Prior to joining FEI Canada as the Executive Director, Howard completed an MBA at the University of Toronto in 1994. Howard then started his career in financial services at American Express in the Establishment Services Group (ESG), where he honed skills in branding, direct marketing, advertising, and data analysis. Collaborated closely with the sales teams, he spearheaded numerous programs to boost merchant charge volumes.

After moving into the digital startup space, Howard returned to financial services spending five years at Dynamic Funds (part of Dundee Wealth) as VP of Marketing & Brand Management.  He repositioned the Dynamic Brand to enhance awareness and influence assets under management (AUM) growth. I understand Dynamic still uses the “Invest with Advice” positioning he launched 20 years ago. Opportunities emerged to lead major marketing and advertising campaigns and enhance the sponsorship mandate, which included moving beyond sports into a more diverse offering broadening its appeal to advisors/clients.

Howard then decided to make a career change and moved into the arts, joining the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) as Vice President of Marketing, Sales, Sponsorship, and New Business Development where he helped guide the transformation of TIFF’s 10-day event into a year-round brand with the opening of TIFF Bell Lightbox. 

After six years at TIFF, he took on the challenge of restructuring the Toronto Jazz Festival with the core objective of attracting a younger audience and building corporate sponsorship.  As many of you can attest, this involves a strategic overhaul and comprehensive management of P&L, sales, marketing, operations, and in a non-for-profit environment, fundraising.  In a lean organization, this multifaceted role demanded an entrepreneurial mindset and rigorous discipline in driving organizational success.