A University of Waterloo Alumni, Denise began her media career in the Advertising Sales Department at the Cambridge Times, a local 3x/week newspaper.  She has also represented IT, manufacturing, government, biotech/pharma, duty free, catering and travel industries with national and international distribution.   Denise was a Regional Ad Director for Sun Media, overseeing a portfolio of 19 daily and weekly newspapers with strong peripherals in online, events and an aggressive portfolio of supplementary products.   As Director of Employee Development at Metroland Star Media, Denise led a team of L&D professionals to better equip all facets of the business to guide the current and next generation of leadership to new heights.   As National Sales Manager, Corporate Sales, Metroland Media, Denise lead a team of highly-accomplished account executives to drive sales, develop account strategies and work directly with corporate customers using a team approach.   She is a strategic business development professional with over 25 years experience in media – print, events,  multi-media marketing and advertising.  In 2015 Denise opened a boutique shop in Barrie selling olive oil, balsamic and specialty foods.  The second Barrie store opened in April 2016 and a third location, Newmarket Olive Oil, opened in September 2018 at Upper Canada Mall’s New Market & Co.  Barrie Olive Oil was awarded New Business of the Year 2015, Small Business of the Year 2017, Tourism Promotion Partner of the YEAR 2017 and Favourite Specialty Food Store 2015-16-17-18, citing excellent staff, premium products & strong leadership.   Specialties: Deeply committed to personal and professional development as well as a strong supporter of talent management  including employee and organizational development initiatives. She is an accomplished training professional and coach with extensive experience as a facilitator and is an expert in sales & marketing,  management and leadership development, customer focus and multiple other strategic initiatives that drive business results.