsible for licensing all of NBC Universal’s theatrical and television programming in all media for English and French Canada.

After working in several areas of the music business, he moved to the television division as a syndication sales executive in 1986. He was appointed Sales Manager in 1991 and in 1993, he assumed a senior role in Universal’s Canadian television division, becoming  Vice President, General Manager, Universal Television Canada.

Suter also currently manages the NBC Universal Heritage Fund and serves as a director for the National Screen Institute (NSI), as well as Canada's Walk of Fame.       

Suter resides in Ontario, Canada with his wife and two daughters.

JOHN TUCKER - Administration

John Tucker began his broadcast career in Thompson Manitoba on-air at CHTM Radio in the 70's. His search for employment took him to CKY and CFRW radio and CKY-TV in Winnipeg, CFUN in Vancouver and 1050 CHUM and 104.5 CHUMFM in Toronto.

John finalized his career with a 23 year senior television and radio management role with CKWS/CHEX-TV with Power Broadcasting, and later with Corus Entertainment. John is now with the Ontario College of Teachers as a Member of the Council and Executive Committee and Chair of the Finance Committee. He was also a long-term member of the board of the Broadcast Executive Society