Laila Zichmanis has built her expertise in brand management, retail, and general management. She has held progressively senior leadership positions throughout her career in some of Canada's major corporations, and is now leading her own brand management company, Lumena.

After completing her B.A. with a minor in Statistics and Actuarial Science from the University of Western Ontario, she worked for several years in actuarial consulting. She then returned to school where she received her M.B.A. from Schulich School of Business, York University. Upon graduation, Laila joined Procter & Gamble, where over her seven years she was trained in the discipline of brand management, and ran flagship brands Bounce and then Tide. In 1997, Laila joined Canadian Tire as a Brand Manager, and in her 10 years there, she progressed through a number of marketing and merchandising roles, including Director Retail Brands, Director CTR Online, Divisional Vice President Automotive, Vice President Home Products, and President Petroleum Division. In her senior positions there, Laila ran divisions ranging from $1 billion to $4 billion in revenue. Following Canadian Tire, Laila spent some time in the healthcare sector, including Shoppers Drug Mart as SVP Marketing, and launched Lumena in 2011. At Lumena she is focused on brand launch and invigoration through the discipline of brand management and retail category management.   Laila also developed and launched a Certificate in Brand Management at University of Toronto School of Continuing Studies. She guest lectures and speaks publicly on brand management and retail. 

Laila has significant non-profit committee and board experience. From 2007 to 2012, she worked with the Royal Ontario Museum as a member of the Marketing and Merchandising Committee. Since 2010, she has been actively involved with the RASC Toronto Centre council, initially working with them on brand strategy and strategic planning. Since 2014, Laila has served as a member of the RASC TC Council as well as a Toronto Centre representative on the RASC National Council.