Who is ASC Public Relations’ Suzanne Cohon?

Dave - Who are you? What problem do you solve?

Suzanne - Hi, I’m Suzanne Cohon, Co-Founder and Owner of ASC Public Relations. 

I help international businesses and brands ranging from Saks Fifth Avenue, NBA All-Star, AMEX Centurion and Casamigos understand the nuances and differences in the Canadian market from coast to coast - creating very tailored and specific experiences that are successfully activated in each province.

Dave - What is your “thing”/ “Superpower”

Suzanne - I have a joke about LL Cool J and Shakespeare.  It brings down the house every time…

Dave - What has been going on in your life recently that you expected and didn't expect?

Suzanne - Menopause.

Dave - What goals are you pursuing right now? (personally/ professionally)

Suzanne - On a professional level – work with my team to help ASC evolve and meet the ever-changing landscape of how the public take in their news, determine who are the next generation of trend-setters & mentor my team to build their leadership skills.

Convincing myself that I’ll be just fine as an empty-nester come August. 

Dave - Who is the one person that you admire the most?

Suzanne - My father-in-law George Cohon.  His larger-than-life personality coupled with his cutting-edge business acumen brought McDonald’s to both Canada and Russia.  If you told him something was impossible – he was always first in line to prove you wrong – and always did.

Dave - When did you first start learning about the media/public relations industry? What is different today, if anything?

Suzanne - I sunk my teeth into media and public relations 25+ years ago.  What’s different today?  EVERYTHING! Fake news, influencers, TikTok – the list goes on & on….

Dave - What is your favourite part of your role? What is your least favourite part?

Suzanne - Celebrating my team’s success – nothing makes me prouder than when the team is praised by our clients for their hard work.  

My least favorite part – losing a new business pitch.  It’s the WORST!

Dave - What have you learned about yourself recently?

Suzanne - That my metabolism isn’t what it used to be. 

I now read and listen to the news with tremendous skepticism as so many news journalists inject their personal opinions into their reporting (which NEVER happened in the olden days). 

While I love purchasing and looking through cookbooks – I have yet to properly execute a recipe.  

Dave - How did you get to where you are today in your life/career?

Suzanne - By making the leap to move from NYC to Toronto.

Dave - Where would you never visit, even if you were paid $1M?

Suzanne - Burger King. 

Dave - What is one idea in your field that experts say, but you disagree with?

Suzanne - That AI will eventually make our line of work obsolete.

Dave - What do you think friendship means? How do you think a healthy friendship should look?

Suzanne - For me, friends are my sounding board, conscience (from time-to-time), cheerleaders, support network and continuous comedic line-up.  My goal is to be the mirror image of that for them.

Dave - How have your friendships changed as you grew up and moved through new seasons of life?

Suzanne - As a mother of a 17-year-old daughter – it’s interesting to witness how she builds and develops friendships.  Understanding the social fabric through her lens has made me realize that I need to set an example of what strong and healthy friendships look like.   It always boils down to the basics: authenticity, loyalty, honesty & humor.  Also, there is no need to share it all on the world wide web.

Dave - Do you have any hidden talents or surprising hobbies?

Suzanne - I can crush a jump rope for hours at a time.

The purpose of this series is to learn more about the senior management teams steering public relations agencies across Canada. Interested in being interviewed? Let's talk about what you have to contribute!