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Because our opportunity is so unique, and purpose so ambitious, we seek counsel from industry leaders to help us think through challenges and develop solutions for the future of eCommerce in Canada. Our Advisors contribute valuable global, US and Canadian expertise and strategic guidance as we prepare to launch, and then beyond.

Together, we will deliver the most compelling and comprehensive eCommerce experience for Canadian consumers.

Don Tapscott, chairman SHOP.CA BOA

Having industry experts across technology, retail, ecommerce and marketing has allowed us to build something very special, very quickly, for Canadian consumers the past year. As we enter the official pre-launch phase in March 2012 through to launch later this Spring we have enthusiastically added Don Tapscott to lead our Advisory Board and become a SHOP.CA spokesperson in the media, in person and through our editorial.

Don is one of the world’s leading authorities on innovation, media, and the economic and social impact of technology and advises business and government leaders around the world. In 2011 Don was named one of the world’s most influential management thinkers by Thinkers50. He has authored or co-authored 14 widely read books including the 1992 best seller Paradigm Shift. His 1995 hit The Digital Economy changed thinking around the world about the transformational nature of the Internet and two years later he defined the Net Generation and the "digital divide" in Growing Up Digital. His 2000 work, Digital Capital, introduced seminal ideas like "the business web" and was described by BusinessWeek as "pure enlightenment." Wikinomics: How Mass Collaboration Changes Everything was the bestselling management book in 2007 and translated into over 25 languages.

Washington Technology Report called him "one of the most influential media authorities since Marshall McLuhan."" Don has been named one of the 50 most influential living management thinkers in the world by Thinkers50. Don is the author of fourteen widely read books about information technology in business and society and is a frequent writer for the Huffington Post, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Forbes, Business 2.0, The Financial Times, USA Today, and Business Week. CNN, NBC, CBS, NPR, Fox News and the BBC are among his broadcast credits. The Economist called his newest work Macrowikinomics: Rebooting Business and the World a ""Schumpeter-ian story of creative destruction" and the Huffington Post said the book is "nothing less than a game plan to fix a broken world."

For over 30 years he has introduced many ground-breaking concepts that are part of contemporary understanding. It is hard to think of a more prolific or influential thinker today. His work continues as a the Chairman of Moxie Insight, a member of World Economic Forum and as an Adjunct Professor of Management for the Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto.

Rana Florida, brand advisor

When Canadians SHOP online they should have fun when they do so and be presented with a completely transparent experience, start to finish. No one believes in our Canadian Shopping Revolution more than Rana Florida. So much so she will help guide strategy an development the next four years. We are delighted to have her SHOP with us.

Rana has more than two decades of experience in corporate strategy, communications, marketing and branding. She previously directed global strategic communications for HMSHost one of the largest airport developers. She led all marketing, advertising and communication efforts in the North America and advised on European communication efforts. She worked with government officials, airport commissioners and advocates on business programs. Currently Rana Florida is the CEO of the Creative Class Group, managing allglobal operations. The firm’s clients include BMW, Starwood, Zappos, Philips, Pinewood Studios, and Johnson & Johnson to name just a few. Prior to that, Rana served as VP of Corporate Communications for Feld Entertainment, the world’s largest producer of live shows such as Disney Live. With operations in over 50 countries, she managed top PR teams including Hill and Knowlton.

Rana recently wrote and was featured in the business section of The New York Times and The Huffington Post. She also had her own internationally syndicated advice column in major daily newspapers including Gannett for almost a decade. She was a regular Fox News (WJBK) contributor in a top 10 media market for several years. Rana continues to work with major media including CNN, MSNBC, NPR, BBC, CBC and shows such as Good Morning America, Charlie Rose, The Colbert Report, The Today Show and 60 Minutes. She is currently a special series contributor to HGTV online.

Rana is also heavily involved in philanthropy as a current board member the Toronto Symphony Orchestra as well as supporting numerous charitable organizations.

Rana holds a Bachelor of Arts in communications and a MBA in marketing and management

Ed Crain, marketing advisor

Ed is President and CEO of both Kingstar Direct and Kingstar Media in Toronto. Kingstar Direct and Kingstar Media are leaders in television based direct marketing. Recently, both companies have branched into radio, print, and web-based services. Ed is passionate about marketing unique products and developing compelling offers. He and his team pride themselves on creating visual "stories" that sell products or services through long form advertising. Ed brings over 15 years of direct marketing experience, and over 25 years of television production experience, to his role as founder and President of Kingstar Direct and Kingstar Media.

Kingstar Direct produced infomercials have won internationally recognized awards and generated over 3 billion dollars in television, web, and retail sales, worldwide. Kingstar Media is Canada's largest independent DRTV agency representing many of the industries prominent advertisers. Kingstar's production and media team members focus on creating campaigns that build brand, and maximize an advertisers ROI.

