Vision 2008 Speakers and Emcees

Emcees
The Shopping Bags, Anna Wallner and Kristina Matisic

Speakers
Richard Edelman, CEO, Edelman
Ron Bertram, GM & VP, Nintendo Canada
Patrick Hart, Director of Marketing, SAP Canada
Amrita Sondhi, CEO, Movement Global
Dan Heath, Author, Made to Stick
Patrick Larouche, Director of Marketing, Sympatico/MSN


Event Details | Topics | More about VISION – Message from VISION Director

Anna Wallner
Creator, Executive Producer, Host – The Shopping Bags  &  Anna and Kristina’s Grocery Bag
Co-Owner – Worldwide Bag Media Inc.

Anna Wallner is one of the creators, hosts and executive producers of the TV show, The Shopping Bags on Canada’s W Network and Fine Living in the U.S.  After 205 episodes, this award-winning series provides viewers with everything they need to know before they buy. Anna, along with her business partner and co-host Kristina Matisic, are about to launch into a new television series, Anna and Kristina’s Grocery Bag. The series will go into production this spring for national broadcast in September.

Born in Toronto, Anna received her Bachelor of Arts from the University of British Columbia before completing the graduate journalism program at the University of King's College in Halifax. In 1994, she returned to Vancouver to begin her television career as a reporter for Global News in Vancouver. She spent two years as the bureau chief of Global's Fraser Valley News Bureau and then moved back to the Vancouver office as anchor and reporter of Global's "Your Health" news segment. Anna was voted Broadcaster of Tomorrow by the BC Broadcasters Association in 1999 and in 2000 she was nominated for a prestigious Webster award for her work as a health reporter.

Anna and Kristina came up with the idea for The Shopping Bags in 1999 and have been working as consumer advocates ever since. The Shopping Bags has won eight Leo awards and two Gemini award nominations. Outside the show, Anna and Kristina maintain an extensive website that includes their product reviews and shopping tips and they write for numerous publications across North America.   They are also co-authors of the book, The Shopping Bags: Tips, Tricks and Inside Information to Make You a Savvy Shopper (Dutton; August 2005).

Anna and Kristina are now the media’s go-to experts for all things shopping.  They have made regular guest appearances on Good Morning America, The Rachael Ray Show, Canada AM and CBC Newsworld.  In addition to a syndicated column in the US, their work has appeared in numerous newspapers and magazines including ‘InStyle’, ‘Glow’ and ‘TV Week’.

Anna also loves to ski, travel, cook and of course, shop!

Kristina Matisic
Creator, Executive Producer, Host – The Shopping Bags  &  Anna and Kristina’s Grocery Bag
Co-Owner – Worldwide Bag Media Inc.

Kristina Matisic is one of the creators, hosts and executive producers of the TV show, The Shopping Bags on Canada’s W Network and Fine Living in the U.S.  Now in its seventh season, this award-winning show provides viewers with everything they need to know before they buy.  Kristina, along with her business partner and co-host Anna Wallner, are about to launch into a new television series, Anna and Kristina’s Grocery Bag. The series will go into production this spring for national broadcast in September.

Kristina has a Bachelor of Arts from the University of British Columbia and a Masters in Journalism from the University of Southern California.  She spent six years at Global TV's Vancouver station, first as an overnight news anchor and eventually as the news anchor and producer of the 11:30 Newscast.  While at Global, Anna and Kristina hatched "The Shopping Bags" concept, and the pair has been testing products and investigating consumer trends ever since. 

Anna and Kristina are now the media’s go-to experts for all things shopping.  They have made regular guest appearances on Good Morning America, The Rachael Ray Show, Canada AM and CBC Newsworld.  In addition to a syndicated column in the US, their work has appeared in numerous newspapers and magazines including ‘InStyle’, ‘Glow’ and ‘TV Week’.

The Shopping Bags has won numerous Leo awards and two Gemini award nominations.  Anna and Kristina are co-authors of the show's companion book, The Shopping Bags: Tips, Tricks and Inside Information to Make You a Savvy Shopper (Dutton; August 2005).  

Richard Edelman is the president and CEO of the world’s largest independent public relations firm with over 3,100 employees in 51 offices worldwide.  Edelman, named “Large Agency of the Year 2006” by PRWeek and   “Agency to Watch Out For in 2007”and “Agency A-List 2008” by Ad Age, has been a leader in public relations since it was founded in 1952.  Richard’s blog, 6 A.M., which launched in September 2004, receives more than 2,000 visitors a day.

Richard Edelman was named president and CEO in September 1996. Prior to that, he served as president of Edelman’s U.S. operations, regional manager of Europe and manager of the firm’s New York office.

Richard has extensive experience in marketing and reputation management, with current assignments for Scotts Miracle Gro, Credit Suisse, Avaya, and Lower Manhattan. He has counseled several countries on economic development programs, including Egypt, Israel and Mexico.

Recently, Richard has worked on an HJ Heinz proxy contest with Nelson Peltz; Swiss Re’s litigation over insurance claims at the World Trade Center site; and led a team on the development of communications for the Mayor’s Office in New York City on the rebuilding of Lower Manhattan through the “This Is 2010” campaign. 

Richard has special understanding of the non-governmental organization (NGO) movement.  He has spoken on this topic at several conferences including The Institute of Social & Ethical AccountAbility, The Conference Board and the World Economic Forum’s Annual Meeting in Davos.  Edelman’s research on NGOs in the Edelman Trust Barometer has been cited by several publications including The Financial Times and The Wall Street Journal.

