The Canada Media Fund has tapped youth marketing expert Max Valiquette to fill the seventh and final seat on the revamped agency’s board of directors for 2009/10.

The founder and president of the Toronto marketing firm Youthography was put forth as a nominee by the Canadian Coalition for Cultural Expression, which is responsible for five nominees overall, while the Department of Canadian Heritage named two.

Valiquette joins the CCCE’s previous appointees Alison Clayton, Guy Fournier, Ronald Osborne and Louis Roquet, and Heritage’s Cheryl Barker and Eileen Sarkar. All were named to the board in the summer.

The appointment process has been marked by concern over the potential influence of satellite and cable companies within the CCCE. Organizations including the APFTQ denounced Fournier’s presence in light of his long-standing ties to cable magnate Pierre Karl Péladeau.

Valiquette appears more neutral. The sought-after speaker on youth and pop culture has worked on brands including Nike, MTV and Nintendo. He was also marketing chair for Fashion Cares and is on the advisory board for Mediacs — a youth media literacy advocacy group.

‘[Valiquette’s] experience serving on the boards of various not-for-profit organizations and his knowledge of the digital and new media sectors will be an asset to the organization,’ commented CMF chair Roquet in a release.

The CMF, a fusion of the Canadian Television Fund and Canada New Media Fund, will launch on April 1.