Keynote
Mark Shapiro
President and CEO, Toronto Blue Jays
Over a career that spans 28 seasons, Mark Shapiro is one of
the rare executives in Major League Baseball that has had the opportunity to lead and impact baseball, business, and league operations. Widely considered one of MLB’s top executives, he was appointed as President & CEO of the Toronto Blue Jays in November 2015, following 24 seasons within the Cleveland Indians organization.
Mark began his career in baseball in 1992 when he joined the Cleveland Indians as an assistant in Baseball Operations. He quickly moved up the ranks and spent five seasons (1994 to 1998) overseeing all aspects of the Indians’ player development system as Director of Minor League Operations, before becoming Vice President of Baseball Operations & Assistant General Manager from 1999 to 2001.
He most recently served as President of the Indians’ organization from 2011 to 2015, after spending the previous nine seasons as Executive Vice President and General Manager.
Following both the 2005 and 2007 seasons, Shapiro was named the Sporting News “Executive of the Year,” at the time the only active GM in MLB to win the award twice. In 2005 he was also named “Executive of the Year” by Baseball America, and after the 2006 season, the Indians organization was named “Organization of the Year” by TOPPS for the first time. In 2007, Mark was named to the elite “40 under 40” by Sports Business Journal, as well as being listed on Baseball America’s “10 to Watch” list.
In addition to his extensive work in front office, Mark is involved in key baseball initiatives outside of the organization. From 2010 to 2014, he served on Commissioner Selig’s Special Committee for On-Field Matters. In 2015, Commissioner Rob Manfred named Shapiro to the newly formed Competition Committee, a group under Manfred’s Ownership Committee structure that continues to address on-field issues relative to MLB. Mark also serves on the Revenue Sharing Definitions Committee, the Strategic Planning Committee at the Ownership level, and was one of the original group of leaders to make up the MLB Ticketing Committee, which examines current marketplace ticketing issues in MLB relative to digital ticketing, alternative revenue sources, and the secondary ticketing market/dynamic pricing. He currently sits on the Board of Directors for Jays Care Foundation, the charitable arm of the Toronto Blue Jays.
The Baltimore, MD, native played four years of football for the Princeton University Tigers, graduating in 1989 with a degree in history.
Speakers
Leah MacNab
Managing Director, NBA
As Managing Director of NBA Canada, Leah MacNab is responsible for the development and growth of the league’s business in Canada, including television and digital media, marketing and retail partnerships, licensing, special events and basketball development. MacNab assumed the role in August 2019 following a record-setting year for NBA viewership, marketing partnerships and merchandise sales in Canada.
Sam Toles
Former Chief Content Officer,
Bleacher Report
Samuel Toles is a media & technology executive who most recently served as Chief Content Officer at Bleacher Report, the world's most engaged sports media brand. Including the popular House of Highlights brand, Toles leadership propelled Bleacher Report past 100 million followers. Toles was Vimeo's SVP, GM Entertainment. He also served as SVP of Digital and New Platforms for Metro Goldwyn Mayer. Toles began his career at New Line Cinema and has held executive roles at Warner Brothers, Warner Music Group, FremantleMedia, Gaia, and Paramount Pictures.
John Hollinger
Senior NBA Columnist, The Atlantic
John Hollinger's two decades of NBA experience include seven seasons as the Memphis Grizzlies' Vice President of Basketball Operations and Media Stints at ESPN.com and SI.com. A pioneer in basketball analytics, he invented several advanced metrics - most notably, the per standard. He also authored four editions of "Pro Basketball Forecast". In 2018, he was honoured with the Lifetime Achievement Award at the Sloan Sports Analytics Conference.
José Calderón
Special Assistant to the Executive Director, NBA
José Calderón is a 3x Olympic Medalist, 14 years NBA Veteran, Unicef Ambassador and now works as Special Assistant to the Executive Director at NBPA.
