Hire restless people

As President of Yield Branding, Ania Russocki leads with a powerful blend of strategic insight, global experience, and an unwavering commitment to transformative results. With over two decades in the industry, Ania has an impressive track record across both client and agency sides, having worked in Toronto, Europe, and the US with leading agencies such as Saatchi & Saatchi, Bates, DMB&B, Leo Burnett, Gee, Jeffery & Partners, Spencer Francy Peters and recently as GM of Pigeon Brands. On the client side, Ania held senior marketing roles at Rogers AT&T and the University of Toronto, where she crafted impactful brand strategies and led transformative initiatives.

Ania’s reputation as a strategic powerhouse extends beyond brand-building; she’s a proven innovator in cultivating cultures championing diversity, collaboration, and excellence. At Yield, she brings this vision to life, drawing on her expertise to expand the agency’s reach, build elite teams, and fortify relationships with industry-leading clients. An executive coach and sought-after advisor, she guides leaders at all levels to navigate complex business landscapes confidently and creatively. Ania’s courage and commitment to leading with heart and humanity set her apart. Intuitive skills, emotional intelligence, and an ability to truly listen — often called the “softer side” of business — are essential to her for connecting with people and building genuine partnerships.

A former board member at the ICA, Ania continues to advocate for diversity and equity in the industry. Dedicated to propelling Yield into its next chapter, Ania is a visionary devoted to fostering a relentless pursuit of greatness across every project, team, and client partnership.

Always looking for new challenges and growth, Robert’s career path has taken him to all points of the marketing and communications world. From advertising to branding to consulting, media, marketing and entrepreneurship, Robert has used those opportunities to apply his talents and gain experience with some of the biggest brands and toughest challenges.

Early in his career, Robert worked in New York gaining a taste for the highly competitive US market before moving back to Canada where he landed at one of Canada’s leading branding companies, Cundari Group. There he headed up business development landing Subway Sandwiches and RONA as well as growing the signature BMW account.

From there, Robert moved on to Cheil, where he was appointed Managing Director,  and was the Chief Strategic lead for Samsung Canada while growing the Hankook Tire business and winning Bad Boy Furniture.

Transitioning to the content and media space, Robert gained experience from two sides: with Content creation at St. Joseph’s Communications where he led the growth of partnerships with Hyundai, TD, and GM and at Mediacom where he led a team of 20, managing planning and buying for clients Volkswagen, CIBC, and YUM Brands.

Most recently, Robert has held executive roles at Junction59/3^rd State where he used his strategic and management skills to help define and implement a new strategic direction for the agency while creating a business culture rooted in new business and innovation.

While holding down, important executive roles, Robert has always found time for entrepreneurial endeavours. He and his wife built up two successful North Toronto restaurants, Uncle Betty’s Diner and Tio’s Urban Mexican which they ran for ten before selling in 2018.

Robert is a big believer in supporting his community and giving back. He has served as a board member or a marketing officer and advisor with multiple charities including Reach for the Rainbow, ThinkFirst Canada, Build-it-Yourself-learning Centers supporting the Aboriginal Youth Training, Special Olympics, and the Design Exchange.

In his free time, Robert is passionate about motorsports and travel. He and his wife use their holiday time to spend time with their kids or visit overseas destinations like Vietnam or diving in Honduras. He’s also quite the chef and he’s always happy to share some of his favourite recipes.

As Associate, Public and Government Relations at Yield Branding and the Principal Advisor of the DG Advisory Group, David serves as the orchestrator of change, a strategic communication and management virtuoso dedicated to guiding international entities through uncharted waters. His passion lies in crafting communication strategies that not only weather unique challenges but also unleash unprecedented growth and value.

In his recent role as the Chief Corporate Officer for PharmaCielo Ltd., David was the architect of a global revolution in the medical cannabis industry. A trailblazer and corporate visionary, he seamlessly navigated the complexities of international landscapes, serving as the voice and face of the organization. David’s leadership, spanning Investor Relations (IR), Public Relations (PR), and Government Relations (GR), ignited a symphony of success, resonating with investors, government bodies, customers, and internal teams alike. Through a masterful blend of traditional and social media channels, he didn’t just communicate; he inspired, steering the company toward its ambitious goals.

Previously, as the Managing Partner of the Canadian operations of Cohn & Wolfe, David wielded communication as a powerful tool to address everything from crisis management to brand marketing, regulatory affairs, and government engagement. His personal commitment to corporate communication, both internally and externally, set the stage for comprehensive strategies that echoed with authenticity.

Beyond the boardroom, David’s impact on the community is profound. From chairing the Canadian Council of Public Relations Firms (CCPRF) to actively contributing to non-profit organizations, he is a catalyst for positive change. Certified as a member (ICD.D) of the Institute of Corporate Directors, David’s commitment to innovation governance shines through, and his seat on the Mentor Board of Foresight Canada underscores his dedication to fostering growth in Canada’s cleantech sector.

