TORONTO – John Cassaday, president and CEO of Corus Entertainment Inc., is the recipient of the ACA Gold Medal Award for 2004.
First presented in 1941, the award is the Canadian advertising industry’s most prestigious honour, and is presented by the Association of Canadian Advertisers to an individual who has made an outstanding contribution to the advancement of marketing communications in Canada.
Cassaday (right), who presides over one of Canada’s largest media companies with extensive holdings in radio, specialty TV and animated programming for children, has been recognized by the ACA for the exceptional leadership he has shown not only within his own organization, but also in the wider business and philanthropic communities.
From 1990 to 1997, he was president and CEO of CTV Television Network. He began his career in packaged-goods marketing, and served in senior executive capacities with Campbell Soup and General Foods, both in Canada and internationally. His contributions, both professionally and personally, have been acknowledged by, among others, the Canadian Association of Broadcasters, the Canadian Council of Christians and Jews, the University of Toronto and the Canadian Public Relations Society.
“Over the course of his remarkable career to date, John Cassaday has distinguished himself as one of our industry’s most passionate and accomplished champions,” said Philip Donne, chairman of the Association of Canadian Advertisers and president of Campbell Company of Canada.
“Whether on the client side or the media side, he has always stood for integrity, marketing innovation and giving generously of his time and talent to the wider social community. I can think of no one better deserving of this honour than John.”
Cassaday joins a distinguished group of marketing and media professionals dating back 64 years who have received the award. The honour roll includes such notables as Sunni Boot, Peter Beresford, Robert Galloway, Ann Boden, Peter Elwood, Claude Lessard, Peter Swain, Hugh Dow, Hugo Powell, David Harrison and Frank Palmer, last year’s recipient.
“Sixteen years ago, we nominated Bob Galloway, a colleague of ours at Campbell Soup, for the ACA Gold Medal,” said Cassaday. “It was the greatest tribute we could imagine for an individual that believed so passionately in the importance of advertising. To join Bob Galloway and the other past recipients, many of whom I have worked with over the past 30 years, is a very special honour.”
The ACA, members of Canada’s marketing and media communities, and Cassaday’s colleagues and friends will honour him at an ACA Gold Medal Award luncheon to be held on November 9th at the Four Seasons Hotel in Toronto, following the ACA’s Annual General Meeting and Executive Forum.