Paul Robbins
Executive VP Sports Performance, Kinexon
Paul Robbins is starting his 11th season overseeing in-game data for the NBA while bringing similar expertise to the NFL and USTA using the Kinexon platform and data science team. Previously Paul was the Director of Performance for STATS oversee seeing the NBA performance game data and 11 years with EXOS (formerly known as Athletes Performance) as their metabolic specialist. Paul also earned master’s in exercise physiology from California University of Pennsylvania.
Scott Moore
CEO/Partner, Uninterrupted Canada
Scott Moore is CEO of Uninterrupted Canada, the athlete empowerment platform founded by LeBron James and Maverick Carter. Moore has over 35 years of senior management experience in sports broadcast, media and sponsorship sales. From 2010 to 2018, Moore was President of Broadcasting and Sportsnet at Rogers Media. During that time, Rogers signed the largest media rights deal in Canadian history, a 12 year/5.2 Billion Dollar agreement with the National Hockey League, which led the transformation of Sportsnet into Canada’s Number One Sports Media Brand. During his time there, he oversaw the launch of North America’s first mainstream sports OTT service, and developed new digital products such as “Ice Surfing” with Twitter. Prior to Rogers, Moore was General Manager of Sports and Network Revenue at the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC), overseeing both the Beijing Olympic coverage and CBC’s coverage of the 2010 FIFA World Cup and Commonwealth Games. Moore is a veteran of 11 Olympic Games, having worked for Canadian and US networks, as well as the IOC. He has been part of 5 network launches, and worked as a producer and executive producer of hundreds of major sporting events and entertainment broadcasts.
Laurence Gilman
Assistant GM, Toronto Maple Leafs
Laurence Gilman has worked in the NHL for decades, working with teams like the Phoenix Coyotes, Winnipeg Jets, Vancouver Canucks and the Toronto Maple Leafs. Gilman enters his third season with the Maple Leafs after being named Assistant General Manager on May 24, 2018. In his role with the Maple Leafs, Gilman holds multiple responsibilities including player personnel, managing the clubs player development department and farm system, and overseeing the organizations top prospects as General Manager of the teams AHL affiliate, the Toronto Marlies.
Devin Pleuler
Director of Analytics, Toronto FC
Devin Pleuler currently serves as the Director of Analytics for Toronto FC. In his seventh season with the club, he is tasked with directing the integration of analytics and data science into every soccer-facing aspect of the organization, including opposition analysis, domestic and international player recruitment, and performance forecasting.
Before joining Toronto FC, Devin worked for Opta Sports providing data-driven insights to professional clubs, organizing bodies, and media outlets around the world. He was also a contributor to MLSsoccer.com, contributing a regular analytics-focused column titled Central Winger.
Devin holds a Computer Science degree from Wentworth Institute of Technology and was a goalkeeper for the school's D3 NCAA men's soccer program. He also holds various coaching credentials and briefly served as an assistant coach with MIT’s men’s soccer program in 2012.
Adam Douglas, PhD
Applied Sports Scientist/Sports Performance Manager, Catapult
Adam works as an Applied Sport Scientist for Catapult Sports, working and supporting the ice hockey clients using the technology. In this role, he is responsible for driving research and innovation within the sport using wearable technology, alongside helping the clients deeper understand the data that they are collecting. Adam is also the Manager of Sport Performance with Hockey Canada Men's National Teams. He has spent over 10 years working with both the Men's and Women's teams in a strength and conditioning and sport science role. He is responsible for building the physical performance plan for the U18 and U20 programs, including the off-ice as well as working with the coaches to understand the daily on-ice physical requirements to best prepare the players for short-term competition. Adam has completed his PhD from York University where he investigated the application of wearable technology in elite female ice hockey.
Patrick Lowe
Head of Partnerships, LA LIGA North America
Patrick is a sports management executive currently serving as the Head of Partnerships of LaLiga North America, a joint venture between Relevent Sports, a multinational media, sports, and entertainment group, and LaLiga, Spain’s top-flight soccer competition and professional association.
