About me
Yanik has 20 years of experience in communications, public relations, marketing and issues management. His professional background boasts significant achievements at prominent agencies (Sid Lee, Cossette and NATIONAL), at leading retailer Walmart Canada Corp., as well as within the advertising industry (Association of Quebec Advertising Agencies) and in government agency (Canadian Space Agency).
A strategy-focused, result-oriented professional who is respected and acknowledged in Canada’s communications and media industry, Yanik is a team player and a unifying leader whose impeccable track record includes several complex and large-scale projects, such as:
-- He helped make Sid Lee the agency of the year in 2013
-- Established C2MTL (an international conference on business and creativity)
-- Directed numerous projects for major national and international clients.
-- At AAPQ, he rallied the creative industry in the province behind the Montreal.ad project and also led several successful trade missions abroad.
-- At Walmart Canada, he significantly improved the retailer’s reputation at the provincial and national levels by managing issues and establishing important programs (e.g. Achat Québec).
-- He also led negotiations with the relevant authorities on the complex issues of reputation management with regard to CSR (e.g. sweatshops, unions, ethical sourcing, etc.)
-- At the Canadian Space Agency, he managed media relations for Canada’s most high profile missions.
Yanik is a professional duly accredited (APR) by the Canadian Public Relations Society and is a board member of the Communications + Public Relations Foundation (CPRF). As a lawyer and a member in good standing of the Quebec Bar, he has wide-ranging expertise in media relations, issues management and social media. He is also a veteran spokesman who has faced hostile situations (e.g. Walmart), has well-developed strategic thinking, as well as excellent writing skills in French and English.
Sector Experience
Awards
People I worked with
My Work
SEE ALL WORKOlive – Your virtual healthcare clinic
- BRAND:
- Olive
- AGENCY:
- SID LEE MONTREAL
Positions
Chairman
Head of Global Communications
The Tribeca-based team has swiftly gained an enviable reputation as a thought-leading hot shop servicing many of the United States’ most progressive and iconic brands. Now firmly established, with more than 75 professionals, the team delivers transformative strategies for globally engaging clientele and offers a rarity in fully holistic international media and brand solutions, supported by the production, technological, and architectural weight of the mother ship just 300 miles away.
Sid Lee New York often builds teams consisting of specialists from all our offices (650 professionals) to leverage the group’s various skillsets and bring the best that Sid Lee has to offer for both East and West Coast clients, and is part of kyu, a new collective of creative companies established by Hakuhodo DY Holdings, the second largest agency network in Asia.
General Manager / Directeur général
VP Global Communications & Business Partnerships
Sid Lee is a global creative team of 600 professionals crafting innovative consumer experiences to drive value for top-tier brands. From our digital roots, we grew into one of the most multidisciplinary firms in the world offering a holistic approach to advertising, architecture and retail design, branded content and entertainment, digital and social media, branding, and reputation management.
We work for clients in over 20 countries from their ateliers in Montreal, Amsterdam, Paris, Toronto, and New York. The firm has been named "Agency of the Year" and one of the most performing agencies in the world according to Forbes. It is co-owned by Cirque du Soleil, making for a powerful partnership that fuels their ability to deliver memorable experiences driven by creativity.
As the curator of C2-MTL, a global conference on commerce and creativity (www.c2mtl.com), Sid Lee helps partners to bring together the brightest and most influential minds across countries and industries for the event.
Olive – Your virtual healthcare clinic
- BRAND:
- Olive
- AGENCY:
- SID LEE MONTREAL
President and General Manager and CEO on Montreal.ad
• Organized the first trade missions of the industry globally.
• Developed and implemented a marketing proposal (YUL-LAB) for global brands.
• Promoted and defended the interests of the 68 largest ad agencies in Quebec and acted as industry leader.
• Negotiated labour agreements with unions.
• Was a board director at the Advertising Standards of Canada (ASC)
Director of Corporate Affairs - Quebec
• Managed global labour issues.
• Handled corporate issues and media crisis.
• Was responsible of the sponsorship programs in Quebec.
• Acted as official spokesperson of the company.
Won a PR excellence award for the rebranding of the Molson Centre to the Bell Centre.
