Michael Thibodeau and Evan Murray have reached the finals of Canada's Next Top Ad Exec. The students have been through two stages of the competition and are now set to travel to Toronto to present their marketing plan to a panel of industry experts on Tuesday, March 25.

The eventual winners of Canada's Next Top Ad Exec will each drive away with the keys to brand new Mitsubishi Lancers, while the runners-up will be given one of multiple internships from some of Canada's biggest players in the advertising and marketing industry, such as the Canadian Marketing Association, Institute of Communication Agencies, BBDO, DDB, Zig, Bos and Cossette Communication Group.

Mandeep Malik, lecturer at the DeGroote School of Business, said the submissions from the top 10 included some exciting ideas.

“The level of thinking and insight presented by these young minds made our evaluators sit up and take notice; I think the finals on March 25 are going to be very competitive and we will see professional grade work.”

Of the 194 individuals who entered alone or as part of a team, the top 10 will be presenting their ideas at the Delta Chelsea Hotel on Tuesday, March 25 in front of a panel of senior marketing and advertising experts representing leading brands and academia. The complete list of finalists is available at www.topadexec.com.