Ed has been a member of the Electronic Retailing Association since its inception as NIMA and has become a trusted authority in the Canadian Direct Response business landscape. Ed resides in Toronto, Ontario and Austin Texas.

Steve Eaton, marketing advisor

Steve is a partner at Brandfire Marketing Group. Steve has spent over 25 years working tirelessly on the care and growth of some of the world’s great brands, including Volvo, Intel, Labatt’s, Rogers Wireless, Bombardier and MCI. Working with advertising agencies in Toronto and New York, Steve has helped launch initiatives in the areas of new product introductions, international expansion, dealer development and co-op advertising. A clear focus on consumer behavior, combined with strong working knowledge of distribution and dealer networks ensures his client's bottom line results.

With extensive experience in creative development, research and media, Steve works with clients throughout the communication planning and execution phases. Steve and the Brandfire team are experiencing triple digit percentage growth with clients including global brands like Mattel, GE Appliances, Sony and General Mills.

At Brandfire, Steve leads a team of experienced marketers and over the years has developed processes and a way of thinking that considers all the factors surrounding a strong brand, and how best to bring it to market. Steve's proven track record across a wide range of activities including traditional above-the- line advertising, retail activation, new media, social media and brand development, make him an excellent asset to the team. Prior to Brandfire, he worked with a number of leading agencies in Toronto and New York, including Havas EURO RSCG where he worked on accounts including MCI, Volvo Car Corporation and Intel. Returning to Toronto in 1997, he helped establish EURO RSCG Canada, staying as Managing Director until 2001.

John Bush, mobile advisor

John is a marketing innovator with over 22 years of knowledge in digital content, mobile software, wireless technology and social networks. He has spent his career marketing high-tech software, wireless technology and telecommunications. Prior to his role with Envisage, John was the founder and CEO of Sona Mobile Inc. There, he was responsible for spearheading the company’s wireless-technology-platform implementation in Europe and in North America. At Sona, he established business partnerships with Alcatel-Lucent, Vodafone, Rogers Wireless, Shufflemaster, Canwest Media Interactive, Reuters/Telerate, eSpeed, HSBC, ABC Studios and NBC Universal. Under John’s leadership, the company invented and patented the world’s first media player and content-management platform for Blackberry, as well as the first real-time stock market streaming technology for mobile.

Prior to launching Sona Mobile, John was Vice President of Enterprise Marketing for one of Canada’s largest telecommunications providers.

Andy Querin, media advisor

Andy has more than 20 years of media sales and advertising experience in various markets across Canada. Prior to his current role as Vice President, Sales with Titan in Toronto, he was most recently President and Chief Operating Officer with Montreal based, Zoom Media.

Before joining the out-of-home industry, he was responsible for managing revenue and sales inventory as National Revenue Manager, CBC English TV and worked on the advertising agency side to start his career.

Andy is a recognized leader in the out-of-home industry and has spoken at various industry conferences in North America. He is a past board member of out-of-home associations including OMAC, COMB and CODACAN.

Tim Quinn, entrepreneurial leadership advisor

Tim is Managing Director of Intelligent Office of Toronto. Intelligent Office is innovator in the area of virtual office and communications solutions, providing flexible office solutions for small and medium sizes business across North America.

Tim holds an Honours Bachelor of Commerce degree from McMaster University. He is an accomplished entrepreneur who has participated in a number of successful start-up companies over his career. Tim began his career as a salesperson at Artisan Transportation Graphics, where he helped pioneer truck-side imaging for the purposes of advertising. In 1993 he left Artisan to partner in the formation of GHQ Imaging, a new startup company.

GHQ grew to become one of the world's leading suppliers of grand format imaging to the outdoor advertising industry. The company began with a very limited budget and 3 employees (the working partners), and less than 4 years it grew to have in excess of 120 employees, and annual sales in excess of $15 million spanning three continents. In 1999 Prismaflex of France acquired GHQ through an initial public offering. Tim completed his management contract in 2001 and went on to participate in another new start-up, Wall Street Media. In 2003 Mr. Quinn started a new company with the inventor of a new gardening product. He financed product development and acquisition of patents, while securing "Exclusive Product" contract with Home Hardware Stores Limited. The contract resulted in national multi-media (including television) advertising campaign, fully financed by Home, and millions in revenue for Roto-Majic.

Craig Rennick, sales and business development advisor

Craig is Managing Partner, Colour (CCL Group) a full service marketing and PR agency. Craig has spent the past 25 years in senior management positions at technology startups and at traditional large corporations. Craig was the co-founder of Fortiva, an email archiving company, where he was responsible for all customer touch-points including sales, account management and professional services.

