International communications veteran Jorge Ortega joins ChangeMakers USA as Executive Vice President, Client Success

WASHINGTON, D.C. (April 10, 2025) — ChangeMakers, a leading North American communications and marketing firm focused on reputation and social impact, has appointed Jorge Ortega as Executive Vice President, Client Success and a member of the firm’s U.S. leadership team. 

A former senior leader at two multinational agencies, Ortega brings decades of experience advising public and private sector clients on CEO communications, leadership development, brand strategy, and crisis response. He will report to Robert Gemmill, President of ChangeMakers, USA.   

“Jorge is a major addition to the ChangeMakers team,” Gemmill said. “The trust he has earned from C-suite executives is evident by his deep relationships and broad experience across sectors. His leadership will be key as we grow our U.S. business and deliver the results our partners expect.”  

 Ortega joins ChangeMakers from CRA | Admired Leadership, where he served as Managing Director. He previously led Edelman’s southwest region and held senior roles at Burson. His career spans reputation strategy, brand communications, and high-stakes crisis response.  

“Jorge’s appointment reflects our commitment to building a leadership team with both insight and impact,” said Mario Simon, CEO of ChangeMakers. “His integrity and experience align with our mission to navigate complexity for our clients.” 

Ortega joins the ChangeMakers U.S. team, which specializes in helping clients anticipate and navigate complex, high-stakes communication situations.  The firm uses its proprietary Reputation Score© AI platform to inform counsel and to measure and predict reputational impact in real time. 

 “I’m eager to bring my experience advising global clients to help ChangeMakers grow and deliver meaningful results,” Ortega said.  

About ChangeMakers 

 For more than 40 years, ChangeMakers has helped organizations solve complex communications challenges by blending strategy, creativity, and insight. With more than 400 professionals across 10 locations in North America, we partner with clients to build stronger brands, navigate change, and drive meaningful impact. From corporate reputation and brand storytelling to social purpose and executive advisory, ChangeMakers brings together diverse expertise to help clients lead with confidence and clarity. 

Privacy policy

Introduction to our Privacy Policy

At ChangeMakers, we are committed to protecting your privacy of visitors to our website: thechangemakers.com (the “Website”). This Privacy Policy outlines our practices regarding the collection, use, and disclosure of your information when you visit our Website. 

Please read this Privacy Policy carefully to understand how we will treat your information before you start to use our Website, our services, or communicate with us. By using our Website, our services, or communicating with us, you acknowledge that your Personal Information will be processed in accordance with this Privacy Policy, including any updates and amendments. Your use of our services is also subject to any applicable terms of use, including any terms available at  (“Terms of Use“). 

Information We Collect

We collect the following types of information: 

• Personal Information is information that relates (directly or indirectly) to you. Specifically, we may collect and process, among other things, the following information about you: 

• Personal identifiers, such as your name, address, email address, telephone number. 
• Web use information, such as IP address, website, other unique identifiers associated with you, your computer or other mobile device, your internet or other electronic network activity. 
• Other information voluntarily provided to us by you when contacting us through the Website or responding to calls to action on the Website, e.g., user submissions, subscription requests, requests for further information about our services. 

• Non-Personal Information is information that does not relate to you, such as aggregated, de-identified, or anonymous data. This type of information gives us insights regarding, for example, how visitors use the Website and which sections are of interest. This information is used for our commercial purposes, including to ensure the effectiveness of our Website, email communications and that marketing efforts continue to appeal to existing and potential clients and collaborators. Additionally, we may collect aggregate or anonymized demographic information while providing services to our clients, such as demographic information about an audience’s particular interests. 

How We Collect Your Information

Information You Provide 

We collect information you voluntarily and manually provide when you use our Website, such as when you purchase or access services or certain content on our Website, sign up for our email list or newsletter, submit a form, send us questions, or interact with us through this Website. Some of the information you manually provide may be personal information, such as your name or email address. 

Information from Your Website Browser or Mobile Device 
We collect information that is sent to us automatically from your browser or mobile device, such as your IP address, the name of your operating system, the name and version of your browser, date and time of your visit, page(s) you visit and length of time you spent on each page. The information we receive may depend on your browser or device settings. Information received from your browser and mobile device typically is not, in and of itself, personally identifiable. However, we may combine it with other information that does identify you. 

