✖

Marketer Moves: Wealthsimple CMO departs, Rona VP named to ACA board

By Christopher Lombardo
May 5, 2025

Rubina Singh steps away from Wealthsimple

Rubina Singh has left Wealthsimple after more than two years as the CMO of the fintech company.

The company tells strategy that it’s proud of the projects that Singh led, such as a Martin Short brand spot and Wealthsimple’s premium rewards program.

Elsewhere at Wealthsimple, Devin Friedman was recently promoted to the position of chief content officer.

Friedman helped establish Wealthsimple’s early brand identity and worked on newer programs, such as the TLDR newsletter and podcast and recent brand spot “Sluggish,” during nearly a decade at the company.

Top Rona marketer joins ACA board

Catherine Laporte has become a board member at the Association of Canadian Advertisers (ACA).

As Rona’s senior VP of marketing and customer experience, Laporte led the home-improvement retailer’s recent “Half Ass” and “Knock on Wood” campaigns, the latter of which included experiential activations at Montreal’s Bell Centre and Edmonton’s Rogers Place to kick off the NHL playoffs.

Parkinson Canada promotes a top marketer

is starting a new position as VP of philanthropy, brand marketing and communications at Parkinson Canada.

He moves into the role having previously held the title of VP of brand strategy, marketing and communications at the non-profit. In the position, Townsend restructured the marketing and communications department.

He also led the development of a new brand strategy that included the creation of the Parkinson Canada “Find Your Swagger” brand platform.

On the agency side, Townsend was a longtime senior partner and worldwide executive group director at New York-based Ogilvy & Mather, where he worked on campaigns for the likes of Siemens, IBM, BlackRock and American Express.

Former Diamond account director moves up marketing ranks at OPP

Tanya Poole is the new senior manager of brand marketing for the corporate communication bureau at the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP).

Poole previously was senior manager of marketing and recruitment programs for the OPP, where she was hired in the spring of 2023.

On the agency side, Poole was formerly a director and business lead at OneMethod.

Prior to that, she was an account director with Diamond where she worked for clients such as Skip, General Mills and Tim Hortons.

Poole supported the Corby account during her time as a group account director at Influence Marketing.