Allan Gates
Senior Advisor
Based in New Brunswick, Allan provides strategic communications counsel to organizations and executives navigating complex business, reputation and stakeholder challenges. He works with clients on corporate and executive positioning, communications strategy, reputation management, crisis communications, stakeholder engagement, and the development of compelling corporate narratives.
An experienced communications strategist and entrepreneur, Allan was the co-founder and president of Bonfire Communications, a Saint John, New Brunswick-based marketing communications firm he helped build and lead before its acquisition in 2022. He also co-founded Huddle.Today, a digital business publication focused on Atlantic Canada that was acquired by Acadia Broadcasting Corporation in 2019.
Allan began his career on Parliament Hill, working first for a Nova Scotia Member of Parliament and then for the Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs. He held progressively senior roles in PR and marketing agencies in Halifax, Boston, and Saint John before launching Bonfire in 2013.
Allan holds a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Dalhousie University, and a Bachelor of Public Relations and Master of Arts in Communication from Mount Saint Vincent University.
