Donald Lizotte, General Manager and Chief Revenue Office, CBC & Radio-Canada Media Solutions, is set to retire March 31. Lizotte has been with the Media Solutions group the last three and a half years. He previously spent 14 years with Quebecor, while also serving on the boards of Numeris, ThinkTV and the European Group of Television Advertising (EGTA). He’ll be succeeded by Hisham Ghostine, who’ll oversee all teams associated with CBC/Radio-Canada’s self-generated revenue, including the advertising, distribution and content-licensing streams. Ghostine joined CBC as Executive Director of Sales, Marketing & Olympics, Toronto and Western Canada in 2021 and promoted to Executive Director, Digital Monetization, Sales, Marketing and Olympics. Before joining CBC/Radio-Canada, he was the CEO of Media and Performance Brands at Dentsu Aegis Network in Canada and prior to that spent 10 years at Omnicom Media Group in various roles, including Chief Growth & Revenue Officer for the Middle East and North Africa.
Cam Gordon has joined Rogers Communications as Director, Media Relations. Gordon was previously Head of Communications for Twitter Canada and among those caught up in layoffs in November with the transition to new ownership under Elon Musk.
Annette Ejiofor is the new Managing Editor of Podcasts at Canadaland. Previously a digital producer for the Toronto Star for the last two and a half years, Ejiofor obtained a Master of Journalism from Columbia in 2017. Her resume includes stints with L.A.-based Black millennial news site, Blavity and Spectrum News (NY1) in Albany, New York.
Jim “Boomer” Gordon has announced he’s stepping away from SiriusXM’s Canadian-produced NHL Network Radio due to health reasons. Gordon has been the longtime host of The Point, among other shows and podcasts, most recently co-hosting the network’s early afternoon weekday show with Jake Hahn.
Haley Lewis has joined Global Vancouver as a reporter with a focus on Indigenous affairs across B.C. and Alberta. A 2018 UBC Journalism grad, Lewis has been freelancing for the last number of years with contracts at The Conversation as Culture & Society Editor, HuffPost Canada, TVO, and CBC.
Vanessa Wright has joined Global Halifax as a video journalist. A 2022 Toronto Metropolitan University Journalism grad, Wright previously interned with Muslim Network TV in Toronto.
Dan Taekema is CBC’s new reporter in Kingston. Based out of CBC Ottawa, Taekema has been with the public broadcaster for the last six years with previous stops in Windsor and Hamilton.
Kerrisa Wilson has been named the new editor of NOW Toronto under new publisher, Gonez Media. Wilson arrives from CP24 where she’s been a writer for television and the web since 2018. Earlier in her career, she was a reporter and videographer for CJDC-TV in Fort St. John and a news anchor on local radio stations, The Bear (CKNL-FM) and SUN FM (CHRX-FM).
David Gale has been acclaimed by the ACTRA Toronto Council to serve as President for a second term. Over his first term, he was instrumental in moving the union’s work online – from the ACTRA Awards, to the Members’ Conference, and collective bargaining and committee work. A Gemini and Galaxi award-winning performer, Gale previously served as ACTRA Toronto’s Vice President, Communications for 13 years, published the Performers suite of magazines, wrote and directed the ACTRA Awards, and hosted the union’s celebrity podcast ACTRA Spotlight. He also served as executive liaison for ACTRA Toronto’s senior members’ Act Your Age (AYA) and sits on the Executive of ACTRA National, the National Bargaining Team, and co-chairs the National Constitution Committee.
Karla Laird has been upped at UBCP/ACTRA to Executive Administrative Director, overseeing the day-to-day operations of the union. Laird has been with the organization since Sept. 2021 as Director of Member Services & Communications. Prior to that, she held various comms roles with the Better Business Bureau of Mainland BC.
Andrew Milne has joined Relish Studios as VP, Growth. Milne will be responsible for leading strategy, driving revenue growth, and developing new partnerships for Relish across all divisions. The company has doubled in size since 2020 and now has over 160 designers, illustrators, writers, animators, and engineers working from offices in Toronto, Ottawa, Vancouver, Los Angeles, Atlanta, and Costa Rica. Before joining Relish Studios, Milne was the Chief Revenue Officer for cybersecurity company Field Effect Software. Prior to that, he was the founder of creative and digital content agency bv02 and co-founder of Ebou Learning. Relish also recently welcomed JP Burdett as their new Director of Growth Marketing and Frank Desimini as Director, Product.
Chance Mason has joined Quickplay, the Toronto-headquartered cloud-native OTT platform provider. Mason, who joins as head of Strategic Account Management, arrives from Videon where he held a similar role. He was also previously a partner in Atlanta North Studios.
BBTV Holdings, the Vancouver-based media tech company offering content creator and influencer solutions, has announced the appointment of Khamphiou “KB” Brinkley as Chief Financial Officer. Brinkley is a seasoned finance transformation executive, most recently an Associate Partner at EY as a Finance Transformation and EPM Solution Leader. She’s also held senior finance executive positions at Electronic Arts, Blackhawk Network, and Multiview Inc. Ben Groot will remain as a key member of the finance team with a focus on financial planning and analysis and special projects. Meanwhile, Catherine Warren joins BBTV’s Board of Directors. A digital innovation and economic development executive, Warren serves as the inaugural CEO for municipal innovation authority Edmonton Unlimited, and was previously CEO of Vancouver Economic Commission and The Centre for Digital Media. Ryan Holmes has stepped down from the board to pursue other interests.