Previously, Patrick served as the Global Partnerships Sales Manager in LaLiga´s Headquarters based in Madrid, Spain. In this position, he was responsible for creating and executing the international sales strategy, business development, sourcing and closing commercial partnerships from territories around the globe.
Prior to joining LaLiga, he spent 5 years as the National Sales Manager in the United States and Canada for Generation adidas International, an international platform for adidas USA and Canada partners to interact and collaborate with adidas clubs, federations and partners internationally.
Preceding his time at Generation adidas International Patrick served in various positions abroad including posts at the United Nations Office for Sport Development and Peace, based in Geneva, Switzerland and Business Development Manager at Soccer Express, based in Vancouver / Toronto, Canada.
Dr.Megan Popovic
Director, Athlete Wellbeing and Performance, Toronto Maple Leafs
Meg is the Director of Athlete Wellbeing and Performance for the Toronto Maple Leafs (NHL) and Toronto Marlies (AHL). Prior to this Management role, she worked for two seasons as the Personal & Professional Development Coach for players and staff. Meg is the first woman ever to hold a director-level position within this historic hockey franchise. Her work builds upon a decade-long career in the post-secondary education space. Meg served as a faculty member within the School of Leadership and Social Change at Brescia University College, an affiliate of Western University, where her research focused on socio-cultural sports studies, organizational behaviour and leadership, and youth subcultures.
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Shelby Weaver
Owner and Founder, Mack House
Shelby Weaver is from Halifax, Nova Scotia and a graduate of St. Francis Xavier University. Shelby moved to Toronto 8 years ago, and started her career in sports as the Administrative Assistant to Dave Hopkinson and has held a variety of roles at MLSE and with the Toronto Raptors since then. She is currently the Director of Basketball Advancement for the 2019 World Champion Toronto Raptors, the owner and founder of Mack House, a self service sneaker customization studio, & the owner of Makeway, the first stand alone women’s sneaker boutique in Canada.
Wesley Brown
Canadian Scout, President, The Monday Morning Scouting Report
A former Coach for the University of Toronto Women’s Basketball Team, Wes found his niche as a scout developing NBAprospects.com. After a brief stint scouting for the Texas Legends of the NBA G-League, Wes saw a niche in the market and began covering Canadian prospects. Wes is the founder of The Monday Morning Scouting Report which has been helping teams at every level (NBA, NCAA, JuCo, USport) recruit and gather intel on Canadian prospects for the last 4 years.
Dr.Katherine Tamminen
Associate Professor, Sports Psychology, University of Toronto
Dr. Katherine Tamminen, PhD, is an Associate Professor in the Faculty of Kinesiology & Physical Education at the University of Toronto. Her research program in sport psychology focuses on two main areas: 1) stress, coping, and emotion regulation, and 2) youth athletes’ experiences in sport and the influence of parents and coaches in youth sport. Her research is funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC), the Canadian Foundation for Innovation, and the Province of Ontario Ministry of Research and Innovation. Dr. Tamminen has published over 85 research articles and book chapters on the topics of stress, coping, emotion, and youth sport, and she is currently the President of the Canadian Society for Psychomotor Learning and Sport Psychology (SCAPPS). She is a Registered Psychotherapist (Qualifying) with the College of Registered Psychotherapists of Ontario and provides clinical psychotherapy services for athletes, coaches, and individuals working in various high-performance environments including sport, music, performing arts, and business/management settings.
Leo Rodriguez
Designer, Mitchell & Ness
Leo Rodriguez is a headwear and apparel designer for Mitchell & Ness Nostalgia Co. Prior to working for Mitchell & Ness, Leo was a designer at the New Era Cap Global Headquarters in Buffalo, NY from 2017 to 2020. During his time at New Era, Leo designed seasonal products for the MLB, NBA, and NFL along with being the lead designer for both WWE and Canada Goose headwear. Leo also led several Design Sessions, where he’s had the opportunity to collaborate with athletes and entertainers to create custom headwear collections. His designs have been sold worldwide at sporting events, retail stores and online. Some of his most successful projects were the Kobe Bryant Retirement collection, Jackie Robinson Collection, and Dwyane Wade L3GACY Collection just to name a few.
