Leadership Changes at YBIMC

Kris Menon has announced he will step into the new role of Founder & Owner, departing the President‘s role he has held since YBIMC launched. Having conceived of and started YBIMC in 2009, Mr. Menon was determined that new voices in leadership were required to continue the company‘s progression and build on its strong momentum achieved over the past 13 years. In his new role, Mr. Menon will focus on building YBIMC‘s profile, spending more time on strategically growing partnerships and developing new charitable endeavours for the company.

“When I started YBIMC, my only hope was to build a better offering for clients,“ said Menon. “I never put my name on the door given my aim, as a former senior executive who managed various global agencies, was to develop an agency that truly put the client first. I feel strongly that we accomplished a lot of what we set out to do – but am equally confident that a large amount of work, and opportunity, remains. YBIMC continues to take strides and today‘s appointments will solidify our position as one of the country‘s strongest independently owned and operated advertising, media relations and content development agencies.“

Joining the agency as Chief Executive Officer is Blake Hellam. Mr. Hellam is a seasoned executive with more than thirty years of global experience leading large financial institutions. Prior to joining YBIMC, Mr. Hellam was on the Board of Directors for HSBC Bank Indonesia (Jakarta), where in addition to leading the Retail Bank, Wealth, Insurance and Marketing divisions, he also was part of the merger and integration of Bank Ekonomi into PT HSBC Bank Indonesia. Previous to his stint in Indonesia, Mr. Hellam held senior leadership roles with HSBC in Bermuda, The Cayman Islands and Canada. Previous to his time at HSBC, Mr. Hellam spent 20 years at RBC Canada. As CEO of YBIMC, Mr. Hellam will be charged with all financial, operational, legal and strategic oversight of the agency. His focus will be on growing the operation both within and beyond Canadian borders.

“Having spent so much of my career building large, multinational organizations, I was truly excited with this opportunity,“ said Hellam. “In YBIMC I see a dynamic, flourishing organization that possesses the opportunity for limitless growth. As a former Country Head of Marketing and client of YBIMC, I know this agency has talent, drive, ideas, and energy that much larger agencies don't possess. I am excited to work with Kris and lead this award-winning organization.“

Joining Menon and Hellam in the leadership group will be Mark Austin and Tania Abreu. Austin, most recently YBIMC‘s Vice President, has been promoted to President. An omni-channel, data-driven marketer, Austin has a proven track record in a variety of areas of marketing, communications, and creative services. Before joining YBIMC, Austin was Director, Digital Marketing at Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc., where he led media and advertising for all the studio‘s film launches right across Canada. Prior to his role at Warner Bros., Austin worked at BBC Worldwide and Post Media, focusing on marketing, analytics, and ad tech.

Abreu, previously Finance & Operations Director for the agency and a founding shareholder of the company, moves into the new role of Controller. Abreu, who possess a background in both Law and Design, will be responsible for the financial health of the organization. Both Austin and Abreu will report to Hellam.

The company announced it has relocated to the Light Factory building in Liberty Village. Following a competitive review, the company appointed Monaco Interiors to design and build its new head office. The quarter-of-a-million-dollar renovation project will be completed by December 1. The company also announced a long-term hoteling/flex work plan for team members and a strategic focus on increasing staff outside of Ontario. The new office reflects YBIMC‘s ethos of being a creative and welcoming space for all people – team members, clients and visitors. The location was chosen due to its growing reputation as one of the country‘s urban epicenters for creative work, the arts and business innovation.

YBIMC also today announced a full re-brand of the agency. Led by Mark Austin and the agency‘s Creative Services Director, Madeline Neff, the re-brand includes a logo mark and a shift towards using the YBIMC moniker.

For an interview with Kris Menon, or to receive images of the YBIMC Leadership Group, the new YBIMC head office or the new YBIMC branding, get in touch.