David’s journey is marked by entrepreneurial spirit, government relations consulting, and international trade analysis. Recognized globally by his peers, David Gordon isn’t just a communicator; he’s a storyteller, an architect of success, and a driving force for positive change. His awards are not just accolades; they are symbols of his ability to inspire, innovate, and elevate every venture he touches. In every role, David’s legacy is one of transformation and inspiration, reminding us that the journey to success is not just about reaching new heights but also about bringing others along on the ascent.

Danish “Dany” Saeed is a true collaborator and adaptable creative who has worked in the advertising and branding industry for over 10 years on some of the world’s leading B2C and B2B brands. These include Unilever, Shell, P&G, Nando’s, Fly Emirates, KFC, Standard Chartered, VimpleCom and more.

Dany’s creative journey has given him a wide range of skills which have been awarded for both creativity and effectiveness at shows like the Effies for 4 consecutive years and the prestigious Campaign Asia Awards.

Previously, Dany worked at Pakistan’s leading branding firm, the D’Hamidi Partnership before joining JWT Pakistan as a Creative Director, where he was responsible for inspiring and guiding teams to deliver creative excellence in every discipline.

Danish has curated over 100 integrated campaigns, TV commercials, and rebranding exercises but some of his favourites are below:

• One of the largest rebranding exercises for Mobilink, Pakistan’s No.1 Telecom with 50M customers that saw an increase of market share by 27%, a 5 point increase in TOM and a 5 point increase in brand awareness;
• Rebranding of China Mobile as ZONG 4G and achieved an increase in 4G volume of 139%, total revenue by 57%, and an increase in subscriber base by 60%.
• Rebranding PIA, the national carrier of Pakistan which led to significant improvement in brand tracking scores across the board;
• The Shell Rimula’s campaign, “What Matters is Inside” that portrays the daily toils of Pakistani truck-drivers, and farmers emphasizing their tireless efforts put in each day to achieve their goals.

Outside of the workplace, Dany is an avid gamer, matte painter and Dad.

John has a background in technical support and over a decade of experience as a technical writer in 3D computer animation. He has worked both the back end setting up networks and servers, and is also a programmer releasing apps for iOS.

Over two decades, John has worked with networks starting by running his own BBS with a dialup modem. He did phone tech support for ArchiCAD and wrote a book on GDL (Geometric Description Language) programming. This lead to almost a decade of writing technical documentation for the Houdini 3D animation system. He spent another ten years doing backend server and end-user support, and stayed abreast of the development of the Internet, managing Web Servers and Virtual Machines on Linux, macOS, and Windows platforms.

John’s focus is maintaining client uptime so that they have no impediments to business functioning. There is a technical solution that must be understood in the context of the client’s need — how to make technology work for them when taking for granted the technical ability and sophistication to deal with the problem at hand and to plan ahead so that problems do not arise.

John has worked on a number of vertically technical projects which require cross-discipline integrations of hardware, software, and networking. Operating the Big Freeze bullet-time capture rig for Xerox 360° (2013), a Toyota commercial, (2013), and a Tampa Bay Lightning commercial with Steven Stamkos (2014). He has also managed the more mundane service of hosting virtual machines at The Wire in Toronto.

John plays tennis and studies epistemology. He is an avid cyclist, and loves to play his Bass guitar and synthesizer.

Joel is a highly experienced cinematographer who has worked in the film, video, and television industry for over 15 years. With a background in marketing and business, Joel takes a uniquely analytical and technical approach to content creation, asking questions first to fully understand the problem before he offers up solutions.

With Yield, Joel has been our cinematographer on multiple award-winning videos shot all across North America. He is also a talented editor and visual effects specialist which means he understands how every shot needs to fit together to tell the story and accommodate post-production effects. Over the past three years Joel has become Yield’s indispensable video partner and at the center of some of our most successful video productions including:

• Ontario Medical Association: In 2020, the pandemic was in full force and doctors were working incredible hours, putting themselves at risk, and suffering deep emotional stress. Yield recommended celebrating Doctors’ Day by asking the public to ‘shine a light for doctors’ with their smartphone on May 1. Joel helped film dozens of ‘shine a light’ scenarios from tall apartment buildings requiring drone shots to street celebrations filmed from moving vehicles before and on Doctors’ Day that showed hundreds of people recognizing doctors with their smart phones. The campaign was so successful it broke every OMA engagement record and won a Gold Summit Award.
• IPEX: For Canada’s leading manufacturer of industrial PVC pipe, Yield wanted to bring their story to life using the pipe as a metaphor for connections. Joel was able to film complicated table-top set-ups of pipe and fittings that were later manipulated in post-production to link scenes together. Then, he worked with the Yield team in North Carolina and Texas, filming a new IPEX manufacturing facility that required overhead drone shots, in-person interviews with engineers and carefully lit production shots inside existing manufacturing facilities. The finished product was also recognized with Gold at the Summit Awards.

Joel is a hard worker but on his rare off days you’ll see him remaining active outside playing basketball, snowboarding or going for runs. He is also an avid scuba diver discovering fish and coral in Mexico, Jamaica and Dominican Republic.