Toronto, September 2026: Mary Maddever, Chief Content Officer at Brunico Communications and Senior EVP, Strategy, Realscreen and Kidscreen has been named the recipient of the 2026 Gold Medal Award from the Association of Canadian Advertisers (ACA), recognizing her extraordinary and enduring contribution to Canada’s marketing and advertising industry.
First presented in 1941, the ACA Gold Medal is one of the Canadian marketing industry’s most prestigious honours, recognizing an individual whose achievements have made a distinctive contribution to the advancement of marketing communications in Canada.
For more than three decades, Maddever has been at the centre of Canada’s media, marketing and advertising community, not simply chronicling its evolution, but helping shape it.
Across leadership roles spanning Strategy, Media in Canada, Playback, Realscreen and Kidscreen, Maddever has built and evolved influential media brands while creating many of the platforms through which the Canadian industry recognizes its best work, exchanges ideas and develops new talent.
Her contributions include helping build industry benchmarking programs with cross-industry collaboration such as the Strategy Awards, developed with the guidance of APG, AToMiC Awards and recognition of the industry’s outstanding leaders’ via programs that span Brands, Marketers, Media Leaders and the Hall of Marketing Gold
Through these initiatives and others, Maddever has helped create enduring forums for celebrating excellence and bringing marketers, agencies, media leaders and creatives together around the issues shaping the business.
Mary has also been one of the industry’s most consistent champions of the next generation. She played an integral role in the development of the Canadian Young Lions program and has had a longstanding involvement with the Cannes Lions through the Globe and Mail’s Cannes Lions Advisory Board, helping identify, mentor and showcase Canadian creative talent on the global stage. She continues that commitment today through her involvement with the competition, including as co-chair of the Young Lions Print and Film jury, and as the Cannes Lions Jury nomination committee lead.
“There are very few people in Canadian marketing who are known simply by their first name. Mary is one of them” said Andrea Hunt, President & CEO, Association of Canadian Advertisers. “Her influence comes without fanfare, but it is everywhere, in the talent she has discovered, the conversations she has convened, the work she has celebrated and the institutions and traditions she has helped build around this industry.”
“When Mary’s name was socialized for the Gold Medal, the reaction was remarkably consistent: finally,” Hunt added. “She has spent much of her career putting the spotlight on others. This award gives the industry an opportunity to turn it back on her.”
What distinguishes Maddever’s contribution is not simply the number of platforms, programs and events she has helped create, but the community that has grown around them. Across editorial brands, awards, conferences, Cannes programs and industry recognition initiatives, she has helped create the connective tissue that allows an industry to exchange ideas, challenge itself, discover talent and continually raise its ambition.
“Mary has an uncommon combination of editorial instinct, conviction and generosity” said Russell Goldstein, President & CEO, Brunico Communications. “She has an instinct for the people, ideas and shifts that are going to matter, often before the rest of us see them, and a remarkable ability to build the platform that brings them forward. Her impact on Brunico is immeasurable, but what makes this recognition so fitting is how far that influence extends beyond our company and across the Canadian industry.”
Known for an understated style that often belies the scale of her influence, Maddever has remained far more comfortable celebrating the achievements of others than her own.
That was evident when she first learned she would receive the award.
“Mary immediately steered the conversation to others, her teams, colleagues and partners, and to the role they had played in everything she has accomplished,” Hunt said. “That instinct says a great deal about Mary. She has spent her career elevating others; this recognition ensures her own indelible contribution to the industry is celebrated as well.”
Maddever will receive the 2026 ACA Gold Medal Award at the Strategy Awards on September 29 at Arcadian Court in Toronto, joining a distinguished group of Canadian industry leaders recognized for advancing the practice and impact of marketing communications.
“I’ve been extraordinarily fortunate to spend my career surrounded by smart, creative and generous people, people who care deeply about this industry and keep pushing it forward” said Maddever. “To be recognized by that same community is incredibly meaningful, if slightly overwhelming. I’m very grateful.”
ABOUT THE ACA GOLD MEDAL AWARD
First presented in 1941, the ACA Gold Medal Award recognizes an individual whose outstanding achievements have contributed to the advancement of marketing communications in Canada. The award may recognize a singular achievement or accomplishments over time and is open to leaders across marketing, agencies, media, research, academia and industry associations.
Since its inception, the ACA Gold Medal Award has recognized a distinguished list of industry leaders and visionaries. View the full list of past honorees.
ABOUT THE ASSOCIATION OF CANADIAN ADVERTISERS
The Association of Canadian Advertisers (ACA) is the indispensable advocate and thought leader for Canadian marketers and a champion of a transparent and accountable marketplace. A national, not-for-profit association, the ACA speaks on behalf of more than 400 companies and divisions.