Ravi Ramineni
Director of Soccer Analytics, Seattle Sounders FC
Ravichandra Ramineni is the Director of Soccer Analytics at Seattle Sounders FC. He is the architect of the analytics platform that helps the GM, Sporting Director and the scouting department identify players for potential signings from both within MLS and from the international market. He works with coaching staff to help evaluate the team’s performances and scout opponents. Before joining the Sounders in 2013, Ravi worked at Microsoft for 6+ years on a variety of projects including analyzing large-scale datasets of user-behavior on Bing search engine and building a rules-based fraud detection engine for Microsoft online properties.
Ravi hails from Tenali, India. He has Master’s degrees in Computer Science and Mathematics and Bachelor’s degree in Electronics & Instrumentation.
Farah Bastien
Manager, Data Science, MLSE
Farah Bastien is the Manager of Data Engineer and Data Science at MLSE Digital Labs. In 2016, Farah completed her Masters in Analytics at Queens University with a focus on Multivariate Statistics and Optimization. Her current research focuses on sports-centric data science, with a big lens on interpretability and scaling. Her team works on long term research projects in assisting with Scouting, Drafting, Sports Health Science and Game Strategy.
Venu Rajagopalan
Sports Technology Consultant, Fanisko
Venugopal Rajagopalan is a Sports technology & marketing enthusiast with more than 15 years of professional experience in the Industry in a variety of roles and has the experience of working with customers, coaches and stakeholders across geographies, cultures and backgrounds. Venu has worked with leading Sports technology based organizations like Hudl, Catapult Sports, Sportsinsight, Fanisko & Pitchvision.
Jason Sinnarajah
SVP Business Administration, Buffalo Bills
Jason Sinnarajah was named Senior Vice President of Business Administration on July 6, 2020. In his role, Sinnarajah works alongside Bills ownership in developing the organization’s vision and is responsible for business operations. Since beginning his role, Sinnarajah has been responsible for guiding the Bills front office through preparations for the 2020 season, prioritizing Southern Ontario and Toronto as areas for business growth, setting organization and department goals and spearheading the teams’ response to social and racial issues in our community. Jason's previous work include companies like Ziff Davis and Cleveland Indians.
Jacquie Ryan
Chief Brand and Commercial Officer, Canadian Olympic Committee
Jacquie Ryan joined the COC in August 2019 after spending seven years at Scotiabank, where she was Vice President, Sponsorship Marketing, Partnerships, and Philanthropy before occupying the role of Vice President, Global Social Enterprise and Sustainable Business. As Chief Brand and Commercial Officer, reporting to the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and Secretary General, Jacquie oversees the digital, brand and marketing partnership divisions of the Canadian Olympic Committee.
Kimberly Davis
Senior Executive VP, NHL
Kimberly Davis is a trailblazer and change agent, positively disrupting the financial industry and wide world of sports over her illustrious 30+ year career. Currently, as Senior Executive Vice President of Social Impact, Growth Initiatives & Legislative Affairs at the National Hockey League – the premier professional ice hockey league in the world – Davis has set the League on a new course to attract, retain and develop fans, with a specific focus on multi-cultural audiences. Previously, as Senior Managing Director, Teneo Consulting Worldwide, Davis led the firm’s leadership development and corporate responsibility practice, where she advised Fortune 500 companies, CEOs and cultural icons, including Billie Jean King.
Darryl Boynton
Associate VP, Partnerships, Canadian Tire
Darryl Boynton is the Associate Vice-President, Partnerships at Canadian Tire Corporation. In this role he oversees all partnerships for the Canadian Tire family of companies including working with organizations such as the Canadian Olympic Committee, Canadian Paralympic Committee, NHL, Ottawa Senators and MLSE on behalf of Sport Chek, Mark’s and Sports Experts. Prior to joining CTC in 2015, Darryl worked at Hockey Canada for more than 10 years in different capacities. He was the General Manager of the Toronto component of the 2015 IIHF World Junior Championship. He received his degree in Sports Administration from Laurentian University before starting his career at the Canadian Hockey League as a Manager of Marketing.
