As Chair of Canada, Latin America and the U.S. Western Region, Gail Becker brings a breadth of experience encompassing consumer marketing, public affairs, technology, and entertain­ment, where she has proven herself a driving force in meeting challenges associated with today’s marketplace.

Throughout her tenure with Edelman, Gail has served as strategic counsel on a broad range of clients including Warner Bros., Starbucks, Microsoft and Symantec.

She joined Edelman after serving as vice president of communications at Warner Home Entertainment where she was charged with spearheading the global public relations launch of the DVD format on behalf of Warner Bros. and Time Warner, leaders in development of the technology. Throughout several controversial format and copyright battles, she served as the primary PR strategist and spokesperson for the companies. Prior to joining Warner, Gail was West Coast correspondent and bureau chief for the Medical News Network operating from Los Angeles, where she reported on health-related issues, policy and medical breakthroughs affecting the healthcare industry.

Before returning to Los Angeles in 1994, Gail received a political appointment in the first Clinton administration to serve as director of communications for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services under Donna Shalala. There, she developed and implemented communications programs to promote the agency and its divisions, including the FDA and Centers for Disease Control. Prior to that post, she served as a member of the national press staff and as the primary on-site satellite producer for candidates Bill Clinton and Al Gore during their ’92 presidential campaign.

Gail began her career as an on-air broadcast journalist in local news and then as a correspondent in Washington, D.C., primarily covering Capitol Hill and The White House. She holds a bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of California Los Angeles and a master’s in journalism from North­western University.

Gail currently serves as Chair of Edelman’s Global Women’s Executive Network (GWEN), is a board member of the Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce and volunteers her time and expertise to help a number of deserving organizations including Cedar Sinai’s Good Beginnings where she helps parents cope with infant loss or illness and the new Museum of the Holocaust in Los Angeles.

John Clinton is a proven leader of global advertising, communications and media companies. Most recently, he was senior vice president, Digital Solutions and New Media for Transcontinental Media, one of Canada’s largest print and digital media companies. Prior to that, Clinton served as president and CEO of Grey Worldwide Canada from 1999-2008, where he managed more than 130 employees across Toronto, Vancouver and Montreal, working with clients including RIM, P&G, Invesco, Starbucks and Dairy Queen.

Prior to Grey, Clinton worked for J Walter Thomson from 1979-1999, where he last served in a dual capacity as chairman, Canada and worldwide director for Kellogg’s in New York. Throughout his tenure at JWT, he played a key role among the executive leadership of the organization, holding several senior positions including executive vice president/general manager, Chicago and president and CEO, Canada, as well as serving on the JWT worldwide Board of Directors. He was responsible for business development, client management and team building, with key accounts including Kraft, Dell, Discovery Channel, Unilever and Kellogg’s.

Clinton is past Chairman of the Special Olympics Festival – the fundraising arm for the Special Olympics in Canada – and currently sits on its National Board. He also sits on the Boards of the Power Plant (Contemporary Art Gallery of Canada) and George P. Johnson Experience Marketing. Clinton holds a BA in Urban Geography from Queen’s University at Kingston.

Lisa Kimmel has been described by clients and colleagues alike as a natural leader and a smart, strategic thinker who empowers others to be and do their best. One of her greatest strengths is her ability to rally a team together to co-create exceptional programs and outcomes, both internally and externally. Her fresh, collaborative and authentic approach has not only resulted in award-winning programs for clients, but has fostered an office culture based on innovation, teamwork and integrity.

As General Manager at Edelman’s Toronto office, Lisa is responsible for the recruitment and retention of talent, client servicing, new business development and reputation management. She also oversees the operation and financial performance of the office. Her vision, tenacity and dedication have championed an environment that inspires creativity, learning and cross-practice integration where employees are excited to come to work every day. In fact, under her leadership, the Toronto office has almost doubled in size.

Lisa has extensive experience in consumer marketing communications. Prior to her current role, she led Edelman’s Consumer Marketing practice and worked with clients in a wide variety of areas, including packaged goods, food/nutrition, consumer health, fashion/beauty, retail, not-for-profit and consumer technology. Prior to joining Edelman, Lisa worked in consumer practices at two leading public relations firms.

