Oak + Rumble co-founders Brandon Hardy and Dave Hiff have been named 2025 Alumni of Distinction by Conestoga College. They're two of the twelve graduates recognized this year, announced on September 21, 2026. Brandon graduated from Conestoga's Broadcast – Television program in 2013. Dave finished Media and Communications Fundamentals in 2011, then Broadcast – Television in 2013. Conestoga has run the Alumni of Distinction program since 1997. It recognizes graduates for professional success, public recognition, and contributions to their industry or community.
Where Oak + Rumble started
Oak + Rumble started in a Conestoga classroom. Brandon and Dave met in the Broadcast – Television program, which Dave joined after finishing Media and Communications Fundamentals. The year after graduating, they started the company together.
That start was about as unglamorous as it gets. There was no gear, no clients, and a lot of cold calls to local businesses, and the first camera kit was bought on a loan. Brandon credits the program for a lot of what came next: small classes where nobody was just a number, and instructors who handed some camera-obsessed kids "more responsibility than we probably deserved at the time."
Dave puts it simply: "Conestoga played a big role in getting me started."
What's changed since 2014
More than a decade later, it's still the same two founders. Today, Oak + Rumble is a B2B video production company based in Kitchener–Waterloo that works with marketing teams in regulated industries across North America. Clients have included Sun Life, Linamar, RBC, Equitable, OpenText, and PepsiCo Canada, and campaigns have driven past 10 million impressions.
Along the way, the work has picked up a Platinum and two Gold awards at the international MarCom Awards, plus four Platinum awards at the international Viddy Awards.
The belief that started the company hasn't moved. Video is still the most effective tool a company has to build trust and solve the communication problems marketing teams run into. The gear has just gotten better since that first loan.
Still showing up at Conestoga
Brandon regularly heads back to Conestoga for student panels and presentations. He has also judged industry film competitions, helping emerging video creators get started and build confidence in their work. Plenty of people did the same for us.
In good company
The rest of this year's list includes nurses, engineers, a respiratory therapist, researchers, an automotive technician, a pastry chef, and community leaders. They're people doing meaningful work in their fields and their communities, and it's an honour to be named alongside them. Congratulations to the other ten recipients! We're looking forward to celebrating with them in person at Conestoga's upcoming recognition event.
Thank you to Conestoga, and especially to the Broadcast professors and support staff who made the program what it was. People like Rachelle Cooper, Paul Squires, Stephen Roberts, Chris Martin, Kyle Christie, Paul Francescutti, Mike Toll, Paul Godkin, and Mark Derro, to name a few. They gave two kids (who mostly just wanted to be near a camera) the gear, the guidance, and more trust than we'd earned yet. If you're curious what those two kids are up to now, here's how we work with marketing teams today.