Phil Wagner, M.D.
CEO & Founder, Sparta Science
Dr. Phil Wagner is the CEO & Founder of Sparta Science, a Silicon Valley based software company dedicated to helping the world move better. Founded in 2014, Sparta Science is now the leader in applying data science and machine learning to force plate data for more than 120 organizations worldwide - including sports organizations across all levels, elite and conventional military groups, and healthcare.
Costa Kladianos
VP Innovation and Technology, Canlan Ice Sports
Costa Kladianos is the current VP of Innovation and Technology at Canlan IceSports and has over 20 years’ experience focusing on the sports and entertainment business having previously worked at Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment(MLSE), The Canadian Football League(CFL) and Tennis Canada. In addition to Costa's Sports Technology background, he also runs an athletic development program for high level athletes.
Sara Toussaint
VP Sports Marketing, Wells Fargo
Sara oversees Wells Fargo's soccer portfolio including Major League Soccer, the Mexican National Team, team sponsorships as well as ESPN's annual espnW Women+Sports Summit. Her sports business background also includes: Business Development for the Boston Blazers (a startup lacrosse team), Hispanic Partnerships for Major League Soccer, and Labor Relations for Major League Baseball. Sports Business Journal named Sara to the 2018 class of Game Changers: Women in Sports Business. Before joining Wells Fargo, Sara worked at Allied Minds directing the company's marketing efforts and scouting investment opportunities.
Ian Cutler
Senior Director, Communications, RISE
Ian Cutler is Senior Director, Communications, at RISE, a national nonprofit that educates and empowers the sports community to eliminate racial discrimination, champion social justice and improve race relations. Through partnerships and programs across all sports at all levels, RISE inspires leaders in sports to create positive change on matters of race and equality. Ian also hosts and produces Champions of Change: The RISE Podcast, a platform for athletes and other leaders in sports to share their stories and perspectives on issues of social justice, inclusion and athlete activism. Learn more about RISE at risetowin.org
Mark Hilinski
Co-Founder, Hilinski's Hope Foundation
Mark Hilinski is a former retail technology executive and former co-founder of The Retail Equation in Irvine, CA. Mark is the co-founder and current board member of Hilinski’s Hope (H3H). H3H is a charitable foundation founded in 2018 to honor the life of their son, Tyler, who died by suicide. Tyler was the quarterback for the Washington State University Cougars and his death was a shock to all of those around him. Showing no signs of distress and never asking for help, Hilinski’s Hope was founded to help other student athletes eliminate the stigma around mental illness and build awareness and programs to help care for their mental health.
Blake Murphy
Staff Writer, The Athletic
Blake Murphy is a staff writer for The Athletic covering the Toronto Raptors and the host of the Raptors Reasonablists and Columbia House Party podcasts. Prior to joining The Athletic on a full-time basis, Blake ran Raptors Republic and has worked for Vice, Dime Magazine, FanGraphs, and more. He has a Bachelor of Commerce from Queen's University and previously worked in manufacturing operations.
Glen Grunwald
President & CEO, Canada Basketball
Glen Grunwald is the President & CEO, of Canada Basketball, and a senior advisor with the NBA’s Memphis Grizzlies. Grunwald, was a long-time NBA general manager with the Toronto Raptors and the New York Knicks, and arrived at Canada Basketball in 2018 following a four-year stint as Director, Athletics and Recreation at McMaster University. Prior to joining McMaster, Grunwald spent seven years with the New York Knicks, including the last two as Executive Vice-President and General Manager. Previously, Grunwald was recruited by Isiah Thomas to join the expansion Toronto Raptors. After beginning as VP Legal Affairs and Assistant General Manager, Grunwald took over as GM after Thomas’ departure in 1997 and held the position for seven years. After being let go by the Raptors in 2004, Grunwald joined the Toronto Board of Trade as President & CEO. Grunwald holds a Bachelor of Science and Master of Business Administration from Indiana University – Kelley School of Business. Following his undergrad at Indiana, Grunwald received a Juris Doctor from the Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law. A member of the bar in Illinois and Colorado, he began his career as a Corporate Associate with Winston & Strawn LLP.
