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Visionary CEO and architect of growth for Hotspex Inc., a leading global market research…
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Shane Skillen posted thisLast week the Government of Canada had me in to teach hundreds of Ad professionals how to best use AI to improve their lives. Here's what I actually taught them: You don't need a trainer. Every session I run, I do the same experiment. I survey the room — "How would you use AI in your role?" Then I answer it myself. Then I show how Claude, ChatGPT, and Gemini answer the exact same question. The AI answers it 10x better than I do. In front of everyone. Every time. That's not humbling. That's the whole point. The job of an AI trainer in 2025 isn't to be smarter than the tools. It's to get people close enough to the tools that the magic starts happening on its own. All most people need is a few nudges in the right direction — and then they're off. Last week was GC Ad Day. One of my favourite days of the year. Hundreds of talented Canadian advertising professionals, gathered to go deep on AI — Loveable, the Claude Chrome Extension, Gemini image generation, Master Prompts and prompt engineering frameworks. I built them a custom training toolkit using Claude Code that many of them are now using daily to sharpen their AI literacy. But the moment that will stay with me? A team from the Department of Defence built a complete website for the Canadian Special Forces Women. In 25 minutes. Live. In the room. They told me afterward it would have taken 3+ months the old way, at significant cost. That's not a productivity gain. That's a civilizational shift happening in real time — even inside the walls of government, one nudge at a time. The pace of AI change right now is genuinely relentless. It can feel overwhelming. But I've seen enough rooms like last week's to know this: capability isn't the bottleneck. Confidence is. Once people realize AI isn't something that happens to them — but something they can direct, shape, and wield — everything changes. I love this side hustle of mine helping people with AI. I love Canada. I love teaching. And I am endlessly grateful to live and work in a moment this interesting. The future is being built right now, in government/brand/school workshops, in 25-minute sprints, by people who just need someone to say: go ahead, try it and here is how to use the tools. What have you built that BLEW your mind when you saw it working?
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Shane Skillen shared thisDream job!Shane Skillen shared this📣 Now Hiring: Strategy Manager Fellow 📣 Toronto Blue Jays are in search of a Strategy Manager Fellow, offering a one-year, post MBA fellowship, designed for an emerging leader looking to accelerate their meaningful impact in the sports and entertainment industry. ⚾ Support strategic planning and execution for TBJ Business Operations ⚾ Collaborate with cross-functional teams to solve important business challenges ⚾ Own and execute strategic initiatives ⚾ Contribute to the growth and development of our Strategy & Analytics team If you’re currently enrolled in an MBA program and are graduating in Spring 2026, or a recent MBA degree graduate, it could be your time to step up to the plate and deliver. Apply here: https://lnkd.in/enNBf_34 #BlueJays #ApplyWithin #MBAJobs #MBA #MLB
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Shane Skillen shared thisThis is excellent ... it drives me crazy when people say they "hate" ads ... if we turned the ads off we could enter an economic depression. Brands make people happy and are essential to the fabric of our society.Shane Skillen shared thisA new Signal49 Research (formerly The Conference Board of Canada) landmark report shows that marketing has evolved into a powerhouse of the Canadian economy, rivalling major sectors such as retail trade and growing at twice the pace of the accommodation and food services industry. In 2024, marketing activity generated $130.9 billion in GDP, representing 4.6 per cent of Canada's total economic output. This marks a substantial rise from $94 billion in 2019, underscoring the sector's rapid growth and expanding impact. The marketing sector represents a vital pillar of national prosperity and innovation: · Marketing supports 861,500 jobs, roughly one in every 25 Canadian positions. Notably, these roles are high value, with marketing professionals earning an average of 30 per cent more than the national average. · In 2024, marketing activities contributed $47.8 billion in government tax revenues, primarily through personal income and sales taxes. · The marketing sector is a leader in digital transformation, with 75 per cent of marketers using artificial intelligence weekly. Furthermore, 70 per cent of Canadian B2C e-commerce firms had integrated AI by late 2023. Read more: https://lnkd.in/eA7WhhSW #Marketing #CanadianMarketing #Research #EconomicImpact #Insights #Economy #MarketingTalent