Tracking Technologies 

Use of Google Analytics

This website uses Google Analytics, a web analytics service provided by Google, Inc. (“Google”). Google Analytics uses cookies to analyze activities on and use of the Website to improve the navigation, content, and design of the Website. The information generated by the cookie about your use of this site (including your IP address) will be transmitted to and stored by Google on servers in the United States. Google will use this information for the purpose of evaluating your use of this site, compiling reports on website activity and providing other services relating to website activity and internet usage. Google may also transfer this information to third parties where required to do so by law, or where such third parties process the information on Google’s behalf. By using this website, you consent to the processing of your data by Google as described. For more information on Google Analytics, you can visit Google’s Privacy Policy. 

Use of Cookies

This Website uses third-party tracking cookies to monitor website traffic and user engagement and provide visitors with tailored information upon each visit. Cookies are a common part of many commercial websites that allow small text files to be sent by a website, accepted by a web browser and then placed on your hard drive as recognition for repeat visits to the Website. Every time you visit the Website, our servers, through cookies, pixels and/or GIF files, collect basic technical information such as your domain name, the address of the last URL visited prior to clicking through to the Website, and your browser and operating system. You do not need to enable cookies to visit the Website; however, disabling cookies may affect your experience and limit some functionalities of the site. Some cookie files remain on your computer’s hard drive unless and until you manually delete the file.  

How We Use and Disclose Your Personal Information

Consent 

We may process your Personal Information where we have your consent to do so, such as communicating with you about an event you attended or campaign you were involved in. You have a right to withdraw your consent at any time but doing so may prevent us from providing a service to you or responding to a request that you have made. 

To Perform a Contract with You 

We may use your Personal Information to perform a contract with you or take steps at your request prior to entering into such a contract. This processing may include providing you with information, products, and services. 

Analytic Purposes 

We may process your Personal Information where necessary for product development, algorithmic model improvement, and statistical analysis to improve our services and Website experience. For model development and statistical analysis, we make every reasonable effort to use anonymized or de-identified information where possible and have implemented best practices to limit the use of your Personal Information for analytic purposes. 

Otherwise Required by Law 

We may disclose your Personal Information including information about you or your use of the Website where required by law, including where necessary to protect the vital interests of an individual or to satisfy any applicable law, regulation, legal process or lawful governmental request. 

Disclosure to Third Parties 

We may provide your Personal Information to third party service providers on an as-needed basis. We require all such third parties to respect the security of your Personal Information and to treat it in accordance with the law. We do not allow our third-party service providers to use your Personal Information for their own purposes and only permit them to process your Personal Information for specified purposes and in accordance with our instructions. 

In addition to service providers, we may also disclose your Personal Information to the following categories of data recipients where necessary for any of the lawful purposes set out in this Privacy Policy:

• Marketing and advertising partners 
• Third parties to a business transaction, such as a merger, sale, liquidation, acquisition, reorganization, or other transfer of any our assets, whether as a going concern or part of a bankruptcy, liquidation, or similar proceeding 
• With the company or organization you represent upon their request 
• With other third parties at your express direction 
• Law enforcement, regulators, and other parties where required by law 

How We Retain Information We Collect¹

We store Personal Information for as long as necessary to provide services to you and our clients, to comply with legal obligations, or to administer our services, in each case in accordance with our data retention practices and policy. Because of the nature of developing and refining statistical models, this may involve retaining your information for a period after our underlying contract expires, but where possible, we keep this information in an aggregated, de-identified format.  

How We Secure Your Personal Information²

We understand that the security of your Personal Information is extremely important. Accordingly, we use appropriate administrative, physical, and technical safeguards to keep your Personal Information protected from loss, misuse and unauthorized access, disclosure, alteration and destruction, taking into account cost, technology, the risks involved in the processing and the nature of the Personal Information. We implement the following security measures to protect your personal information: 

• A firewall to filter inappropriate access to our web server 
• Logging of all web server access, including date/time, IP address, and username (if applicable) 
• Regular backups of our web server 
• SSL encryption for secure data transmission 

It is important to keep in mind, however, that no security measures are absolutely effective. Although we will apply appropriate measures to protect your Personal Information, we cannot guarantee the security of your Personal Information, and any transmission to us is at your own risk. 

If you should become aware of any known or suspected incidents of unauthorized access to, use of, or disclosure of any Personal Information, you should report them immediately to the following email address: privacy@thechangemakers.com. We investigate all reported claims of data incidents. 

