About Paul
In a career that can be best described as “influential,” Paul Marchildon has not only worked in the meeting and events industry, he helped define it. He is well known for his passion, dedication, knowledge, leadership and innovative thinking. In the early 90’s, his groundbreaking ideas, including recognizing the importance of defining corporate event business objectives upfront to achieve significant and measurable results, have been described as “ahead of their time.”
In 2005, Atlantis was acquired by Maritz Canada, a leading provider of integrated performance improvement and experiential marketing solutions. Paul stayed on as Vice President, leading the Pharmaceutical/Healthcare and Retail/Packaged Goods Service Teams, leading the Marketing Communications team including all Social Media and Mobile Marketing initiatives. His creativity, strategy, execution, and ability to “take a better brief” positioned Paul as an effective leader and industry innovator.
Paul’s newest venture and lifelong inspiration is leisure. “Self-Unemployed” for over two years, Paul’s leisure time has been anything but downtime. He provides organizations and charities with marketing communications strategy, creative, and execution services; he is an Executive Board Member of Alumni Council to the President at the University of Waterloo and a member of the American Marketing Association, Toronto Chapter. He is a speaker, philanthropist, social media and mobile strategist, creative director, fitness enthusiast, storyteller, mentor, father and self-coined Leisureologist.
It may sound like a lot of work for someone committed to a leisure lifestyle – but Paul doesn’t regard his activities over the past two years as work. He believes that leisure is a state of mind, and when one finds enjoyment in their work, it can essentially be redefined as a form of leisure. The more an activity is enjoyed the more productive, satisfied, and effective an experience becomes. Consequently leisure in the workplace is not only conducive to happy, engaged employees, but to greater efficiency and efficacy.
Paul provides insight into the advantages of incorporating leisure in the workplace, engaging employees and designing an optimum meeting experience to businesses across North America. Through his work he hopes to foster better employee relationships and encourage companies to embrace the concept of creating employee ambassadors. An avid social media enthusiast, Paul believes every employee should be able to take a five-minute Facebook break.
Other Accomplishments: Paul is one of only seven Canadians to earn the prestigious Certified Incentive Travel Executive (CITE) designation and has served as President of the Society of Incentive Travel Executive (SITE) Canadian Chapter. He has been inducted into the Canadian Meetings and Incentive Hall of Fame as an “Industry Innovator” and into the University of Waterloo Athletic Hall of Fame for his exceptional efforts in campus recreation student engagement.
Paul earned a Honours Bachelor of Arts in Recreation & Leisure Studies from the University of Waterloo, where he was also inducted into the UW Athletic Hall of Fame. Through his co-op undergraduate degree he gained significant knowledge and practical experience in the fields of: Recreation & Leisure Studies, Kinesiology, and Health Studies. The Faculty of Applied Health Sciences at the University of Waterloo also plays host to the Canadian Index of Wellbeing, which Paul uses as a valued resource in his every day work.
After launching his career with Club Med, where he managed advertising, marketing, and promotions including the award-winning “Hands Up, Baby, Hands Up” and “30 seconds of Club Med – Could you imagine a week?” campaigns, Paul founded the Atlantis Creative Group in 1996. Specializing in strategic and integrated marketing communications, Atlantis delivered effective communications that aligned with business objectives, engaged audiences, and achieved lasting, measurable results for clients including Volkswagen, RBC, GlaxoSmithKline, and Johnson & Johnson.In 2005, Atlantis was acquired by Maritz Canada, a leading provider of integrated performance improvement and experiential marketing solutions. Paul stayed on as Vice President, leading the Pharmaceutical/Healthcare and Retail/Packaged Goods Service Teams, leading the Marketing Communications team including all Social Media and Mobile Marketing initiatives. His creativity, strategy, execution, and ability to “take a better brief” positioned Paul as an effective leader and industry innovator.Paul’s newest venture and lifelong inspiration is leisure. “Self-Unemployed” for over two years, Paul’s leisure time has been anything but downtime. He provides organizations and charities with marketing communications strategy, creative, and execution services; he is an Executive Board Member of Alumni Council to the President at the University of Waterloo and a member of the American Marketing Association, Toronto Chapter. He is a speaker, philanthropist, social media and mobile strategist, creative director, fitness enthusiast, storyteller, mentor, father and self-coined Leisureologist.
It may sound like a lot of work for someone committed to a leisure lifestyle – but Paul doesn’t regard his activities over the past two years as work. He believes that leisure is a state of mind, and when one finds enjoyment in their work, it can essentially be redefined as a form of leisure. The more an activity is enjoyed the more productive, satisfied, and effective an experience becomes. Consequently leisure in the workplace is not only conducive to happy, engaged employees, but to greater efficiency and efficacy.
Paul provides insight into the advantages of incorporating leisure in the workplace, engaging employees and designing an optimum meeting experience to businesses across North America. Through his work he hopes to foster better employee relationships and encourage companies to embrace the concept of creating employee ambassadors. An avid social media enthusiast, Paul believes every employee should be able to take a five-minute Facebook break.
Other Accomplishments: Paul is one of only seven Canadians to earn the prestigious Certified Incentive Travel Executive (CITE) designation and has served as President of the Society of Incentive Travel Executive (SITE) Canadian Chapter. He has been inducted into the Canadian Meetings and Incentive Hall of Fame as an “Industry Innovator” and into the University of Waterloo Athletic Hall of Fame for his exceptional efforts in campus recreation student engagement.