Michael MacMillan

Michael I. M. MacMillan (born 1957) is the CEO of Blue Ant Media, a privately held Canadian media company that creates and distributes engaging content in categories that span lifestyle, travel, music and entertainment. The company owns specialty channels Cottage Life, Travel + Escape, Makeful, and A.Side TV along with four premium, commercial-free channels Smithsonian, Love Nature, HIFI HD, BBC Earth and their companion websites. Its digital publishing division produces content for web, mobile and monthly tablet magazines for AUX and Travel + Escape. Cottage Life Media is a division of Blue Ant Media, publishers of Cottage Life and Cottage Life West and producer of various consumer shows. Blue Ant Media was named Marketing Magazine’s 2012 Media Player of the Year.

MacMillan is Co-founder and Chairman of Samara, non-partisan charitable organization that works to improve political participation in Canada. Samara was formed out of a belief in the importance of public service and public leadership. It is named after a samara, the winged seed that falls from the maple tree. Through its projects, it hopes to strengthen the health of Canada's democracy and encourage others to do the same. He is also the co-founder of the Open Roof Festival.

Additionally, Macmillan is the co-founder and co-owner of Closson Chase, a vineyard and winery in Prince Edward County, Ontario. Closson Chase produces pinot noir and chardonnay wines and was one of the pioneers in establishing Prince Edward County as a new location for wine making in Canada.