FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Branded Cities Fortifies Canadian Leadership:
Four Executives Promoted to Senior Roles
Propelling Branded Cities to lead North America’s Out-of-Home landscape,
reporting directly to President and COO, Vaibhav “VG” Gupta.
Toronto, Canada – Branded Cities, North America’s premier Out-of-Home (OOH) company, has been leading with innovative digital solutions, unique large-format assets, and cutting-edge media offerings in Canada. The recent departure of Toby Sturek, who served as President of the Canadian branch, made way for exciting opportunities for homegrown leadership.
Four key executives at Branded Cities have recently been promoted to senior roles and will make up the leadership core in Canada. This strategic move is aimed at driving the company forward and reflects its ongoing growth and success in Canada. The newly appointed executives will report directly to the President and COO, Vaibhav Gupta (VG), and the realignment underscores the company’s confidence in their leadership capabilities. With this move, Branded Cities is poised to continue its success and deliver even more value to its customers and stakeholders.
Bill McDonald, who has led the sales and client service operations of Branded Cities Canada since 2017, will serve as the new Chief Revenue Officer, Canada. Since joining Branded Cities, McDonald has played an instrumental role in overseeing the sales strategy, driving significant growth across all assets and advertising categories. Prior to joining Branded Cities, McDonald spent 25 years in senior management roles across several leading organizations including Rogers Media, Quebecor, Torstar, and Metro Newspapers.
Ali Satchu, a seasoned leader with a long tenure in OOH marketing, assumes the role of Senior Vice-President of Marketing at Branded Cities. With over a dozen years of experience in building brands and leading high-performing teams, Ali has been instrumental in shaping Branded Cities’ national marketing strategy. Since joining in 2017, Ali’s innovative marketing initiatives continue to elevate Branded Cities’ position as a dominant force in the OOH market.
Kevin Thurlbeck, who has been with every iteration of the company for over twenty years, will serve as the new Senior Vice-President of Operations/Construction. Thurlbeck sets the bar for excellence in creating valuable relationships with landlords, builders, and developers of unique and ground-breaking OOH assets.
Amit Adhya, who joined the company in 2018, will serve as the new Senior Vice-President of Finance. Adhya brings over 20 years of experience holding senior management positions from various notable corporations which includes Unilever, Whirlpool, General Electric, and Metro Logistics. His valuable efforts and financial leadership have helped Branded Cities excel as a major OOH operator in Canada.
“We have seen tremendous growth in Canada, majority of which is credited to strong, homegrown leadership within our company. Our confidence and trust in our Canadian leadership is a testament to years of excellent performance and operational stability. We are excited to move onwards and upwards with our new senior leadership group”, said Steve Ellman, Chairman and CEO of Branded Cities and Ellman Co.
Buoyed by recent milestones such as the redevelopment of Canada’s largest digital screen, The Atrium, and the acquisition of operating rights to Roadside Digital Network at Woodbine Entertainment, Branded Cities remains at the forefront of innovation in OOH. With a focus on pioneering digital capabilities and ground-breaking creative executions, the empowered leadership team is poised to elevate Branded Cities as the undisputed leader in premium OOH solutions across North America.
About Branded Cities
Branded Cities, which is owned by EL Media and Shamrock Capital, is a leading Out-of-Home media company with an integrated network of premier digital and static signage across North America. The digital and static media assets span across some of the largest markets in the United States and Canada (New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Philadelphia, Toronto, Edmonton, Montréal, Ottawa and many more) and are situated in the country’s most valuable Out-of-Home environments such as Times Square, the Las Vegas Strip, West Hollywood, Union Station and Yonge-Dundas Square. Branded Cities empowers brands to deliver impactful and engaging messages to North America’s most desirable, hard-to-reach audiences. EL Media is an affiliate of The Ellman Companies (“Ellman”). Ellman is a privately owned media, real estate and investments group founded in 1972 with diverse interests in the U.S., Canada and the Caribbean.
For more information, visit: brandedcities.ca or brandedcities.com
Follow Branded Cities on X and Instagram. (@brandedcities)
Canadian Press Contact:
Ali Satchu
SVP, Marketing
(416) 408–0800
asatchu@brandedcities.com