Richard won the Silver Anvil, the highest award in the public relations industry, in 1981.  He was named ‘Best Manager of the Year’ by Inside PR magazine in 1995. In 2006, he was awarded “Entrepreneur of the Year 2006 – NY Metropolitan Area” by Ernst & Young. Most recently, Richard was named the “Most Powerful PR Professional” by PR Week in October 2007 and “Agency Executive of the Year” by AdAge in January 2008. 

He serves on the Board of Directors of the New York Historical Society, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Atlantic Council and is the North American Chairman of the International Business Leaders Forum.  He is also a member of the World Economic Forum, the Arthur Page Society, PR Seminar, and the CEO Roundtable on Cancer. 

Richard was graduated from Phillips Exeter Academy in 1972.  He has a Bachelor of Arts degree from Harvard College (1976) and an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School in 1978.  He lives in New York City with his wife, Roz, and three daughters.

Speaker
Ron Bertram
GM & VP, Nintendo Canada

Ron Bertram is the Vice-President, General Manager for Nintendo of Canada Ltd.  He is responsible for all of Nintendo’s business activities in Canada. 

Under Ron’s stewardship, Nintendo of Canada’s business has quadrupled in size to over ½ billion dollars.  In 2004, Nintendo of Canada Ltd. won the British Columbia Marketing Association’s ‘Marketer of the Year’ and Ron Bertram was named to Marketing Magazine’s Power List for 2005.  In 2006, Nintendo of Canada received Vendor of the Year awards from Toys R Us and Wal-Mart.  Strategy Magazine recently awarded ‘Entertainment Marketer of the Year’ in Canada to Ron for his contribution in 2007.

Speaker
Patrick Hart
Director of Marketing, SAP Canada

Patrick Hart is Director, Marketing with SAP Canada, a subsidiary of SAP AG, the world's leading provider of business software with over 41,000 customers in more than 120 countries. In his role, Patrick is responsible for the overall strategy, management and execution of all marketing activities in Canada including vertical industry, solution, technology platform and consulting services marketing programs and campaigns.

Patrick joined SAP Canada in 2004 as part of the firm's Public Services management team to run its marketing initiatives in Canada. He was responsible for helping to rapidly grow this industry practice in his first two years with SAP and continues this drive in his current role with the organization.  With 25 years of professional experience spanning a wide range of marketing and product management roles, Patrick has worked with a variety of multinational corporations and industry pioneers including AT&T, EDS, Mitel, Texar and ResponseLogic.

Patrick graduated from the University of Ottawa with degrees in Business Administration and Management Science. He resides in Ottawa with his wife Rosemary and their three children.

Speaker
Amrita Sondhi
CEO, Movement Global (formerly LuluLemon)

When Chip Wilson started Lululemon, Amrita was the creative force behind the name, the brand strategy and the marketing plan. Amrita’s diverse interests connect in a holistic way to give her the juice to pursue her powerful dreams. She believes that staying aligned with what attracts us is the key to personal satisfaction and success. Amrita is a yoga instructor, cookbook author and, while climbing Mt Kilimanjaro, envisioned and now chairs the Pamoja Foundation (www.pamoja.org).

Amrita is at the cutting edge of the green movement with her current business venture, Movement Global Design (www.movementglobal.com) which markets yoga lifestyle and athletic eco-fashion on line and in a rapidly growing number of stores. 10% of the  proceeds go towards the Pamoja foundation.

Speaker
Dan Heath
Author, Made to Stick

Dan Heath is the co-author, along with his brother Chip, of the book Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die .  Made to Stick is a Business Week and New York Times bestseller, and it has been translated into 23 languages, including Thai, Arabic, and Lithuanian. Amazon readers voted it one of the top 100 books of 2007, and Amazon editors named it the #2 business book of the year.

Dan co-authors a monthly column for Fast Company magazine and serves as a Consultant to the Policy Programs at the Aspen Institute. He has taught and consulted on the topic of "making ideas stick" with organizations such as Microsoft, Macy's, Nestle, and the American Heart Association.

Prior to joining the Aspen Institute, Dan conducted research and wrote case studies for Harvard Business School, and more recently, he worked and taught in the executive education division of Duke University.   Dan is also the co-founder of a startup textbook publishing company in Austin, TX, called Thinkwell—Thinkwell will celebrate its 10th anniversary this fall.

Dan received a B.A. from the University of Texas and an MBA from Harvard Business School, and he now lives in Raleigh, NC.  A proud geeky moment for Dan was his victory in the 2005 New Yorker Cartoon Caption context, beating out 13,000 other entrants. 

Speaker
Patrick Larouche
Director of Marketing, Sympatico/MSN

Patrick Larouche is Director, Marketing with Sympatico.MSN.ca, one of the most visited internet destination in Canada. The Portal combines the best communications tools such as MSN Hotmail and Messenger with the rich content of Sympatico and its partners.

Patrick joined the marketing team of Bell Canada in 1994 has manager of the consumer loyalty and long distance savings programs. In 1999 he was named Associate Director, e-Commerce Business Solutions, where he led the promotion of a new product portfolio among the sales groups and the various segment of business customers.

In 2002, Patrick became Associate Director Performance Bell.ca & Sympatico.MSN where he lead the analytics team and the deployment of call centre applications such as “eCommunication”, and “eChat”. Following the implementation of Omniture, he made a series of presentations at their customer summits in Utah where he demonstrated that minor modifications to the online fulfillment process could drive huge benefits at low cost.

In 2006, Patrick was promoted to Director, Integrated Marketing – Quebec, in this role he helped organize the actions to grow and protect Bell’s brand in the face of increased competition in home telephony market. He returned to Sympatico.MSN in late 2007 to take on his current mandate.

Patrick graduated from Laval University in Quebec City with degrees in Communications and Industrial Relations. He’s currently his completing is MBA at University of Quebec in Montreal.