Agencies:

Co-founder and former chairman and chief creative officer of Ammirati Puris in Toronto, Doug Robinson, has created his own agency – Doug Agency. He is joined at his new Toronto shop by the former Ammirati senior creative team of Mark Biernacki, copywriter and Steph Owens, art director and by Liz Atkins, Ammirati’s former SVP account director.

Norene Kimberley has joined i2i Advertising & Marketing as director, strategy & business planning in Vancouver. Kimberley’s 22-year resume showcases experience with White Spot, Scott Paper, Workers Compensation Board, BC Rail and the United Way.

Spencer Francey Peters has appointed Dean Martin to the position of creative director. Most recently, he was a principal in the multi-disciplinary design studio Carey George Dean Martin. His portfolio includes corporate identities for Canada Trust, Noma Industries and Maple Leaf Foods.

Toronto’s MediaVest Worldwide (Canada) reports a slew of promotions. Michelle Jairam has been promoted to group media director, Sandra Reiss moves to media manager, Jun Chen climbs to negotiator and Niri Panaram has been promoted to assistant planner/buyer.

StarCom Worldwide’s Toronto office reports three promotions. Leanne Burnett has been promoted to broadcast investment supervisor. Helen Galanis moves to the position of strategy planner. Veronica Gonzales is promoted to junior buyer.

Vancouver’s Dossiercreative has appointed Elaine Bayley to the position of implementation design and Nazreena Khan to the position of design and implementation.

Encore Encore Strategic Marketing has added three new staffers to its client services team in Toronto. Jennifer Mason and Kelley Bosley join as account supervisors and Katie Shanks joins as account coordinator.

Linda O’Connor has joined Toronto’s McDonnell Haynes Advertising as VP, TD Bank Financial Group Relationship.

Media:

Global Television in Toronto has appointed Bill Hunt as VP and GM of specialty TV. Hunt has held a variety of executive positions Rogers Cablesystems.

Montreal’s Gesca has appointed Claude Gagnon as president and publisher of the Ottawa newspaper Le Droit. Gagnon has occupied the position of EVP at Le Soleil in Quebec City for one year, and also served as president of Gesca’s commercial printing plants.

CBC Television in Toronto has appointed Doug Brooks as its new chief marketing and sales officer. Prior to joining CBC, Brooks spent 13 years at Coca Cola Canada, holding several senior sales and marketing positions.

Sympatico-Lycos, of Toronto, has appointed two new members to its sales team. Mira Shemtov joins as director of sales and e-commerce and will be managing the Toronto sales team. In addition, Nathalie Boucher joins as regional sales manager. A 15-year veteran of BCE, Boucher brings 13 years of sales experience.

Public Relations:

Sam Bornstein has been appointed VP and GM of Thornley Fallis Communications, Toronto. Bornstein began his communications career in the mid-1970s as a journalist for a national radio network.

Wilcox Group in Vancouver has appointed former newsman Jason Mercier as communications consultant. Prior to joining Wilcox, Mercier spent six years as an editor and reporter at various community newspapers in the B.C. interior.