In the unlikely event that Personal Information has been lost, stolen, or potentially compromised, our policy is to alert our users via email no later than three business days of our becoming aware of the event. We will also report such incidents to any required data protection authority. We will work closely with any users affected to determine next steps such as any end-user notifications, needed patches, and how to avoid any similar event in the future. 

Links to Other Websites

Our Website may contain links to other websites that we do not control. We are not responsible for any websites that we do not own or operate. We encourage you to carefully review the privacy policies and practices of other websites that you link to from the Website, as we cannot control or be responsible for their privacy practices. 

Your Rights

Access, Correct, Restrict or Delete 

We respect your rights to your personal information and data. You have the right to access, correct, request restriction or deletion of your information, or request how we use your personal information and data collected, as required by applicable law. Note that we may charge a reasonable fee for actions that you ask us to take with respect to your data. In addition, we reserve the right to first request you provide us with evidence verifying your identity before we take any action. 

After we verify your identity, you have the right to:

• Update or change any information you have provided to us. To update or delete Your information, please contact us at privacy@thechangemakers.com; 
• Request that we confirm what data we hold about you, and for what purposes. You also have the right to confirmation of whether we process your data or deliver your data to third party processors, and for what purposes. We will supply you with copies of your personal data unless doing so would affect the rights and freedoms of others; 
• Change your consent to our use of your information. In such cases, you may not have full access to our Website; 
• Request a digital copy of the data that we hold about you; 
• Request that we gather and transfer your data to another controller, in a commonly used and machine readable format, unless doing so would cause us an undue burden; 
• Request that we delete all data that we hold about you, and we must delete such data without undue delay. There are exceptions to this right, such as when keeping your data is required by law, is necessary to exercise the right of freedom of expression and information, is required for compliance with a legal obligation, or is necessary for the exercise or defense of legal claims. Such a request may result in limited or no use of our Website; 
• Opt-out of receiving future email correspondence from us. You may change your communication settings by contacting us at privacy@thechangemakers.com; 
• Opt-out of receiving any third party marketing communications or having your personal information used for marketing purposes. You may do this by contacting us at privacy@thechangemakers.com; 
• In certain situations, restrict the processing of your data, such as when you contest the accuracy of your data or when you have objected to processing, pending the verification of that objection. When processing has been restricted, we will continue to store your data but will not pass it on to third party processors without your consent, or as necessary to comply with legal obligations or protect your rights, our rights, or those of others. In addition, you may opt-out of any processing of your data altogether. However, doing so may result in the loss of access to our Website; and 
• Complain to a supervising authority in your jurisdiction if you believe we are misusing your data or have violated any of your rights under this Privacy Policy or applicable law. 
• If you wish to have any third-parties, including those to whom we’ve transmitted your information, delete your information, you will need to contact those third-parties directly to do so. Upon request, we will provide a list of all third parties to whom we have transmitted your information. 

Complaints

If you believe your privacy rights have been violated, you may file a complaint with the Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario. To file a complaint with the Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario, contact the office of the Commissioner at:

Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario 
2 Bloor St. East, Suite 1400, Toronto, Ontario M4W 1A8 
Tel: 416.326.3333 or 1.800.387.0073
Fax: 416.325.9195 
Website: www.ipc.on.ca
Email Address: info@ipc.on.ca  

Changes to our Privacy Policy

We reserve the right to update and change this Privacy Policy and will make our best effort to update the date “January 28, 2025” at the top of this page each time we make changes. You can review our most recent changes by visiting this page. By continuing to use our Website, you waive specific notice of, and accept all changes to our Privacy Policy made from time to time. We encourage you to return to this page each time you access our Website to ensure you have read our most recent Privacy Policy 

How to Contact Us

CONTACT INFORMATION: Please direct all requests, questions or concerns related to this Privacy Policy or your Personal Information to privacy@thechangemakers.com

The State of PR in Canada: ethics and strategy still needed at the table  

These days, it is easy to focus on what is new. In fact, it can seem impossible to keep up. But the 2025 State of Public Relations in Canada Report shows us that in all this change, the fundamentals: trust, ethics, and purpose, still matter. 

ChangeMakers supported this research initiative because it is deeply connected to what we do – helping organizations earn trust, build relationships and communicate with clarity. The report confirms what we hear from clients every day. People want honest, clear, and responsible communication. They trust organizations that truly listen and respond with relationships in mind. And they want professionals who understand both strategy and risk to help them move their goals forward. 

The three themes in the report stand out for us. Each is tied to the work we do and the outcomes we help deliver. 

