Jim Kabrajee

WORK HISTORY

EDUCATION

ABOUT JIM KABRAJEE

With a freshly minted undergrad degree from the University of Toronto, I started my career in the Finance department of Gulf Oil Canada, but it became clear this was not my long-term calling. So when I received an offer to join Gulf’s marketing department, I was truly excited and later realized it would turn into a lifelong passion. While learning the ropes in marketing, I earned an executive MBA. It was tough sledding. Managing a full-time job, week-end classes, assignments, and a personal life and caring for an ailing parent left little chill time. But it taught me the skills of time management, adaptability, reasoning, strategy, creativity, and collaboration. I also meet my future life-partner Kathryn, and we were married six years later. After five years at Gulf, I was seeking more creativity and independence, and so I transitioned into the ad agency world with McCann Erickson and later, Bates Advertising. My agency years were marked with exciting challenges and adventures, I absolutely loved it and decided to start my own agency. With a friend, I co-founded a marketing consultancy and project management firm and seven years later, I acquired Marshall Fenn Communications a well-established marketing agency. Over the next 32 years my partners and I transformed Marshall Fenn into a growing enterprise with offices in Toronto and Las Vegas. We delivered amazing insights and creative work that grew our client’s businesses (and our reputation) and we mentored many employees who are, today, successful and notable leaders in the industry. The early brought transformative change, the Digital Revolution, and new opportunities. We shifted our thinking and our business model to embrace the new tools in media planning and buying, digital technology, and digital media. In 2009, we were one of the early agencies to acquire a digital marketing agency and integrate it into our existing agency.In 2020, I left the agency world feeling satisfied that I had contributed our client’s success, been a mentor to many bright employees, and helped our industry move forward. It was time for a new chapter.Aviation has always been my deepest, truest passion. In 1981 a friend and I bought a small plane and earned our licenses. During following the decades, I upgraded my licenses, acquired new airplanes and logged many flight hours. In 2023, I acquired an Airline Transport Pilots License which has led to my latest career chapter, flying with an Ontario airline.I am eagerly seeking new opportunities for consulting, board positions and contract flying.