The Creation of Extraordinary Campaigns

Michael is the Founder & President of M.E. LeBlanc & Company Inc and a Senior Advisor to Retail Council of Canada as part of his advisory and consulting practice. He brings 25+ years of brand/retail/marketing & eCommerce leadership experience and has been on the front lines of retail industry change for his entire career. He has delivered keynotes, hosted fire-side discussions with C-level executives and participated on thought leadership panels worldwide.

Michael is also the producer and host of a network of leading podcasts, including Canada’s top retail industry podcast, The Voice of Retail, plus the Remarkable Retail with author Steve Dennis, Global E-Commerce Tech Talks and The Food Professor with Dr. Sylvain Charlebois, all available on Apple, Spotify, Amazon and all major podcast platforms.

As the Senior Vice-President of Marketing and Brand at Canadian Tire Corporation (CTC), Eva oversees all the marketing and brand activities for Canadian Tire, SportChek, Mark’s, Triangle Rewards, and CTC’s multi-billion-dollar portfolio of Owned Brands. Eva’s responsibilities also include overseeing CTC’s ESG strategy, sustainability initiatives, community involvement, content creation, and sponsorship.

Eva leads a best-in-class team of marketers with a renewed focus on putting the customer first. Under her leadership, the marketing department has transformed itself into a growth engine for the business. She has elevated the role and influence of Marketing across CTC, driving deeper connections through data and insights to create more meaningful customer engagement. She fosters a collaborative environment, building agile omnichannel teams that continue to evolve the Company’s approach to marketing.

Eva’s innovative work helped reposition the CTC brand during the pandemic as a one-stop shop for helping Canadians and she played a critical role in the evolution of CTC’s Brand Purpose, We Are Here to Make Life in Canada Better. In 2018, Eva was instrumental in the rebranding and launch of Triangle Rewards, Canada’s largest and fastest-growing loyalty program with record-high credit acquisitions. Eva’s invigorated and passionate approach has resulted in unprecedented business results and award-winning acknowledgements from every major marketing and brand award.

Before joining Canadian Tire in 2013, Eva founded Canada’s first brand-driven maternity store, Belly Maternity, which she successfully grew to a multi-million-dollar business within its first year of operation. Prior to this, she was integral to expanding iconic brands in the US cosmetics industry, including L’Oréal and Estée Lauder.

Eva sits on the Ad Standards of Canada Board of Directors, serves on the Board of Rethink Breast Cancer, and is an active member of the Sinai Health Marketing Advisory Committee. She holds an honours degree from Ivey Business School and is a graduate of the Future Leaders Program at the INSEAD School of Business. She has driven wide industry acclaim for Canadian Tire, which was named Canada’s Most Admired Brand in 2019 and Canada’s Most Reputable Brand in 2020 by Leger, and her Marketing initiatives have garnered the most creative campaign awards in CTC’s history. Eva was recognized as one of Canada’s Best Executives in 2020 by The Globe and Mail’s Report on Business and Marketer of the Year by Strategy Magazine in 2021.