A digital media pioneer, Chantal Payette has proven unique in her field for seamlessly bridging the worlds of entertainment, technology, journalism, branding and content development. Guided by the conviction that “good is great, but smart is better,” Payette’s strong commitment to integration, leadership and the bottom line has made her one of the foremost digital landscapers in North America.
Payette’s clients have included AOL, CBS, CanWest, where she led the company’s newspaper chain’s evolution to a 24/7 web based culture, ESPN, CTVGlobeMedia, Alliance Atlantis, MTV, My Space, the Discovery Channel and ImpreMedia, to name a few. As the Vice President of Interactive for Television at Alliance Atlantis Communications, Payette created the film and television titan’s interactive division. Additionally, in her executive capacity, she coordinated and streamlined the company’s multi-faceted Internet strategies and the digital components for programming such as the hugely successful CSI franchise, films such as Bridget Jones’s Diary and The Lord of the Rings and Alliance Atlantis’ distribution arm.
An experienced journalist and broadcaster, Payette’s contributions to The Globe and Mail, Canada’s national newspaper, The Toronto Star, Marketing Magazine, Digital Journal, and as an on-air technology correspondent for @discovery.ca have exclusively qualified her to evaluate both sides of the media divide.
In 2008, Payette led the digital transition initiative for ImpreMedia, the largest Hispanic newspaper chain in the US, with holdings such as Los Angeles’ La Opinion and New York’s El Diario. The result, plus the creation of the fully loaded www.impre.com portal, was a dramatic increase in ImpreMedia’s online presence and revenues.
As well working with some of the world’s leading media companies, Payette spearheaded the creation of advertising giant Leo Burnett’s interactive division, advised MacLaren McCann, an Interpublic company, on mobile and partnership strategies and navigated the digital brand building of Apple Computers’ clients with the company’s products. Additionally, as a consultant, Payette has worked with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the Department of Homeland Security, Boston Consulting, BCE Inc, Rogers Wireless, rental
car giant Dollar/Thrifty, Family Channel, and the Royal Bank. A strong believer in philanthropy and giving back to the community, Payette also instigated the new media strategy for the Toronto ’03 Alliance, a consortium of business and government leaders dedicated to helping the city recover from effects of the 2003 SARS scare. For a full list of clients and services, including Snazzygirl.com her highly successful e-commerce venture, check out Payette’s corporate site at www.whatevermedia.com.
A frequent guest and panelist on television and radio, Payette’s insights into the realities of the Ideas Economy, digital culture and new media have also seen her chairing panels in Hong Kong at the WebGen Conference and the Digital Entertainment conferences, guest lecturing at the University of British Columbia, and speaking at Digital Hollywood. Named one of Chatelaine Magazine’s “Digital Women of the Year,” Payette has been profiled in Report on Business Magazine, MONEYSENSE, FLARE, The National Post, The Ottawa Citizen and Canadian Business.
The respect Chantal Payette commands in the media industries is not only reflected in her client list and public profile, but also in her participation year after year in the invite-only Monaco Media Forum. The forum, hosted and founded by Prince Albert, brings together the likes of News Corp’s James Murdoch, Vivendi CEO Jean-Bernard Levy, NBC’s Ben Silverman and other corporate media leaders for high-level discussions about the global economy and future of online, broadcast and print communication.