Don Whitbeck

Chief Executive Officer, Partner

Don co-founded Sensei Marketing and is Chief Executive Officer. With over 30 years in the industry, Don combines an extensive background in Global Marketing, Finance, Operations and International Sales with both Enterprise companies and Entrepreneurial organisations. Beginning his career in Sales at HP, Don sold to Fortune 500 companies as well as SME’s, he then moved into Marketing and Operations at Sun Microsystems, then Global Branding and Marketing at IBM. Don has participated in 5 start-ups, including Internet Security, where he drove a start-up’s marketing and sales into 44 countries.  While CEO at an Internet software development firm, Don oversaw the creation and delivery of Canada’s first Internet banking system as well as one of the world’s first internet based equity trading platforms. Don has also co-founded a venture capital firm and founded an internet based logistics company where he purchased and combined 4 companies and integrated 1,200 same-day delivery companies into a North America wide network. He’s taken the helm at 2 publicly traded Enterprise software firms, raised over $50M in financings, recruited sales, marketing, finance, IT, development and operational executives as well as grown, acquired, sold and divested companies.

Sam Fiorella

Chief Strategy Officer, Partner

With  almost 30 years senior sales and marketing experience under his belt, having lead the strategy and development for over 1800 digital projects for some of the world’s largest companies and marketing agencies, Sam heads up the digital & customer experience practice here at Sensei. During this time, he has developed and managed interactive marketing campaigns for AOL America, Sears Travel, Intrawest Resort Properties, GM/Saturn, American Idol, Snyder’s of Hanover, Kraft Foods, and hundreds more, including work for dozens of leading agencies around North America. Further, Sam has designed/developed many “world-first” web-based platforms including the world’s first web-based campground reservation system, the world’s first web-based airport crisis communication platform, and the world’s first interoperable suite of marketing technologies for advertising agencies.

Sam has co-authored  Influence Marketing: How to Create, Manage, and Measure Brand Influencers in Social Media Marketing, published by Pearson Publishing and takes time to teach advanced digital and social marketing strategies as an adjunct professor at Rutger’s Center for Management Development and professor at Seneca College in Toronto. Sam is also a regular Digital and Social Media commentator on CBC Radio.

Robert Clarke

Chief Marketing Officer

Robert has 15 years of marketing and communications experience including the public sector, technology, telecom, and insurance industries.  In 2011, he co-founded a digital agency called Op Ed Marketing, which merged with Sensei Marketing in 2017.

His marketing background includes brand positioning, copywriting and content, email marketing, lead generation, website conversion, and as a Google Certified Partner has helped manage over $2 million in ad spend.  He has written two eBooks, and has given multiple workshops on topics such as social media, lead generation, and pay per click marketing.

Robert is a graduate of Wilfrid Laurier University (HBA) and the University of Waterloo (MA).

Dennis Sherbakov

Chief Technology Officer

With over 20 years of progressively senior technology leadership roles, Dennis has overseen over 1,800 digital projects for a wide range of clients worldwide. Dennis has been involved with the full range of technology solutions including software, embedded systems, Apps, hardware, mechanical devices and robotics.

Dennis has managed teams across all aspects of the development cycle including Design, Development, User acceptance/UI design, Graphic design, Database design and management, Quality Assurance as well as Hosting, Maintenance and Training. Dennis graduated from National Technical University of Belarus in 1994, with a major in robotics and microelectronics.

Sergey Peregud

Manager, Software Development

Sergey has worked with Sam and Dennis, two of firm’s executives, for the past 15 years. During that time, he’s been the quiet mastermind behind the thousands of software applications, mobile technologies, and digital campaign this group has produced. Most recently, Sergey has been the lead software architect of Sensei’s CXM Platform, which supports many of the lead generation and customer development campaigns we deploy.

Today, Sergey is tasked with managing all Sensei’s programming staff, database engineers, and QA staff. In addition, he serves as Senior Project Manager on key implementations. Sergey has a Masters Degree in Engineering and Programming from the University of Informatics and Electronics in Belarus.

Elvira Alizada

Senior Account Manager

Elvira is a professional with 19 years of project and account management experience, supporting business operations in Financial Services, Oil & Gas, Legal and Non-Profit industries.

Along with a Bachelor of Arts (Honors) degree, Elvira has an MBA from the Atkinson Graduate School of Management/Willamette University in Oregon (with an emphasis in marketing and finance) and has completed an executive coaching program at the Rotman School of Management/University of Toronto.

Elvira has been specializing in planning and executing results-driven integrated marketing campaigns utilizing both digital and print strategies, with Oracle, SQL Server and Cube platforms for offline and Google Analytics for online KPI metrics.  Tying into Sensei Marketing’s data analysis focus, Elvira is Google Analytics Certified and brings recognized excellence in relationship building, coaching, planning and execution skills.

