Thank Frank Palmer. With the bold, gregarious, legendary adman at the pesky retirement age, it got us thinking: Just who are the Frank Juniors?

Who are the wildly savvy, opinionated, charismatic marketing execs and agency heads of tomorrow? The kind of person who would drop his pants – with nary a flinch when asked – and appear on the cover of our magazine in yellow happy-faced boxer shorts as he so memorably did in September 2004, but also have the smarts to build a stellar agency, make waves in the industry, and become an icon in the process.

And who are the next Phil Donnes? He spent 15 years at Kellogg’s in Canada and Europe (moving from VP marketing to president); made a stop as president of Toronto’s Cossette; served as chair of the ACA and is now in the top spot at Campbell’s – who has that kind of marketing prowess to elevate brand equity to a top business concern?

So, with Frank and Phil serving as inspiration, we approached some of the other best in the biz to get their personal picks on who they deem to be the next icons.

Most you’ve heard of; others, perhaps not yet. Give it time, you will.

The illustrious panel

We invited a mix of agency leaders and heads of top-notch brands to provide a wide-ranging view of who they think has the right stuff. In addition to Palmer and Donne, who effectively cover a traditional agency and a CPG, we included the president of a media agency, the head of a worldwide retail chain and the CEO of a non-traditional agency to round out the pack and share their views on who best represents the passion, drive and vision required to lead the way.

Frank Palmer, CEO/chairman, DDB Canada
Phil Donne, president, Campbell Canada
Annette Verschuren, president, Home Depot Canada
Sunni Boot, president/CEO, ZenithOptimedia
Tony Chapman, president/CEO, Capital C

Frank’s picks
Rob Guenette, president, Taxi Toronto
Scot Keith, DDB Canada, group account director

Phil’s picks
Mark Childs, VP marketing, Campbell Canada
Richard Burjaw, VP marketing, Pepsi-Cola Canada

Sunni’s pick
Julie Myers, SVP/GM, Zenith Optimedia

Tony’s pick
Geoff Craig, VP/GM, home and personal care, Unilever

Annette’s pick
Ian Morton, CEO, Summerhill Group