2025 Communicator of the Year (COTY)
Nominate today! Champion the Best: Your Voice, Their Victory!
Since 1997, IABC/Toronto’s Communicator of the Year Award has recognized a Greater Toronto Area executive whose demonstrated leadership and communications skills drive business results or have had a substantially positive influence on the community. Only one person is recognized as the Communicator of the Year each year.
The Communicator of the Year is not necessarily in a communication role; however, the recipient of the award is someone who uses the power of communication to deepen understanding, inspire action and transform their community.
What makes a COTY winner?
- Strategic communication excellence
- Visionary leadership through communication
- Measurable impact on business or community
- Ethical leadership and professional standards
Nominate today!
If you know someone who embodies these qualities, we encourage you to submit a nomination for this year’s IABC/Toronto Communicator of the Year by January 21, 2026, at 11:59 PM (EST).
Eligibility:
- The nominee must live in the GTA.
- The nominee must have demonstrated strategic communication excellence.
- The nominee should have positively influenced key stakeholders and the community.
- The nominee should uphold a strong code of ethics.
If you have any question, please reach out to toronto-programs@iabc.to
List of past winners:
- 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)
- Dr. 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)