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Shane Skillen shared thisThis is the best learning I've seen on line for CPG in months!Shane Skillen shared this** We talk (https://lnkd.in/gemjQUkm) a lot about "Digital Transformation," but Oksana Sobol VP of insights & decision intelligence at The Clorox Company just showed us what it actually looks like in practice. 💎 We’ve been in the CPG space for a long time, and I’ve seen trends come and go. But the conversation The CPG Guys just had with Oksana on the latest episode hit on something deeper: the death of the "siloed" brand. 🔇 In the past, you had your "digital team" and your "retail team." Today? If those two aren't finishing each other's sentences, you’re losing. Oksana broke down three pillars that I think every CPG leader needs to internalize right now: 📢 Data is the New Inventory: It’s not just about having products on the shelf; it’s about having the signal to know why they are moving. If you aren't capturing first-party insights, you're essentially flying blind. 🤑 The Loyalty Paradox: Consumers aren't "loyal" to brands anymore; they are loyal to frictionless experiences. If your retail media doesn't lead to a seamless checkout, you’ve just paid for someone else’s customer acquisition. 💪 Agility Over Scale: Big brands are learning to act small. We discussed how the most successful players are pivoting their creative in real-time based on performance metrics that didn't even exist five years ago. 💡 Oksana’s perspective is a masterclass in modern brand stewardship. She doesn't just look at the dashboard; she looks at the human behavior behind the clicks. ⁉️ I’m curious—for those of you in the trenches: Are you seeing the walls between 'Digital' and 'Physical' finally coming down, or is there still a massive gap? 👇 Check out the full deep dive here: https://lnkd.in/gemjQUkm #CPG #RetailMedia #Strategy #DigitalShelf #CPGGuys
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Shane Skillen reposted thisShane Skillen reposted thisBIG NEWS: Jöey Nordic Seed Crisps 🍉 just landed in 400 Loblaw Companies Limited's and Real Canadian Superstore locations across Canada! ✨ Getting listed in Canada's largest grocery chain is a massive milestone for our brand—but this one is personal. My first job? Loblaw's. Grade 9. I spent my weekends bagging groceries and didn't know anything about CPG, food innovation, or entrepreneurship. But something about being in that environment sparked a curiosity that never left. Now, decades later, our team walked into Loblaw's this week and helped put Jöey on shelf. Standing in that aisle, I couldn't help but think about how life comes full circle in the most unexpected ways. Huge thank you to: Pallavi P. & Francisca — Our category buyers who made the entire process seamless 🙏 Andre Chow-Leong & Amanda Galante — For believing in our vision early 💫 The entire Natural Value team at Loblaw's — True partners in every sense. To everyone who's supported Jöey along the way: this is your win too. Find us in stores now. The dream keeps growing. 🌱 Zachary Goodwin Hermice Louis #JoeyNordicSeedCrisps #Loblaws #CanadianRetail #CPG #Entrepreneurship #FoodInnovation #SmallBusinessWins
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Shane Skillen posted thisLooking for a finance leader to come talk at a conference (400+ people) in Toronto this April about measuring advertising effectiveness. It's pays super well in free coffee, reputation building and the feeling of giving back to Canadian brands. DM me if interested.
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Shane Skillen shared thisHappy International Women's Day! For the 5th year now I am happy to send anybody who wants one (the first 50 to ask!) a free copy of the Athena Doctrine. It's one of the very best books I've read about how women in leadership roles are mission critical to the future of business and society. I was lucky to meet some of the Icelandic women featured in the book while on a client project in Reykjavik. They are legitimate heroes who SAVED Iceland after the financial crash in 2008 when male egos interfered with doing what was right. Key Book Points ... that are now more important than ever given ALL THE WARS HAPPENING! Feminine values are winning values. Globally, two-thirds of respondents said the world would be a better place if men thought more like women — not about gender, but about empathy, collaboration, and long-term thinking over short-term dominance. The old model of leadership is broken. Hierarchical, aggressive, "command and control" leadership is losing credibility. People are hungry for leaders who listen, share credit, and build trust. These traits are not gender-exclusive. The most admired leaders — male or female — increasingly exhibit what the authors call "Athena traits": nurturing, flexible, expressive, patient. The most effective men lead this way too. Institutions built on Athena values outperform. The book profiles companies, countries, and movements — from Grameen Bank to Iceland's post-crisis recovery — where feminine-coded values produced measurably better outcomes. The future belongs to the "and" leaders. The best leaders combine strength with empathy, decisiveness with humility, ambition with purpose. The binary choice between "tough" and "warm" is a false one — and the world is finally catching up to that.
