Tony Staffieri has officially been appointed President and CEO of Rogers Communications after filling the role on an interim basis since mid-November. Staffieri has also been appointed to the Board of Directors. His official appointment sees the Rogers’ family power struggle come full circle. The company’s Chief Financial Officer (CFO) for nine years, it was Staffieri’s abrupt resignation following a September board meeting that first signalled behind-the-scenes drama. Following Edward Rogers’ appointment of five new independent directors to the board and a November B.C. Supreme Court ruling greenlighting the newly-configured board, CEO Joe Natale’s exit was announced less than two weeks later. Staffieri becomes the third CEO of Rogers Communications in the last six years. Natale held the role for four years and eight months, following Guy Laurence’s sudden departure in 2016 after just three years at the helm of the company. Read more here.
Dave Fuller has exited as President of Rogers Wireless. Fuller had been in the role since March of last year. He previously spent 15 years with TELUS, the last five as President & EVP, TELUS Consumer and Small Business Solutions. He also served as Chairman of the Board of Mitel for two years, prior to joining Rogers. Phil Hartling steps in to helm the Wireless division. Hartling has been with Rogers for almost two decades in various leadership roles and was most recently in charge of Service Area Expansion.
Michelle Tonner, Managing Producer of CTV Northern Ontario, has announced her retirement after 34 years in broadcasting, 28 of those in Sudbury. After stints in radio news at CJET/Q101 Ottawa Valley, Energy 1200/Majic 100 Ottawa and CHEX TV Peterborough, Michelle went on to co-anchor CTV Northern Ontario’s flagship 6 p.m. newscast, a post she held for more than two decades. In 2015, Tonner was named Managing Producer of CTV Northern Ontario, overseeing news operations in Sudbury, Sault Ste. Marie, Timmins and North Bay. Her last day with Bell Media is Feb. 25.
Natalie van Rooy is moving from CTV Kitchener to CTV Ottawa after four years as a video journalist with the station. The Carleton University grad returns to the nation’s capital after two-and-a-half years behind the scenes with Global Toronto, followed by a reporting stint with CTV Northern Ontario in North Bay, prior to joining the Kitchener bureau.
Drew Postey has left 620 CKRM Regina to join CTV Regina as a Digital Content Producer. Postey had been with CKRM for the last five years.
Jon Mace has left his reporter/producer role with BNN Bloomberg to take up a new position with Organigram as a copywriter. Mace had been with BNN for the last three and a half years. Prior to 2018, he held various roles at 680 News (CFTR-AM) Toronto, from anchoring to hosting and producing the station’s weekly podcast.
Mark Strong and Jemeni have returned to Toronto airwaves after a three-month absence following their departure from G98.7 (CKFG-FM). The longtime radio duo join Indigenous radio station 106.5 ELMNT FM (CFPT-FM) as Mark and Jem in the Morning, heard weekdays from 6 – 10 a.m. Having previously helmed the G98.7 morning show together since 2011, Strong initially got his start in radio as part of The Morning Rush on Flow 93.5 (CFXJ-FM) Toronto in 2001. Jemeni, who is also a poet, actress and music journalist, has been in radio since her teens, initially as part of Hip Hop show The Powermove on Toronto community station CKLN-FM. Sound Designer and Production Director Azeem Haq also recently joined ELMNT FM, responsible for imaging both the morning show and the station. Haq was previously with Z103.5 (CIDC-FM) Orangeville, ON. Read more here.
Dave Charles has wrapped a five-year contract consulting with First Peoples Radio and ELMNT FM in Toronto and Ottawa. Charles says he’s moving forward with new media contracts under the banner of his consultancy, MRI – Media RESULTS Inc.
Marc Michaels and Katlynn Millions have exited afternoons on X92.9 (CFEX-FM) Calgary. Heard on the station together for the last four and a half years, the duo haven’t revealed their next move. Berry and Berridge (Matt Berry and Andrew Berridge) are slated to fill the afternoon drive time slot in the interim.
Catherine Verdon-Diamond is joining Montreal’s The Beat 92.5 (CKBE-FM) as the station’s new afternoon drive co-host, alongside Cat Spencer from 5 – 7 p.m., starting Jan. 24. She replaces Claudia Marques, who moved to mornings with the departure of Nikki Balch. Verdon-Diamond has most recently been with CBC Montreal as the regular weather host on the supper hour and late night newscast. Prior to returning to CBC in late 2019, she was a weather and traffic host on the local edition of Breakfast Television for six years, up until the show’s cancellation.
Amy Hannah has joined Bounce 99.5 (CKKW-FM) Kitchener as afternoon drive announcer. Hannah has been with iHeartRadio for the last four years, most recently hosting afternoons and serving as music director at Move 106.9 (CIBX-FM) Fredericton.
Dr. Art Hister, a frequent media contributor on health issues since 1991, has announced his retirement. Hister has appeared on the BBC, CBC Radio and TV, CKNW Vancouver and Global BC, among other outlets. He’s also consulted for health and wellness organizations including the BC Government, First Nations Health Authority, the B.C. Alzheimer Society, Tapestry Foundation, and the Urology Foundation at Vancouver General Hospital. Prior to his foray into media, Hister was a family doctor in Vancouver for 20 years.
