By Greg Hudson and Andrea Hernandez

Yahoo News Canada’s new editor in chief

Mary Vallis Cowan has been appointed Yahoo News Canada’s editor in chief.

In this role, Cowan will oversee the newsroom and will be responsible for editorial direction, audience development, operations, and Canadian content partnerships. According to the company,  her mandate will include evolving Yahoo News to continue to serve Canadian audiences with a focus on quality curation and impactful stories. She will also amplify the work of Yahoo‘s publishing partners to deliver even more value for both readers and publishers.

Cowan comes to the online platform with more than 20 years of journalism experience, including stints at the CBC, Toronto Star, and National Post, as well as a 7-year stint as a Professor of Journalism at Centennial College.

According to Comscore, more than 8 out of 10 Canadians use Yahoo and 94%of Canadians see it as a source of quality content. The Yahoo News portfolio in Canada includes the Yahoo homepage, along with the Yahoo News site, Yahoo Finance and Entertainment and Life brands.

Voices appoints new CMO

Voices, a platform that connects clients with voice actors, offers voice AI cloning and provides voice data for training AI models, has appointed Ruth Zive as chief marketing officer. Zive brings more than a decade of experience in expanding marketing teams and processes for innovative, enterprise-focused AI companies.

Previously, Zive was CMO at LivePerson, a technology company that provides a real-time communication platform for businesses and organizations. The platform allows companies to interact with their customers through instant messaging, live chat, SMS, email and other communication channels. Prior to that, she was also CMO of Ada, a Toronto-based company that focuses on providing customer service solutions through its AI platform.

Zive joins other executives who have recently moved into the Voices team. Among them is Jay O’Connor, who took over as CEO after serving in an interim role. O’Connor has held leadership roles at various companies, including NetSuite, where he was SVP of marketing. The company also hired Blake Hayward last year as SVP of product. Hayward has experience leading product teams in SaaS and online marketplaces, including a previous role as a chief product officerat SmartBiz Loans.

Voices’ client base includes companies like Shopify, Microsoft, and Cisco.