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Shane Skillen posted thisI watched CEOs tank their own stock price. In real time. While they were still talking. That's CAGNY. Consumer (Investor) Analyst Group of New York The only conference where Wall Street grades your presentation live — by moving your stock while you're still on stage. Here's what the market said this year, I've now had a chance to go through all their amazing presentations. DM me if you want them. General Mills: DOWN 7%. Slashed guidance. Consumer pulled back harder than expected. Conagra: DOWN 5.8%. General Mills shockwave took them down too. Mondelez: DOWN 4.9%. Market said "prove it." Coca-Cola: FLAT. Consistency rewarded. P&G: FLAT. No surprises. Which IS the story. Kimberly-Clark: MIXED. Kenvue acquisition has upside but investors are nervous. Celsius: UP 9.5%. Clear winner. Shelf space up 17%. Alani Nu up 100%. e.l.f. Beauty: STABLE. 28 straight quarters of growth. Already priced as a machine. Molson Coors: DOWN. Flat sales. Pretax income declining 15-18%. But here's what matters more than the stock moves. 5 insights for CPG marketers, agencies, and researchers: The "middle consumer" is disappearing. Lower-income shoppers now buy ONLY on promotion. Unilever is targeting 50%+ from premium. Your brand can't be "for everyone" anymore. AI is now a pass/fail test. Colgate: 16 clean rooms. 16% incremental sales lift. Kraft Heinz: Zero mention of AI. Guess which stock the market punished. GLP-1 is reshaping entire portfolios. Hormel projects the GLP-1 market growing from $62B to $158B by 2035. They're redesigning their portfolio around it. This isn't a trend — it's a structural shift. Fewer brands. Bigger bets. Unilever: 30 Power Brands = 78% of turnover. Kraft Heinz admitted to losing U.S. share for a decade. The era of portfolio sprawl is over. M&A is back — and it's strategic. Kimberly-Clark → Kenvue. Clorox → Purell. PepsiCo → Poppi, Siete. Celsius → three-brand platform. These aren't roll-ups. They're filling occasion and demographic gaps. The companies the market rewarded all had one thing in common: Specificity. AI use. Execution. The ones that got punished? Hope as a strategy. What was your biggest CAGNY takeaway? Drop it below. ♻ Repost if this is useful for your CPG network. #CAGNY2026 #CPG #ConsumerInsights #MarketResearch #BrandStrategy
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Shane Skillen commented on a post
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That is SO inspiring - everybody is trying to figure out AI and you are figuring it out! AI IS the future of marketing and we are so lucky to be working in it right now. It's never been more interesting, fast paced and exciting! 79% of Canadians are "anxious" about AI and sure it's bringing change and discomfort but your mom is right! Enjoy the ride and please keep us in the loop with what you are learning!
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Shane Skillen liked thisShane Skillen liked thisVijay Raj, an industry legend, signed off from his last day at Unilever yesterday after 30 years in the corporate world, including five as Unilever's head of CMI. It was a privilege working with you, Vijay. À bientôt from all your friends at Ipsos — I look forward to seeing what your second innings brings, and to hopefully playing a part in it. Here's his thoughtful leaving messsage: https://lnkd.in/e6NBMuqX Ian Payne Dr. Nick Reynolds Virginia Weil Celine Mollard Abby Smith Simon Atkinson Eleni Nicholas Morgan Francis Victoria Machin Anthony Ambrose Dsouza Annie Kurien Gayatri Soares Susan Purcell Jill Telford Eleanor Finnon Amrita Sarkar Pooja (Mehta) Doshi Suresh Ramalingam Davina O'Donoghue (she/her) Enrica Tiozzo Aurelie Jacquemin Shaun Dix Dale Beaton Samira Brophy Shan Zhao Aaron Peck Hannah Mills Oliver Sweet Ajay Bangia Rudrajit Chatterjee Richard Trenam
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Shane Skillen liked thisShane Skillen liked thisI'm thrilled to share I've joined The Coca-Cola Company as Director of Social & Community! I'm incredibly grateful for my time at Iris North America and the opportunity to work with so many talented people. Looking forward to what's ahead in this next chapter. 🫧🥤
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Shane Skillen liked thisShane Skillen liked thisVancouver has given so much to my family over the last 100 years since we arrived, it has been a privilege and an honour to be able to give something back. This week saw a momentous reimaging of Royal Centre with the formal opening of what I would humbly argue is now the nicest lobby in Vancouver (fighting words, I know). This was a 10-year labour of love and dedication, and even in the darkest moments of the pandemic the team never stopped working towards this vision. I really cannot believe we’re finally here! The vision was to create a space where people could gather, catch up, network and work. Not hidden away or closed off to the public, but open to the city and light around it. As you can see in the photos, this vision was achieved, and then some. I cannot thank enough the team that brought this project to fruition: Warrington PCI Management, KGProjects KGProjects, MCM Architects, Ledcor, Forgestone Capital and too many more to name them all in one post. Team work made the dream work. I also want to express my sincerest appreciation to our Tenants at Royal Centre. We know this was tough to live through and we truly appreciate your patience. I hope the new lobby you get to enjoy on a daily basis was worth it. Stay tuned for some more exciting announcements in the weeks and months to come! Adam Spear Dan Turner Lorna Park Sanjay Sudra Searl Kibel Suyeon Han Rosavel Scott, David Basford, Desmond McDonnell, Ken Grassi, Artie Chumpol,