First, trust is still fragile. 

Public trust in communications is improving, but not fast enough. The language we use to describe our work in the professional field makes a difference. Titles like “communications” and “public relations” are not interchangeable in the eyes of the public, and it affects credibility. Words matter. 

At ChangeMakers, we focus clear, honest communication. Whether we’re working with government, business or communities, we understand how to engage audiences, build relationships and earn trust. We believe reputation is earned through actions, not slogans. 

Second, AI is here. We need to lead. 

The report shows that while our professional field is looking at efficiencies in new AI tools, business leaders are not yet turning to their communications teams for guidance on AI strategy. That is a risk. If we stay focused on outputs, we will be left out of the bigger conversation. 

If harnessed correctly, AI can be much more than a tool bolted on to workflows. It can be a strategic driver that creates both new risks and new expectations. At ChangeMakers, we are responding by embedding AI into every facet of our business. The delivery of this looks different across our paradigm, but the result is consistent – higher rate of efficiency, better quality output, and getting to the solution quicker and more often. All of this is grounded in our unfettered belief in human expertise at the wheel. We believe this approach will both elevate our company and push the boundaries of what’s possible for the entire industry.  

Third, professional associations matter. 

Canadians want ethical oversight. They want standards they can trust across all disciplines in the work ChangeMakers does, from marketing, creative and digital to advertising, communications, change management, engagement and measurement. That is what professional associations, like the Canadian Public Relations Society, bring to the table. Professional associations are vital platforms for leadership and help keep the focus on what matters: relationships, ethics and public trust. 

ChangeMakers supported this research because our clients and their audiences are living these issues every day.  

Whether it is misinformation, shifting expectations, or AI uncertainty, we help our clients anticipate those challenges, navigate complexity, and create results that matter. This report confirms that our work is more important than ever. 

Let’s keep the conversation going.  

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ChangeMakers Names Stefan Moores as Chief Executive Officer  

Moores’ appointment signals commitment to innovation, evolution and delivery on client outcomes

ChangeMakers, one of North America’s leading independent strategy and communications firms, announced Stefan Moores as Chief Executive Officer. The appointment reflects the firm’s ongoing evolution to an integrated, AI-native consultancy at the intersection of change, markets, and people.  

“Stefan has the business acumen, entrepreneurial spirit and integrity that has earned him the trust of his team. We are energized by his leadership thus far and look forward to all that ChangeMakers will accomplish together under his guidance,” said Dale Tingley, Co-Managing Partner of the Canadian Business Growth Fund (CBGF) and Chair of the Board. “Under his leadership, ChangeMakers is well positioned to make waves in today’s evolving business market.” 

“Our aspiration is simple: make ChangeMakers the most trusted partner for organizations and leaders who seek to achieve measurable business outcomes. Whether it’s tangible results like sales or revenue, or the harder to quantify cultural and reputational measures, communications is the engine that powers progress,” said Moores. “We will be on the cutting edge of AI, technology and innovation while keeping our focus on the human-centered relationships that build trust, drive results, and enhance reputation. That’s how we will deliver value every day.” 

Moores’ vision for the company centers around the drive to positively impact every client’s business, from strategic planning through organizational change management and market execution. Whether navigating executive leadership changes and cultural challenges, or driving awareness and sales, ChangeMakers is the strategic partner that helps leaders execute well and move confidently. 

“Whether change is the chosen path, or takes our clients by surprise, our role at ChangeMakers is to turn it into a strategic advantage,” said Moores. “We see massive opportunity in leveraging our expertise in crisis and risk management, organizational change management, public relations, marketing and social impact to change the way companies think about, execute and capitalize on change. We do that by applying all our different crafts with technology and human expertise to move with confidence.” 

Moores is uniquely positioned to take ChangeMakers into the future. He brings decades of experience in business management, human resources, finance, investment and operations at leading management consulting, communications and public affairs firms across Canada and the U.S. Most recently, Moores served as Chief Operating Officer for ChangeMakers. He also previously served as President of Argyle and co-founder of The Castlemain Group. Moores holds an MBA from Stanford University Graduate School of Business, an MSC in International Politics, Economics and Business from The London School of Economics and Political Science, and a BA in Economics from Queen’s University. 

“The next era of communications belongs to the doers — those who don’t ask if change can or will happen, but how to make it work. That’s the mindset we’re building at ChangeMakers,” added Moores.  