Eric Myles
Chief Sport Officer, Canadian Olympic Committee
Eric is the Chief Sport Officer at the Canadian Olympic Committee. In this role, he is responsible of the Games, Sport System relations in Canada and international relations for Sport. He actively engages and collaborates with active and alumni Olympians. Eric Myles brings a wealth of invaluable experience in the sport, education and health industry, including 12 years as Co-Founder and Executive Director of Québec en Forme, an organization that mobilizes people from across Québec society to favor and maintain active living and healthy eating, essential to the full development of the province’s youth. In addition, Eric spent 18 years in various roles, including Director of the programme Sport-études at l’Académie les Estacades, and founder of the Complexe sportif Alphonse-Desjardins in Trois-Rivières, Quebec. Also, Eric has an extensive background in canoe/kayak sprint, competing and coaching internationally. Eric holds a McGill-HEC Montreal Executive MBA, as well as diplomas in physical activity and school administration from the Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières.
Christian Parsons
VP Brand, Los Angeles Rams
Christian has been working with creative minds for the past 15 years. He has a passion for the intersection of culture, sports and marketing. He has spent over a decade at advertising agencies. After deciding that he liked championship rings, he went to Toronto to collect a couple with the Toronto Raptors, Raptors 905, Toronto FC and the Toronto Marlies. He also ran marketing for the Toronto Maple Leafs at the time, but alas no championship. He needs one more ring for a full fist. That's why he moved to LA to become the VP of Brand Experience at the Los Angeles Rams.
Jack Armstrong
Toronto Raptors Game Analyst & TSN's Basketball Insider
Best known as the colourful and entertaining voice of the 2019 NBA Championship winning team, the Toronto Raptors, Jack Armstrong has spent more than two decades covering basketball for TSN and NBA TV. Prior to this, he spent a decade as the head basketball coach at Niagara University, where he was named Division I New York State and MAAC Coach of the Year. Armstrong brings his energy, coaching philosophy, and kind heart to every stage, leaving audiences engaged, motivated, and inspired.
Kylie Masse
Swimming Olympian, Team Canada
In her Olympic debut at Rio 2016, Kylie Masse won bronze in the 100m backstroke, setting a national record in the process. She also swam the leadoff backstroke leg for the 4x100m medley relay that set a national record in finishing fifth.
A year later, Masse made history by becoming the first Canadian woman to win a world title in swimming. She captured gold in the 100m backstroke at the 2017 FINA World Championships in Budapest, Hungary by setting a world record time of 58.10 seconds. She added a bronze medal as a member of the mixed 4x100m medley relay and got close to the podium in the women’s 4x100m medley relay (4th) and 200m backstroke (5th).
Masse successfully defended her 100m backstroke title at the 2019 FINA World Championships in Gwangju, South Korea, making her the first Canadian swimmer to ever win back-to-back gold medals in the same event. She also stood on the podium in the 200m backstroke and the women’s 4x100m medley relay, winning bronze in both. She went on to be named Swimming Canada’s Female Swimmer of the Year for the third straight year.
In between her world titles, Masse won gold in the 100m and 200m backstroke events at the 2018 Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast, Australia, setting Commonwealth records in both. She also came home with silver medals from the 50m backstroke and 4x100m medley relay. Later that year, she won 100m backstroke gold at the Pan Pacific Championships after breaking the meet record in the preliminaries and was named female swimmer of the championships.
Masse represented Canada at the World University Games in 2015 where she won gold in the 100m backstroke. Competing regularly for the University of Toronto, she was named the Varsity Blues’ female rookie of the year in 2014-15. She was named U of T’s female athlete of the year each of the next four years (2015-16 to 2018-19). In 2015-16 she also won the BLG Award as the female athlete of the year in Canadian university sport. Her previous multi-sport experience includes a trip to the Canada Games in 2013.
