CMA announces 2025 CMA Awards co-chairs: Mary DePaoli and Stephanie Yung to lead Canada’s top marketing celebration
Mary DePaoli, CMA’s 2024 Lifetime Achievement Award winner, and Stephanie Yung, globally recognized design leader, bring bold vision and industry leadership to this year’s CMA Awards
TORONTO – April 22, 2025 – The Canadian Marketing Association (CMA) today announced the co-chairs for this year's CMA Awards: Mary DePaoli, executive vice-president and chief marketing officer at RBC and Stephanie Yung, chief design officer at Zulu Alpha Kilo. Together, the renowned marketing leaders bring a unique blend of strategic leadership, and a commitment for how creativity fuels business to Canada’s biggest night in marketing.
“Our Canadian marketing community continues to push boundaries, inspire innovation and set new standards for creative excellence,” said Alison Simpson, president and CEO of the CMA. “I’m thrilled to have Mary and Stephanie co-chair this year’s Canadian Marketing Association Awards. Their leadership, vision and deep understanding of what drives great marketing will help ensure this year’s show is a celebration of achievement and a reflection of where the industry is headed.”
DePaoli, who received the Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2024 CMA Awards, leads a team of more than 600 marketing professionals at RBC. Since 2015, she has helped position the brand as Canada’s most valuable for six consecutive years, earning the eighth spot globally among financial services, while delivering standout campaigns across sports, culture and sustainability – including headline-grabbing initiatives like RBC’s sponsorship of Taylor Swift | The Eras Tour. Her leadership in sports marketing has helped uncover over 3,000 Olympic hopefuls through RBC Training Ground, contributing to 21 Olympic athletes and 14 medals for Team Canada.
“Each year, Canadian marketers raise the bar – embracing new technologies, connecting audiences in more meaningful ways and delivering measurable business impact,” said DePaoli. “It’s an honour to co-chair this year’s show and celebrate the homegrown talent shaping the future of our industry.”
Yung, a globally recognized design executive and chief design officer at Zulu Alpha Kilo, is known for her multidisciplinary approach and strategic ability to translate brand purpose into new products, services and experiences. At Zulu Alpha Kilo, she leads transformative projects for Canada’s most notable brands from tourism to telecommunications and is widely sought after for her ability to help brands create meaningful connections. She leads projects grounded in empathy, inclusivity and human-centred design.
“The CMA Awards are an important moment to step back and celebrate the work that’s pushing the industry forward,” said Yung. “This is about more than recognition — it’s about sparking conversations, inspiring new ideas and spotlighting the marketers who are reshaping what’s possible. I’m excited to be part of a show that brings so many bold and creative voices together.”
Each year, the CMA Awards honour marketing professionals who have set new standards and created award-winning campaigns that have made a lasting impact in their respective industries. This year's CMA Awards will be presented at Toronto's Westin Harbour Castle on November 7, 2025.
Judging applications are now open, with the deadline of June 13, 2025. Entries for the 2025 CMA Awards will open April 24. Additional information on important dates can be found here.
About Mary DePaoli
Executive Vice-President and Chief Marketing Officer, RBC
Mary DePaoli is executive vice-president and CMO at RBC. She is responsible for building RBC’s brand and reputation globally across RBC’s retail banking, insurance and wealth businesses through an integrated approach to brand, marketing, corporate citizenship, sponsorship, social media and corporate communications. In addition, Mary serves as Chair of the Board responsible for overseeing the RBC Foundation, one of Canada’s largest corporate donors.
Prior to joining RBC, Mary held a series of increasingly senior roles at Sun Life Financial, where she led Sun Life’s business segment focusing on group retirement and investment solutions for corporate plan sponsors for more than a decade. In 2011, Mary was promoted to Executive Vice President, Public and Corporate Affairs and Chief Marketing Officer, with responsibility for leading the company’s marketing strategies in Canada, the United States and Asia.
In 2024, Mary received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Canadian Marketing Association and was also inducted to Marketing News Canada’s Marketing, Advertising, PR and Communication Hall of Fame. She was previously recognized as a Woman of Inspiration by Women in Sports and Events (WISE), named Marketer of the Year by Strategy magazine and distinguished as one of Canada’s Top 100 Most Powerful Women by the Women’s Executive Network (WXN). In addition to her role as Chair, RBC Foundation, Mary serves on the board of Women in Sports and Events (WISE), Western University’s Fundraising and Donor Relations Committee and the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF).
About Stephanie Yung
Chief Design Officer, Zulu Alpha Kilo
Stephanie is the chief design officer at Zulu Alpha Kilo. Her expertise lies in establishing brand visions for the future and translating how a brand looks, feels, and behaves across experiences, products and services. She has influenced Canadian and global brands such as President’s Choice, Bell, WestJet, BMW MINI, Canadian Tire, P&G, PepsiCo, Sephora, Under Armour and Gatorade. Stephanie’s work has been recognized at every major award show, including Cannes, D&AD, The One Show and Fast Company’s Innovation by Design. In 2023, Stephanie was named Designer of the Year by Strategy magazine. She also championed the development of the world’s first encyclopedia for microaggressions: The Micropedia, which is a part of the Government of Canada’s 50-30 Challenge program to accelerate diversity efforts in workplaces nationwide.
Stephanie started her career in Toronto at Bløk Design. After developing her design craft, she moved to TAXI. During her time there, she worked on BMW MINI, where she won acclaim for her digital design, and where she started the design and interaction departments for TAXI NYC and TAXI 2. After TAXI, Stephanie spent over a decade at Smart Design New York, an innovation design consultancy, focused on behaviour change and business transformation for iconic brands, non-profit, new startups, and venture capitalists alike. Stephanie returned to Canada to take the post of executive creative director, design at Zulu Alpha Kilo (Z.A.K.) to build out the agencies design offering. During her time at Z.A.K., the agency was named one of Fast Company’s Most Innovative Companies, as well as Ad Age’s A-List Standout Agency of the Year and Campaign US Independent Agency of the Year.
Stephanie is an active contributor for thought leadership on topics like designing for social impact, inclusive design, and behaviour change. She inspires others with her passion for the industry and creativity. Stephanie has spoken at Cannes Lions See It Be It Toronto; is co-chairing the inaugural Young Lions Design Jury; and has been a National YoungArts mentor at The National Foundation for the Advancement of Artists, where mentees go on to be eligible for the U.S. Presidential Scholar in the Arts program. Stephanie brings local and global experience from judging from the Marketing Awards, Cannes, One Show and D&AD New Blood.
In her spare time, you’ll find Stephanie binging music documentaries or getting messy with her 6-year-old daughter — usually involving paint, Eye Spy puzzles, and K-pop duets.
About the Canadian Marketing Association
The CMA is the voice of marketing in Canada and our purpose is to champion marketing’s powerful impact. We are the catalyst to help Canada’s marketers thrive today, while building the marketing mindset and environment of tomorrow.
We provide opportunities for our members from coast to coast to develop professionally, to contribute to marketing thought leadership, to build strong networks, and to strengthen the regulatory climate for business success. Our Chartered Marketer (CM) designation signifies that recipients are highly qualified and up to date with best practices, as reflected in the Canadian Marketing Code of Ethics and Standards. We represent virtually all of Canada's major business sectors, and all marketing disciplines, channels and technologies. Our Consumer Centre helps Canadians better understand their rights and obligations. For more information, visit thecma.ca.
Contact:
Nathaniel Glassman
Kaiser & Partners
Nathaniel.Glassman@kaiserpartners.com
416.998.2258