ChangeMakers’ independence and cross-sector expertise allow it to deliver outcomes—not just activity—for the C-suite, senior leadership and the teams they lead. With more than 400 professionals across 10 North American offices, the firm offers end-to-end, sector-shaped solutions that help clients thrive through disruption and emerge stronger. 

Forget the Deliverables. Drive Business Outcomes. 

Across industries, transformation is constant. If you’re not evolving, you may be left behind. But the difference between success and failure isn’t simply who adapts fastest or the most. Those who will emerge as leaders in today’s business environment will be those who embrace and drive change best. 

That’s why communications teams can no longer afford to sit at the end of the decision chain to receive and act on a mandate—they must be present at the decision-making table, shoulder-to-shoulder with the C-suite. The communications function is capable of more than storytelling, media, and advertising if you allow it.  

At ChangeMakers, we demand it. 

Co-architect Business Strategies  

For too long, communications has been the messenger—not a co-architect—of business strategy. The result is often reactive campaigns, fragmented programs, or missed opportunities. 

We’ve entered an era that requires communicators to understand – and are given visibility into – the entirety of an organization and business context before executing on a task. Communications deliverables are a means to the end.  

To achieve business outcomes, communications must be at the core. Whether advising on organizational design, reputation risk, or stakeholder trust, engagement must be strategic, intentional, and continuous. Otherwise leaders will fail to build the trust required to execute successfully.  

That’s why our role at ChangeMakers extends beyond “telling the story” to building the systems and approaches that make stories credible. We’re helping set direction, identifying roadblocks, and supporting organizational changes to meet and exceed expectations. This requires effective integration—across disciplines, crafts, and technologies, both internally and externally.    

Leverage Communications as a Partner  

Immeasurable strength comes from integrating the entire communications landscape — from marketing and brand strategy to crisis management, organizational change, and social-impact advisory. Our excellence across this diverse skill set gives us an unmatched perspective that informs our approach to every business challenge.  

Communications can lead the next decade of organizational transformation. Doing so will require courage to collapse silos, to rethink traditional models, to show up in boardrooms armed not only with creative ideas, but with data, foresight, and strategic authority. 

For CEOs, boards, and senior leaders, strategic communications must be viewed as a key driver in every plan to achieve business outcomes. It’s the force multiplier — aligning people on the why, increasing adoption and execution, protecting reputation, and unlocking growth. Whether you’re introducing AI, repositioning a brand, driving rapid growth, responding to a crisis or reputational risk, or delivering social impact at scale, success depends on your ability to bring people with you – and communications is the catalyst for success. 

Use Technology and AI as a Catalyst 

People across every organization are using some form of AI – whether it’s endorsed or not. At its best, AI offers a promise of net new solutions, efficiency, cost reduction and automation. Executed inconsistently, it risks eroding trust and value among stakeholders that matter most.  

The most effective transformations pair data intelligence with human expertise — the ability to listen, interpret, give and take, and adjust. At ChangeMakers, we leverage technology to provide data and insight so our teams can focus on strategic counsel: shaping messages that move markets, align employees, or attract investors. 

AI is embedded in how we analyze sentiment, forecast risk, and measure impact. It helps us measure what was previously immeasurable. Our Reputation Score can quantify your reputation, analyze how competitors compare, predict reputational risk, and identify avenues for future growth.  

In another case, we’re going beyond talking with clients about how AI-powered tools like ChatGPT, Gemini, and Google’s AI Overviews change the way people find information. We’re proactively workshopping content strategies and messages that resonate across audiences and organizational contexts, and are structured so AI tools can find, understand, trust, and quote them. 

No one person can keep up with the pace of change set by AI and technology. It requires partnership with a trusted advisor who can help you set the path and filter what’s valuable amidst the noise. 

Learn How to Do Change Well 

The pace of change today—technological, societal, regulatory—can feel overwhelming. Change is hard. And can be exhausting. Especially when poorly managed. 

Organizations with strong change management deliver 264% more revenue growth than those that don’t. What does “strong change management” mean? Following a change management methodology is not enough. Leaders must leverage their strategic communications team to take organizational change beyond process and protocols to embed lasting shifts in culture, performance, and resilience that maximize success.  

When done well, change builds credibility and confidence. When done poorly, it destroys both. Strategic communications is the difference. 

At ChangeMakers, that’s our purpose and our promise: to help leaders and their organizations navigate complexity with clarity, integrity, and measurable results. 

You can’t stop change. But you can do it well. 

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