Chantal Machabée has joined the Montreal Canadiens as Vice-President, Communications. Machabée has been a host with RDS for the last 32 years and prior to that held sports reporting and hosting roles with Groupe TVA, Radio-Canada in Ottawa, and NTR.
Josh Goldberg is joining theScore as a Baseball Editor. Up until this past September, Goldberg was with Sportsnet 590 The Fan (CJCL-AM) for seven years, holding various roles including producing Toronto Blue Jays baseball broadcasts for six years across the Sportsnet Radio Network.
Shireen Ahmed, co-host of feminist sports podcast Burn It All Down and a columnist and contributor to TSN, has joined CBC Sports. Ahmed says she’ll be contributing across all platforms as a Senior Correspondent.
Paul James is departing CityNews 1130 (CKWX-AM) Vancouver to take on News & Program Director duties at Radio NL (CHNL-AM) Kamloops. He takes over from Howie Reimer, who is now Executive Director of the Kamloops Central Business Improvement Association. James previously worked as a reporter/anchor at NL in the late ’90s, prior to joining News 1130 and CKNW Vancouver. He returned to B.C. in 2019 after 14 years in Beijing where he was a host for China Radio International.
Bailey Nicholson has announced she’s leaving CityNews 1130 (CKWX-AM) Vancouver and moving on from journalism. Nicholson, who most recently has been co-anchoring afternoon drive, joined Rogers Vancouver in 2018 as an anchor on the evening show. Prior to that, she was the National News Anchor for the Corus Radio Network, in addition to working as an anchor, reporter and producer at 980 CKNW Vancouver.
John Voiles has been appointed CHEK Media Group General Sales and Marketing Manager, effective Jan. 17. The employee-owned Victoria-based independent broadcaster says the newly-created position reflects its growth in the local and extended B.C. market, as well as projected future growth across its broadcast, OTT, podcast, and digital platforms. Prior to joining CHEK TV, Voiles served as VP of Sales for Western Canada for Bell Media for eight years and prior to that was VP and GM of Astral Radio Plus. He’ll be based in Vancouver and support sales teams on Vancouver Island, Metro Vancouver and Toronto.
Go Button Media has promoted four team members as it gears up for record production in 2022. Robin Webster, previously Director of Development, has been promoted to Vice President of Development and Casting, while Sarah Hewitt, previously Manager of Development, is now Director of Development. Webster and Hewitt will be driving development of new IP and talent, including work on recently announced series Forgotten Frontlines, Colossal Machines, Mysteries of The Ancient Dead, Call Me Mother S2, and Secret Societies: In The Shadows. Stephanie Baird moves from Line Producer to Director of Production and Rebecca Costa is promoted to Director of Post Production, having previously held the title of Post Supervisor. Baird will oversee the company’s production slate both in Canada and internationally, while Costa will supervise the expansion of the company’s edit team, post schedules, network deliveries and systems.
Wayne Carter is exiting as Executive Director of FIN Atlantic International Film Festival. At the helm of the festival for the last decade, he’ll remain with the organization until March. Prior to joining FIN, Carter held various roles in film and video distribution, including serving as the Regional Manager for Rogers Video; National Inventory Manager for Video One Canada; VP & GM of Cineplex Media; and VP, Sales for Warner Home Video.
Liz Hover has been promoted at the National Screen Institute (NSI) from Director of Communications to Director of Operations. Hover will work alongside NSI CEO Joy Loewen and the senior management team to ensure effective workflow within the organization. She’ll also be responsible for the development and evaluation of training initiatives, internal communication, managing budgets and overseeing staff and new hires to create growth and equity.
Tom Lombardi has been appointed President of Network NFT Studios, a newly-created division within Vancouver-based Network Media Group for the research and development of non-fungible tokens – NFTs – related to media and entertainment properties. Lombardi was formerly a Director with Wave Financial, leading the digital asset investment team in Los Angeles, and was the Head of Growth for the Enterprise Ethereum Alliance, working with global companies to embrace blockchain technology.
Coleman Insights has promoted four members of its media research leadership team. Eileen Genna is promoted to Senior Vice-President, Business Operations; David Baird is promoted to Senior Vice-President, Research Operations; Jay Nachlis is promoted to Vice-President/Consultant & Marketing Director; and Meghan Campbell is promoted to Vice- President/Consultant & Director, Qualitative Services. Genna will continue to oversee the company’s business operations, including finance, human resources, facilities, and information technology, while Baird will continue to head the company’s research operations, including study design, fielding strategy, quality control, data analysis, and software development. In their new positions, Nachlis and Campbell will take on more “point person” roles on client projects. Nachlis will continue to lead marketing efforts, while Campbell will direct the company’s qualitative services, including the CampfireSM Online Discussion Groups service it launched in 2021.