Angelina Kwok

Senior Account Manager

Angelina is a seasoned marketing professional who has worked across a range of industries including arts and entertainment, hospitality, manufacturing, diversity and inclusion training and corporate firms.

Her 10 years of international experience in campaign and event management brings an innate appreciation for project management, detail, and customer experience to the Sensei team and clients.  Combined with her passion for marketing, she is the ideal professional to head Sensei’s efforts to continuously improve customer engagements.

Angelina holds a BA in Marketing and Public Relations and a BA in Communications from the University of Notre Dame, Australia.

James Dowden

Director Partnerships

Yulia Schygel

Project Manager

Yulia has over 8 years of quality assurance experience, including manual and automation testing, and she’s been with Sensei for the past 6 years. As a project manager, she’s responsible for designing, developing and implementing all test processes.

Yulia holds a Master’s degree of Applied Mathematics and a Specialist degree of Economics from Lviv Polytechnic National University in Ukraine.

Emily Guterres

Digital Marketing Specialist

Emily is a Digital Marketing Specialist with Sensei Marketing. Her prior experiences are diverse ranging from public relations, social media marketing and talent management.

Working with different aspects of the digital marketing space, she is able to bridge her passion for social media and influencer marketing.

Emily graduated from University of Ottawa with an Honours Bachelors in Communication.

Shai Wallach

Digital Marketing Specialist

Shai is a Digital Marketing Specialist at Sensei Marketing, with a keen interest in data and brands. Prior to Sensei, Shai’s marketing experience spanned multiple industries including cannabis, tech, and real estate.

Having worked on multiple platforms and mediums such as social media, radio, and blogging, she is able to bridge her love of content creation with data-driven decision making.

Shai holds an HBA with distinction from the Ivey Business School at Western University.

Laura Chang

Senior Digital Designer

Laura is the Senior Digital Designer at Sensei Marketing with over 4 years of experience in the Graphic Design field. She has worked on various projects that include projects involving UX/UI design, video production, packaging, and branding. As the Senior Digital Designer, she is responsible for all the design aspects for Sensei Marketing.

Laura graduated from Seneca College with an advanced diploma in Graphic Design.

Justin Yoon

Graphic Designer

Justin is a Graphic Designer at Sensei Marketing. As a graphic designer, he assists Laura, our Senior Digital Designer, with various projects that range from branding, packaging, UI/UX, and video production. He graduated from OCAD University with a Bachelor of Design.

Jason Chong

Data Analytics Specialist

Jason is the Data Analytics Specialist at BONDAI. Bringing an analytical mindset and past project management experience within the nuclear energy industry, Jason leverages his skill set to identify key insights and help make data-driven decisions. With expertise in data manipulation, Jason is responsible for BONDAI’s data operations, dashboard visualizations and reporting.

Jason holds both a Master of Engineering Degree specializing in Data Analytics, and a BASc in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Toronto.

Sarah-Anne Savaria

Digital Marketing Strategist

Sarah-Anne is a Digital Marketing Strategist at BONDAI. Prior to joining the team, she gained experience in digital marketing and eCommerce in the publishing and hospitality industries. Her recent work with small businesses in the non-profit sector gave her an enthusiasm for the client-facing agency environment, which she now brings to her role at BONDAI.

Sarah-Anne graduated from McGill University with a Bachelor of Commerce.

Shannon Levinson

Digital Marketing Strategist

Shannon is a Digital Marketing Specialist at BONDAI. Prior to working at BONDAI, Shannon has worked in the marketing departments of technology and insurance companies. She blended her science background with a business focus to develop analytical marketing plans and strategies for these companies.

Shannon holds a Bachelor of Science (Honours) degree from McMaster University with a specialization in psychology, neuroscience, and behaviour. Shannon also graduated with a Masters of Management degree from The Schulich School of Business.

Cynthia Spitz

Operations Coordinator

Cynthia is Operations Coordinator at Sensei Marketing. She has a keen interest in organizational processes, effective communication, and interpersonal management. Her career spans multiple industries, including advertising, fashion, software development, public relations, and addiction support, giving her a diverse and unique range of skills and perspectives. She is passionate about building genuine relationships and discovering innovative ways to maximize productivity and meet the needs of those around her.

Cynthia graduated from George Brown College with a diploma in Fashion Management and has a certificate in Web Development from Juno College.

Maxim Tverdov

Project Manager

Maxim holds a Masters Degree in Financial Management from the Financial University of Moscow, but always leaned towards information technologies. He is the co-founder of an IT startup company and has over 10 years of IT project management and software solutions implementation experience in various companies, from small businesses to multinational corporations.

With his natural passion for technology and solid business background, he brings his diverse skills to the Sensei team. He has a proven record of success leading all phases of software development and implementation cycle.

Maxim leverages technical, business, and financial acumen to lead projects and communicate effectively with clients and teams.