COTY Turns 30! Nominations for the 2026 Communicator of the Year Are Now Open
Communicator of the Year is back, celebrating its 30th year and looking for its next honouree.
Since 1997, IABC/Toronto’s Communicator of the Year (COTY) has recognized people whose leadership and influence have transformed organizations, moved communities and shaped the conversations around them.
They led through defining moments. They brought people together. They built trust and their influence reached well beyond their own organizations.
Three decades in, the legacy of COTY is a powerful one. This year, we’re looking for the next person whose work belongs in that story.
COTY is open to leaders in any field, from business, health, education, the public sector to nonprofits, politics and community work. What matters is the impact their work has made.
Eligibility criteria
To be eligible, a nominee should
- Be based in or strongly connected to the Greater Toronto Area
- Have work with visible impact in the last one to two years
- Show evidence of that impact on their community, organization or stakeholders
- Lead and communicate in a responsible, ethical way
Who comes to mind? A colleague, a leader in your sector, someone in your community?
How to nominate
Complete the online form here
Nomination deadline
Nominations close November 15, 2026, at 11:59 p.m. ET.
Questions? Reach us at toronto-awards@iabc.to
Past COTY recipients:
- Madelyn Chung, founder of RepresentASIAN Project, and registered psychotherapist (2025)
- Rebecca Shields, CEO of the Canadian Mental Health Association (York Region South Simcoe) (2024)
- Fennella Bruce, veteran television producer, writer and founder of FKB Media Solutions (2023)
- Jesse Wente, Ojibwe writer, broadcaster, curator, public speaker and best-selling author (2022)
- Eileen de Villa, Toronto’s Medical Officer of Health (2021)
- Wes Hall, Founder and Chairman of the BlackNorth Initiative and Founder and Executive Chairman of Kingsdale Advisors (2020)
- Jodi Kovitz, CEO and Founder of #movethedial (2019)
- Maayan Ziv, Founder and CEO of AccessNow (2018)
- Masai Ujiri, President, Toronto Raptors (2017)
- Andy Byford, CEO, Toronto Transit Commission (2016)
- Stefan Sjöstrand, President, IKEA Canada (2015)
- Alan Middleton, Executive Director, Schulich Executive Education Centre (SEEC) and Assistant Professor of Marketing, Schulich Business School at York University (2014)
- Ted Garrard, President and CEO, SickKids Foundation (2013)
- Jim Grieve, Assistant Deputy Minister, Ontario Ministry of Education (2012)
- Catherine Zahn, President and CEO of CAMH (2011)
- Peter Aceto, President and Chief Executive Officer of ING Direct (2010)
- Rob Devitt, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Toronto East General Hospital (2009)
- Philip Blake, President and CEO of Bayer Inc. (2008)
- Annette Verschuren, President of Home Depot Canada (2007)
- Mayor Hazel McCallion, City of Mississauga (2006)
- Malcolm Heins of Law Society of Upper Canada (2005)
- Wayne Fyffe of Credit Valley Hospital (2004)
- Edward Marra of Nestlé Canada (2003)
- David Booth of Compaq Canada Corp. (2002)
- Paul Tsaparis of Hewlett-Packard Canada (2001)
- Marguerite Jackson of the Toronto District School Board (2000)
- Rudy Riedl of Enbridge Consumers Gas (1999)
- Jeff Lozon of St. Michael’s Hospital (1998)
- Paul Lucas of Glaxo Wellcome Inc. (1997)