Our
Difference Our
Difference
Our differences are significant:
Our
People
Andy Gawenda - President
Andy Gawenda has spent his entire career in the world of
marketing and advertising. His experience spans the complete spectrum of corporate,
package goods and retail marketing and advertising.
In his earlier years, Andy gained account management experience at Ogilvy and Mather, Hayhurst, DDB and Vickers and Benson, on accounts such as General Foods, Hertz, Colgate-Palmolive, Heinz and Sunoco. From 1975-1984 Andy was Director of Client Services at Kert Advertising, responsible for the advertising/promotional requirements of major retail clients such as Shoppers Drug Mart, Peoples Jewelers and Woolco. In 1984, Andy opened the Toronto office of W. B. Doner, and as Senior Vice President, Client Services was responsible for the advertising needs of Zellers and Sanyo. In 1987, Andy formed Gawenda and Company.
Andy is an MBA graduate of Columbia University and is an avid downhill skier, snowboarder, mountain biker and white-water kayaker. Andy is happily married to Claudette and has three beautiful daughters.
Ian Roberts - Vice President, Account Director
Ian Roberts provides
sound advertising and marketing experience to Gawenda and Company. The combination of a
B.Sc. degree in statistics and over twelve years of creativity in advertising makes Ian a
unique left brain-right brain individual … equally comfortable with a computer
spreadsheet or a blank sheet of paper.
Ian began his career at Saatchi and Saatchi Advertising and for nearly six years he excelled at a number of different roles including media, research and account services. His account responsibilities included Toyota Canada and Procter and Gamble. During the past four years Ian has worked for a number of entrepreneurial advertising and marketing firms on such clients as AST Computer, Cisco Systems, Scotiabank, Border Network Technologies and Ford of Canada.
Ian is an ardent tennis, squash and golf player and lives in downtown Toronto with his wife Michelle and son Andrew.
Greg McInnis - Account Executive
Greg McInnis brings to Gawenda and Company experience in Marketing,
Advertising and Sales. Greg graduated from Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia
where he earned a Bachelor of Commerce with a Major in Marketing Management.
From his first position at a small advertising agency in Halifax, he went on to manage multi-million dollar accounts in Toronto as an Account Manager for a Fortune 500 company. He was very successful in this role ranking as the number one Account Manager in Canada. He then went on to hold a marketing position at the Women’s Wear Group, a large Canadian retailing enterprise. This position had him involved in everything from advertising and public relations initiatives to print production and event planning.
Greg is a talented young professional with excellent management and creative abilities. He is very excited to be a part of the Gawenda and Company team. His interests, among other things, include health and fitness, home computing, and travel.
Christie Gee - Junior Account Executive
With two years experience in commerical production and many years experience
with the management of advertising and marketing initiatives for a variety of clients,
Christie is an important contributor to the Gawenda and Company team.
Christie’s career began as Assistant Account Coordinator for several work terms at a Toronto Advertising Agency where she coordinated campaigns for a wide range of retail and national clients. Since then, she has been responsible for media planning and buying, creative production and billing for Gawenda and Company.
Christie has a degree in Television Production from Fanshawe College and hopes to gain experience in international marketing during an extensive European tour planned for the near future.
Julius Freilich - Media Director
Julius has over 20 years experience in marketing, advertising
and media. Innovation might be the thread that weaves throughout his career. He began his
career with large advertising agencies such as McCann-Erickson and Foster Advertising,
cutting his teeth on multinational accounts such as Coca-Cola, Ontario Government AOR, CNE
and Distillers Company. At Kert Advertising, Julius supervised all broadcast planning and
buying on fast-paced retail accounts such as Shoppers Drug Mart, Woolco and Peoples
Jewelers. In 1979, Julius was recruited by Saffer Cravit & Freedman to work on US
media for a large stable of clients. He then went on to work with JWT Direct where he was
instrumental in creating, for Midas Canada, locally based media tactics that fulfilled a
national marketing mandate.
Julius’s media philosophy is to provide full service media partnership based on value added media buying. Something he has proven time and time again. He is a well-known speaker and has written numerous articles concerning advertising and consumer trends.
Julius has an MA from the University of Toronto, is a gourmet barbecue chef, a huge Toronto Raptors fan and first and foremost, a family man.
Mike Walmsley - Creative Director/Art Director
Mike Walmsley hails from the U.K. where for many years he
honed his craft of art direction. Working with some of the most influential people in the
business, he did award winning work for a variety of clients including Sony, Guinness and
Kellogg’s.
In 1988, Mike moved to Canada and established a successful, ten-person design studio called The Merton Circle. After several years he moved on to provide creative and art direction to some prominent brands including Coca-Cola, First Choice Haircutters, New York Fries, Al Frisco’s and Jack Astor’s. He has also contributed creative expertise to the Retirement Counsel of Canada, Tridel and C.I. Mutual Funds.
Mike is an enthusiastic gourmet and a huge fan of Muskoka, where he spends almost every weekend.