Craig was on the senior management team at FloNetwork, the leader in email marketing, where he set-up offices across North America and implemented passionate and industry leading customer focused teams. Both of these companies were very successful, experienced phenomenal growth and were subsequently acquired. Craig is also intimately familiar with large corporate cultures having served on the senior management team of Bell TV in charge of programming and pay per view, at Bell Globemedia Interactive as VP Business Development and as a group sales leader in the broadcast sales division of Rogers. Craig brings his expertise to organizations through training, coaching, and consulting services customized specifically for your organization. They focus on the whole person by addressing team development and personal growth in addition to teaching a proven structured sales process. Craig takes a pragmatic approach and focuses on delivering practical tools and advice that companies can implement immediately to see positive results.

Jason John, eCommerce advisor

Jason is Senior Director, Online, Mobile and Social Marketing at Gilt Groupe, one of the fastest growing internet start-ups in the US. He is heading up their online, social, and mobile efforts and has been instrumental in growing their business to over $400 million in 3 years. Prior to Gilt Groupe, Jason was Vice President of eCommerce/GM at Redcats USA, a billion dollar retailer based in France (Division of PPR). While there, he launched OneStopPlus.com, a plus size start up, and as GM, grew the business to $60 million in 2 years. He has also served as Director of Marketing for J.Crew and helped move them through their IPO offering in 2006. Prior to J.Crew, Jason lead CRM for Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, moving into the role just post their IPO, he led the implementation of a major CRM/personalization re-platforming to utilize customer data in pushing the MSO digital business, now a major source of revenue for the company. Jason has his MBA from Union College.

Michael Rubenstein, digital media advisor

Michael is President of AppNexus a real-time ad platform for global ad networks, demand-side platforms (DSPs), and other leading online advertising companies. AppNexus raised 50 million from Microsoft in 2010. Prior to joining AppNexus in September 2009, Michael was a 10-year veteran of Google/DoubleClick including executive leadership roles. He founded and successfully commercialized the DoubleClick Ad Exchange, acting as Vice President and General Manager reporting to the company’s CEO. After Google’s acquisition, he continued to serve as Director of the Google Ad Exchange.

Michael previously held a variety of senior management roles at DoubleClick, including VP, Global Accounts, where he spearheaded the company’s landmark partnership with AOL. Michael joined DoubleClick in 2001 as part of the company’s acquisition of FloNetwork, an email marketing ASP. Michael started his first ad network while earning his BA from McGill University. He also holds an MBA from Columbia Business School.

Dave Colebrook, retail and manufacturing advisor

Dave is Vice President of Marketing at Spin Master a multi-category children’s entertainment company since 1994, designing, developing, manufacturing and marketing consumer products for children around the world.

SpinMaster is a privately held Canadian based company that globally markets their products and is now the 3rd largest children's toy company in North America. Dave is responsible for leading the global marketing and product development of several toy categories within the company, with a focus on the U.S. market with customers such as Walmart, Target, and Toys'r'Us.

He started his career at Procter & Gamble in Finance and then transitioned to Brand Management. At P&G he led the Hard Surface Cleaning Category (eg. Mr. Clean). David then transitioned to Frito Lay, a division of Pepsico, where he grew in the organization over 8 years to the Director of Marketing leading key categories with brands such as Lay's, Cheetos, and Doritos. In these roles the key focus was to drive the top and bottom line through effective innovation and consumer communications in Canada. David also spent time in a Sales Leadership role calling on Canadian customers.

Dave received his HBBA from Wilfrid Laurier University and an Executive MBA from the Kellogg-Schulich program. He is a father of 3 children and enjoys spending time with his family and playing sports such as hockey, golf, and soccer.

David Michaud, legal advisor

David is acting General Council at SHOP.CA and an Ontario and British Columbia lawyer. Currently, he's a Legal Advisor part of the Retail Banking Operations and Corporate Affairs Group (Outside of Quebec Operations) of the National Bank of Canada. He provides legal services on banking and corporate legal issues raised by the various retail banking activities and operations of the Bank and its subsidiaries in Ontario and Western Canada. He provides counsel to senior management on corporate acquisitions, strategic partnerships and related legal business matters.

Previously, David was a Legal Counsel in the Government Relations & Corporate Secretary Department at Central 1 Credit Union where his practice focused on the Ontario operations. Specifically, David provided legal services to various departments throughout Central1 from both Vancouver and Toronto locations with a practice focused on Banking, Corporate and Commercial Law. Before joining Central 1 in October 2008, David was an Associate Lawyer for a Vancouver area law firm specializing in the structuring of commercial transactions and he also had a related litigation practice in B.C. Supreme Court focusing on Corporate, Commercial, Banking and Trust Law.

Before that, David was Legal Counsel & Special Advisor for the Parliament of Canada. In this position he provided legal advice concerning a wide variety of statutory and regulatory issues including Commercial, Regulatory, Privacy, Constitutional and Administrative Law. During his time in Ottawa, David also worked for the Federal Department of Justice and for the Law Clerk and Parliamentary Counsel of the Senate.

David is a member of the Law Society of British Columbia, the Law Society of Upper Canada (Ontario) and the Canadian Bar Association.