Lisa is a graduate of the University of Toronto and holds an Honours Bachelor of Arts degree. She is a member of the Canadian Council of PR Firms, and is a past board member of IABC/Toronto.

lisa.kimmel@edelman.com

Anik Trudel has extensive experience in employee recruitment, mobility and retention, intergenerational programs and in devising strategies to combine coherent internal and external corporate communications through Employer Branding.

Before joining Edelman Canada (Montreal) as Senior Vice President Corporate Communication & National Practice Leader Employee Engagement, Anik was a senior partner at Stikeman Elliott, one of Canada’s leading corporate law firm. While having a very successful litigation practice with major public and private Canadian and international companies, she has worked in highly complex litigation matters in a variety of industries (manufacturing, retail, High-tech, bio-technology, employment). She held several senior management functions, namely as a member of the management committee, the knowledge management committee and as president of the recruitment and employee engagement committee and president of the marketing committee.

In 2006, she founded an Employer Branding company, providing tools and know-how on marketing a strong distinctive employer brand that connects organizational values, people strategy, HR policies and the corporate brand.

anik.trudel@edelman.com

Patti Schom-Moffatt is founder of Karyo Communications, the predecessor of Edelman Vancouver. Patti is a seasoned public relations and communications strategist and has worked with senior decision-makers in both the public and private sectors.

During more than 25 years in the business, she has worked with both public and private sector organizations at the local, regional, provincial and federal levels. Her expertise includes strategic communications planning, public relations, media relations, issues management, event management, stakeholder communications, corporate communications, community relations and facilitation. Clients include Kitimat LNG, a major energy development project, Apache Canada, Chevron, the Industry Training Authority, the BC Nurses Union, the Resort Municipality of Whistler, Vancouver Coastal Health and the BC Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS.

Patti holds a Master of Social Work degree from Carleton University in Ottawa (1979) and a BA from Waterloo University (1975). She is a board member of Canuck Place and a former nominee for the YWCA Influential Women in Business Award.

patti.schom-moffatt@edelman.com

Paul Welsh is co-General Manager at Edelman Vancouver and has more than 20 years of client service, public relations and consulting experience. During the past 17 years at Edelman, he led the transformation of Edelman’s Vancouver office from a research and public relations firm into an integrated, holistic marketing and communications company that is now part of the largest independent public relations company in the world.

He has been recognized by Business in Vancouver as one of the top “40 under 40” business leaders to watch in Vancouver. He is part of Edelman’s global Olympic network and led the company’s outreach and efforts on the ground in Vancouver in the run up to and during the 2010 Vancouver Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games. He also sits as a member of Edelman Canada’s senior executive committee.

His strategic communications, media relations and client service experience is extensive. He has led or is leading Edelman’s work for Canadian Pacific, Shell Canada, TransLink’s Faregate/Smart Card Project, GE, Petro-Canada, the Rick Hansen Foundation, the Hudson’s Bay Company, the Canadian Olympic Committee, the Hydrogen Highway Project, Emaar Canada, the City of Vancouver, and Powerex.

paul.welsh@edelman.com

As Managing Director of Edelman Calgary, Tanya is responsible for the development, resourcing and oversight of Edelman Canada’s newest office.

Recently relocated to Calgary, Tanya spent nine years at Edelman Vancouver where she led integrated communications campaigns for a wide range of clients in corporate, government, consumer, energy, and construction sectors. An experienced project manager, she provides initial strategy and ongoing counsel as well as logistics, content development, writing support and campaign management.

A complement to her integrated project work, Tanya’s experience ranges from digital strategy and development to branding, media relations, event coordination and design. Her recent clients include Chevron Canada, the Vancouver Airport Authority (YVR), Industry Training Authority of BC, Hudson’s Bay Company, Petro-Canada/Suncor, CTV and Johnson & Johnson.

Prior to joining Edelman, Tanya worked in the federal Communications ministry where she was responsible for liaising with other government departments to communicate programs and priorities at the provincial level. She also held positions in the not-for-profit and arts sectors.

Tanya holds a Bachelor’s degree in English from the University of Saskatchewan and a Bachelor’s degree in Communications from Simon Fraser University.

tanya.anand@edelman.com