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Shane Skillen liked thisShane Skillen liked thisStory time! TLDR…the gist: Excited to share that I've been promoted to Marketing Director - AI Strategy & Innovation! The more important part... My mother always taught me: "Comfort and growth don't coexist." For years, I nodded along, thinking I understood. I'd faced challenges, pushed through obstacles, worked hard. But honestly? I was privileged enough not to truly know what that meant professionally until this past year. A year ago, I was living my dream. I'd spent over a decade on the creative side of marketing, working with incredible agencies, building partnerships, shaping brand campaigns, shooting commercials, leading never-been-done-before initiatives. I loved every minute of it (especially the one that comes after wrapping a 3-day shoot...iykyk). I was certain this was my forever path. Then RBC made some organizational changes. Our executives strategically moved me to a new team focused on AI and strategic initiatives. I'll be honest, I wasn't thrilled. Technology and AI? That wasn't my passion. That wasn't where I saw myself. That wasn't what I was good at. I didn't think I'd enjoy it, and I certainly didn't think I'd be good at it. But I trusted my leadership team. I committed to giving myself six months. Those first few months were humbling. I felt like an imposter in every meeting. The jargon, the technical concepts, the speed of innovation...it was overwhelming. But I made a choice: I would become a student again. I listened to more podcasts than I can count. I read everything I could find. I asked what probably felt like endless questions. I put myself in rooms with SMART people. I leaned into the discomfort. And somewhere along the way, something shifted. I stopped feeling like I was pretending. I started genuinely loving the work. Today, I'm not just comfortable in this space, I'm energized by it. We're driving initiatives that are fundamentally changing how we work, how we engage with clients, and how we think about the future of marketing at RBC. This year taught me what my mother meant. Growth didn't happen in my comfort zone with the work I already knew and loved. It happened when I said yes to something that scared me. When I admitted I didn't have all the answers. When I chose learning over ego. This promotion represents professional growth, yes. But what makes it truly meaningful is the personal growth - the mindset shift that came from embracing discomfort rather than running from it. My takeaway? Don't be afraid to step into something that makes you uncomfortable. Like ACTUALLY uncomfortable. To my incredible mentors who saw something in me that I didn't see in myself, who sponsored me, challenged me, and believed in me throughout this journey Mary DePaoli, Alan Depencier, Caroline Paxton and Sandra Vela, thank you for pushing me into my growth zone. Okay, now it's time to get back to work!
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Shane Skillen liked thisShane Skillen liked thisSo thrilled to announce I've been promoted to Senior Editor at SKI Magazine / Outside! After a little less than three years at SKI, I've learned so much from so many incredible people. It's been a pleasure to be part of the brand's success as we navigate and evolve under the changing media landscape.
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Shane Skillen liked thisShane Skillen liked thisIn addition to our Insights team, I also lead our Sales Strategy group and we’re looking to grow the team. And there’s no better place that typifies the importance of strategy than Survivor. So, I asked ChatGPT for a Survivor-themed posting for the role…. Outplay. Outthink. Outsell. Welcome to the Sales Strategy Island! 🏝️ Do you have what it takes to survive—and THRIVE—in the wild world of sales strategy? Can you build alliances with data, outwit market challenges, and rally your tribe (a.k.a. account teams) to claim victory? We’re looking for a Senior Manager, Sales Strategy who’s ready to take on the ultimate challenge: leading our team through the twists and turns of sales strategy—where only the smartest, most adaptable minds make it to the final round. Your torch-bearing tasks: * Design customer- and product-specific sales strategies so sharp they could slice through any obstacle. * Guide your tribe in spotting hidden opportunities and building solutions that scale—no immunity idol required. * Be the bridge between Product, Marketing and Sales — identifying client needs and gathering the scalable insights that help everyone win reward. * Turn every campaign success into a legendary fireside story. * Keep feedback loops running smoother than a well-oiled tiki torch. * Teach best practices that turn everyone into seasoned strategists. Who will win this season? You: With 5+ years of experience in sales strategy or media/advertising, a knack for turning analytics into action, and communication skills strong enough to sway even the toughest council. If you see challenges as puzzles to solve and thrive in fast-paced environments—your tribe awaits! Ready to outlast the competition? Apply now—or tag a fellow strategist worthy of joining this adventure. May the best strategist win! #SalesStrategy #SurvivorSpirit #OutplayOutthinkOutsell #NowHiring #AdvanceYourCareer https://lnkd.in/enbupSHu
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