AGM For Toronto International Film Festival Group Brings New Board Members

Toronto – The Toronto International Film Festival Group (TIFFG), a charitable, not-for-profit, cultural organization, today announced that the Board has elected four new members: Wade Oosterman, Gary Slaight, Dan Tanenbaum and Constance Wansbrough.

“Each of these individuals has a strong connection to the organization and has supported the Toronto International Film Festival Group. I welcome them to the Board and look forward to working with them to help realize the goals of TIFFG in this exciting time,” said Paul Atkinson, Chair, Board of Directors, Toronto International Film Festival Group.

With these new appointments comes the departure of three Board members. Retiring from the Board are David R. Bloom, President, DGRB Consultants Inc.; William (Bill) Fox, Executive Vice President, Communications and Corporate Development, Bell Canada; and B. Denham Jolly, President & CEO, Milestone Radio Inc.

“I am very grateful to our departing Board members and, on behalf of the Board, I would like to thank each of them for their commitment, contribution and the passion they brought to the organization,” said Mr. Atkinson.

Wade Oosterman is President of Bell Mobility and Bell Distribution Inc. (BDI). Mr. Oosterman leads Bell Canada’s wireless business, retail and distribution channels. As Chief Brand Officer, Mr. Oosterman heads the strategy and direction of one of Canada’s most trusted and recognized brands. Bell is the founding sponsor of Bell Lightbox. A twenty-year veteran of the telecom industry, Mr. Oosterman was instrumental in the national build-outs of two fastgrowing wireless carriers, Clearnet and Telus Mobility. He is a Director of the Foundation Fighting Blindness – Canada and a Governor of the North York General Hospital Foundation.

Gary Slaight is President and Chief Executive Officer, Slaight Communications Ltd., (formerly Standard Radio Inc.). Mr. Slaight is actively involved in the industry and is a staunch supporter of Canadian music talent. He created the National Songwriting Contest and the Canadian Radio Music Awards. Mr. Slaight was inducted into the Canadian Music Industry Hall of Fame, in March 2005 and received the Canadian Association of Broadcasters 2007 Gold Ribbon Award for Broadcast Excellence. He is currently a Director Emeritus of Sick Children’s Hospital Foundation and is on the Board of Directors of Luminato, Sirius Satellite Radio, MapleMusic and Astral Media. The Slaight family has generously supported the campaign to build Bell Lightbox.

Dan Tanenbaum is the President and holds an interest in Creativeshake.com (formerly Portfolios.com). Under his guidance, the Portfolios.com membership base expanded from 15,000 to more than 60,000 and the company won several design and advertising awards for its website and advertising campaigns. Over the course of his career as an Art Director, Mr. Tanenbaum has worked on high-profile accounts including Ford, Campbells, AGF, Kraft Foods, and Colgate-Palmolive and has won numerous international awards for his work. Mr. Tanenbaum has been active with the Bell Lightbox Capital Campaign since its inception.

Constance Wansbrough is the Executive Director of the Toronto-based Harbinger Foundation. In 2006, Harbinger was honoured with the Association of Fundraising Professionals’ Outstanding Foundation Award. Ms. Wansbrough has actively participated in the TIFFG Endowment Campaign and was instrumental in the creation of The John VanDuzer Children’s Film Collection at TIFFG.

Toronto International Film Festival Inc. as at June 17, 2008
2008/2009 Board of Directors
Chair Emeritus
William Marshall (Producer, Xybermedia)

Chair
Paul Atkinson (CEO & Chairman, Casero Inc.)

Directors Barry Avrich (President & CEO, Endeavour Marketing)
Ian Bandeen (CEO, Canadian Trading & Quotation System Inc.)
Brendan Calder (Professor, Joseph L. Rotman School of Management, University of Toronto; Corporate Director)
Irene Chu (President & Producer, Goldspin Productions Inc.)
Jan Innes (Vice President Communications, Rogers Communications Inc.)
Ellis Jacob (President & CEO, Cineplex Galaxy LP)
Allen Karp (Chairman Emeritus, Cineplex Odeon Corporation)
David J. Kassie (Chairman & CEO, Genuity Capital Markets)
Bill Kurtin (CEO, The Plan Group)
Kenneth W. Lalonde (President & CEO, The CUMIS Group Limited)
Ralph Lean, Q.C. (Senior Partner, Cassels Brock & Blackwell)
James Little (Chief Brand & Communications Officer, RBC Financial Group)
Michael MacMillan (President, Southhill Strategy Inc.)
Deepa Mehta (Filmmaker)
Leslie Noble (Principal, Strategy Corp Inc.)
Wade Oosterman (President, Bell Mobility and Bell Distribution Inc. (BDI), Chief Brand Officer, Bell Canada)
Gary Slaight (President & CEO, Slaight Communications Ltd.)
Warren Spitz (President & CEO, Upper Canada Forest Products)
Rajesh Subramaniam (Senior Vice President, International Marketing, Federal Express Services)
Constance Sugiyama (Senior Partner, Gowlings Lafleur Henderson LLP)
Dan Tanenbaum (President, Creativeshake.com)
Constance Wansbrough (Executive Director, Harbinger Foundation)
Lisa de Wilde (CEO, TVOntario)

Ex-Officio
Slawko Klymkiw (Executive Director, Canadian Film Centre)

Bell Lightbox
Construction of Bell Lightbox, soon to be one of the world’s leading innovative cultural institutions and headquarters for TIFFG, began on February 1, 2007. A five-storey podium building located on Reitman Square in the heart of Toronto’s downtown entertainment district, Bell Lightbox is designed by world-renowned Toronto-based architectural firm KPMB. The building includes five cinemas, two galleries, three learning studios, and an enhanced film reference library and archive.

The campaign to build Bell Lightbox is generously supported by founding sponsor Bell. The Government of Canada and the Government of Ontario have each contributed $25 million to realize Bell Lightbox. A gift of more than $22 million has been confirmed from the Reitman family – acclaimed filmmaker Ivan Reitman and his sisters Agi Mandel and Susan Michaels – and The Daniels Corporation, who together form the King and John Festival Corporation. The project is also supported by RBC as Major Sponsor and Official Bank, VISA, Copyright Collective of Canada, NBC Universal Canada, The Allan Slaight Family, The Brian Linehan Charitable Foundation, CIBC, and many other individuals and corporations. The TIFFG Board of Directors, staff and many generous individuals have also contributed to the campaign. The total amount raised to date is $147 million, three quarters of the total campaign of $196 million.

The Toronto International Film Festival Group is a charitable, not-for-profit, cultural organization whose mission is to transform the way people see the world. Its vision is to lead the world in creative and cultural discovery through the moving image.

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For more information, please contact the Communications Department at 416-934-3200 or proffice@tiffg.ca