CLIENTS:

NBA Canada has recruited two new members to its Toronto-based team – Andrew Lee as manager, consumer products and licensing and Joanna Englander as co-ordinator, marketing partnerships. Lee was formerly manager of marketing promotions at Universal Studios Consumer Products Canada, while Englander was NBA product and promotions assistant at Champion Canada.

AGENCIES:

Leo Burnett has boosted its ranks with a new senior creative team. Copywriter Tim Kavander and art director Bill Newbery have joined the Toronto agency as associate creative directors. Kavander comes to Leo Burnett from McLaren McCann, where he was an associate creative director. Before that, he was a senior copywriter at Roche Macaulay & Partners Advertising, where he worked on the IKEA, Mercedes-Benz and Kawasaki accounts. Newbery comes from Young & Rubicam, where he was a group creative director, working on Ford, PEI Tourism and H&R Block.

TBWA/Chiat/Day has decided that two is better than one. The Toronto agency has asked Pat Pirisi and Benjamin Vendramin to co-helm the creative department as associate creative directors, replacing creative director Jamie Way, who left the company by mutual agreement. For the past three years, Pirisi and Vendramin have worked as a team on campaigns for clients such as AGF Funds, Nissan Canada, Shoppers Drug Mart, Moosehead Breweries and Nokia.

Starcom Worldwide has promoted both Jeff Marchand and Donna Smith to group media directors from group media managers. Marchand will handle Cadbury, H.J. Heinz, Ontario Jockey Club, Smuckers and YTV, while Smith will oversee Allstate, AOL Canada and Wrigley.

Montreal-based PNMD Communication has named Gregor Angus its executive VP and general manager. Meanwhile, Pierre Nolin, who continues as president of subsidiary Nolin Branding & Design, has been appointed PNMD’s executive VP, corporate development.

MEDIA:

Société Radio-Canada has hired Richard Portelance to be its general manager, sales and marketing, TV. Portelance, the former president and general manager at Aliments V-H, has held senior management and marketing positions with Nestlé, Danone and Aliments Delisle, among others.

Rogers Media Publishing has appointed Marc Blondeau president of Editions Rogers Media, as well as publisher of its weekly French-language newsmagazine L’actualité. Blondeau joins the company after six years as VP of information and public affairs at French-language network Groupe TVA. He succeeds Jean Paré, who stepped down as publisher of L’actualité after 22 years to become senior advisor to the parent company.

Elle Canada has its Toronto editorial team in place. Vanessa Berkling has been named associate editor and Rita Silvan senior editor for the new fashion glossy, which will hit newsstands next March. Berkling was most recently editor-in-chief of U.S. luxury lifestyle mag Millionaire. Silvan joins Elle Canada from Flare, where she was the features editor. Elle Canada is the product of a partnership between Transcontinental, which publishes Elle Québec, and Hachette Filipacchi, the world’s largest magazine publisher.