IAG Members


Craig
Sweetman

Chair IAG Group & Owner of CRS Media Consulting
  • Over 36 years of industry experience
  • Held Executive/Management positions at Conde Nast, CMG and Coast to Coast for 30 of those years
  • Launched and managed the growth of such successful publications as Vanity Fair, Conde Nast Traveler, ZOOMER & Inside Fitness into the Canadian marketplace
  • 2013 recipient of Newsstand Marketer of the Year from CMC and Magazines Canada
  • 2002 recipient of Conde Nast Excellence Award for Newsstand Marketing & Circulation
  • Post-secondary education in the areas of Business Administration, Marketing and Psychology

Bal Bhullar

Director of Distribution TNG
  • Over 25 years of industry experience, 19 years as Director with the TNG team
  • Has extensive distribution knowledge and works very closely with the publishing community
  • Has opened and closed agencies and depots
  • Helped in the implementation of the HS picking system
  • Previously worked for a Greater Vancouver Periodicals, a joint-venture formed by Newswest, Metro News and Monahan agencies
  • Previously worked for a law firm and holds a Legal Secretary certificate

Jerry
Lynch

President Magazines & Books at Retail Association ~ MBR
  • President of IPDA since  2006…..MBR is merged entity of IPDA  & PBAA
  • An industry leader with deep retail experience and knowledge
  • Previous career with  Wegmans Food Markets in Rochester, NY

Michael
Gillen

Senior Vice President, Comag
  • Manages CMG’s wholesale/logistics and retail marketing teams in the United States. He is responsible for the implementation of title specific marketing plans for Hearst, Bauer, American Media, Condé Nast, and many other brand recognizable client publishers.
  • In his previous role at CMG as Vice President, Client Services, Gillen held executive responsibility for all newsstand marketing and distribution efforts undertaken on behalf of the company’s associate publisher clients.
  • While under his management, CMG’s client marketing team grew annual retail sales dollars each year, while signing and retaining some of the most coveted client business in the industry.
  • His leadership continues to play an increasingly pivotal role in the company’s overall success.
  • Mike holds a B.S. in Marketing from West Chester University.

Amy Watkins

National Account Manager TNG
    • A member of the industry for over 20 years
    • A strong relationship builder, currently the National Account Manager for Loblaws and Indigo
    • Previously managed the Shoppers Drug Mart account
    • Recent win has been bringing on No Frills chain and Uscan fixtures for Real Canadian Super Stores

 

Carm
Alfano

Vice President of Purchasing TNG
  • A member of TNG for over 15 years
  • Currently manages all aspects of Category Management for both books and magazines for TNG retailers
  • Prior to TNG ran an Indigo/Chapters large format book store

Kim
Coles

Executive Director, Magazines Canada
  • Currently Executive Director at Magazines Canada
  • With over 22 years working with the Federal Public Sector and the non-profit world, Kim has gained the reputation as being the “go to person” or “fixer” in both her professional and personal life.
  • She loves hearing people’s stories, dreams, & goals and empowering them to the use innovative problem-solving approaches to obtain their objectives.
  • Kim is a Certified Association Executive (CAE) with the Canadian Society of Association Executives (CSAE).
  • She specializes in working with small organizations to not only stabilize and modernize operations to meet current and future challenges but positions them to “hit above their weight” to impact positive change for their membership and society.