Aug 05, 2026

Before the Brief: Why design’s real value lives upstream

Fadi Yaacoub

About this video

Description

As AI accelerates execution, everything that happens after the brief becomes easier, faster and more accessible. What AI cannot do is participate in the ambiguous, high-stakes conversations that shape the brief itself. For over 20 years at two of Canada’s most recognized media organizations, CBC/Radio-Canada Television and the Toronto Star, Fadi served as a senior executive building in-house divisions, leading digital transformation, hiring and mentoring designers, commissioning work, evaluating it and carrying accountability for its outcomes. Join Fadi to learn how you can make sure you’re upstream guiding the brief, and not just downstream delivering the output.

Fadi Yaacoub

Fadi works with founder-led companies at moments of strategic inflection, when growth, complexity or market pressure have made direction unclear.

He spent more than 20 years in senior leadership roles at CBC/Radio-Canada and the Toronto Star, progressing from art direction to VP-level accountability. During that time, he led product strategy, talent decisions, and turnaround efforts in complex, high-pressure environments.

Today, he works directly with founders to clarify priorities, pressure-test strategic options, and determine the direction their businesses must take.