CAREER EXPERIENCE
While the industries and organizations have changed throughout my career,
the skills required to succeed have remained remarkably consistent:
building relationships, managing budgets and organizations, negotiating partnerships,
bringing different people to the table, solving problems, and turning ideas into results.
Those are the same skills and experience I would bring as your Ward 3 Councillor.
EARLY START
My career began early. At 17, I started my first business in Edmonton, customizing professional sports equipment for athletes in the NHL & CFL. That experience sparked an entrepreneurial career that has now spanned more than 40 years.
FASHION BRAND AGENCY
I later founded, the Gingerich Group, an agency representing and overseeing fashion brands across Canada, which led to increasingly senior leadership roles within the industry.
FASHION GROUP INTERNATIONAL
I served for 8 years on the Toronto Board of Fashion Group International, a New York-based global organization, including 3 years as Regional Director.
FASHION WEEK
I then spent 8 seasons leading partnerships and strategy for Canada Fashion Group, which produced Canada’s largest fashion weeks and some of the largest in North America, including Toronto Men’s Fashion Week & Toronto Women’s Fashion Week. Interview:
INDUSTRY NEWS COMMENTATOR
For 6 years, I appeared as a special guest on CBC’s The National, contributing commentary on the business of fashion.
Interviews:
CBC THE NATIONAL - RETAIL RESPONSIBILITY
For 6 years, I appeared as a special guest on CBC’s The National, contributing commentary on the business of fashion.
Interviews:
CBC THE NATIONAL - RETAIL RESPONSIBILITY
PART-TIME TEACHING
Since 2005, I have also taught part-time at several Toronto-area colleges (along with guest speaking), giving me the opportunity to work with and mentor the next generation of creative and business professionals.
ONTARIO PARKS BOARD
More recently, I was appointed to the Ontario Parks Board of Directors, bringing my business and governance experience to an organization responsible for one of Ontario’s most important public assets.
CANIFFF
Today, together with my wife, I own and operate the Canadian International Fashion Film Festival, an organization with an international reach, receiving fashion film submissions from more than 70 countries.
INTERNATIONAL EXPERIENCE
Over the past decade, my work has increasingly focused on bringing the worlds of business, fashion, film and media together. In 2020, I was appointed to the Board of the Commonwealth Fashion Council, based in London, UK, an international organization connecting the fashion sectors of the 56 Commonwealth nations.