Sandro Tolentino
Co-Founder & CEO, Sturdy Exchange
Lisandro (Sandro) Tolentino is the co-founder and CEO of Sturdy Exchange. Sturdy Exchange was launched in December 2020, Tolentino recognized the emerging crypto market in 2015 while buying and trading crypto and alt coins, the same year he graduated from Santa Clara University. After successful tenures at Returnly and Toptal his foray into the NFT world combines his passion for art, sport and music. Sturdy Exchange is building long term infrastructure for artists to share ownership of their work with the fans that support them. Sturdy has worked with Drake, Shawn Mendes, Skrillex among others.
Rick Baetz
Managing Director, New Era Canada
Rick Baetz is a 30-year veteran of the sports licensed business and has also spent 20 years with New Era Cap Canada. He has past experience with Time Warner Sports Licensing, CCM, and Fruit of the Loom Pro Player. Rick has worked with major North American sports leagues including MLB, NBA, NHL, NFL, and the CFL. Another accomplishment was Rick's sports licensing management, which was highlighted by the Vancouver Olympics in 2010 and the CFL License Executions.
Tyler Dellow
Vice President of Analytics, New Jersey Devils
Jeff Harris
National Leader, Sport Business Advisory, Deloitte
Jeff leads Deloitte Canada’s sport business advisory activities. During his time at Deloitte Jeff has worked with professional sport leagues, players’ association, professional teams, national Olympic committee, national sport organizations, sport technology companies, government, and lotteries on projects focused on growth strategy, sport betting, esports, revenue diversification, customer engagement, digital, economic impact analysis, infrastructure, business case development, operating model and governance, asset review, financial and commercial due diligence, and workplace culture and conduct.
Jeff was also an author of Deloitte Canada’s reports on gaming/esports and sport betting reform, and is the Finance Director for the Ontario Para Network.
Derek Boakye-Yiadom
Founder, The Elete Group
Derek Boakye-Yiadom is a young dynamic entrepreneur from the Greater Toronto Area. At a young age, Derek showed signs of raw talent and began to play organized soccer at a high level. Whilst pursuing his dream of becoming a professional soccer player, he was able to compete and travel to multiple countries over the course of a decade. Through his lived experiences overseas, he returned home to study at Algonquin College in Ottawa and most recently became a licensed FIFA intermediary. Sensing a need in the industry, Derek shortly founded The Elete Group - a full-service management and marketing agency for professional athletes. After founding the Elete Group, Derek was tasked with handling branding and partnerships at ATG Sports - most notably working closely with the prominent Canadian superstar, Alphonso Davies of FC Bayern Munich. Derek continues to utilize his global experience and connections to build strategic branding for professional athletes with keen knowledge of the professional sports world and future trends and hidden talent.
Adam Richman
Co-Founder, Medium Rare
Adam Richman is the Co-Founder of Medium Rare whom partners with global icons to build entertainment brands. Medium Rare is the creator and producer of global brands including: The SHAQ Bowl, Shaq’s Fun House, Gronk Beach, Black Entrepreneurs Day, The Sports Illustrated Awards, SHAQ vs GRONK, and more. Medium Rare also manages and produces custom activations for leading brands and icons including: DJ Diesel aka Shaquille O’Neal, Rob Gronkowski, DJ Carnage, and Virgin Voyages. Adam was named to the Forbes 30U30 list and 2002 Pollstar's Next Gen Impact list.
Jeff Harris
National Leader, Sport Business
Advisory, Deloitte
JeffleadsDeloitteCanada’ssportsbusiness advisory activities. During his time at Deloitte, Jeff has worked with professional sports leagues, players’ associations, professional teams, national Olympic committee, national sport organizations, sport technology companies, government, and lotteries on projects focused on growth strategy, sports betting, esports, revenue diversification, customer engagement, economic impact analysis, infrastructure, business case development, operating model and
governance, asset review, financial and commercial due diligence, and workplace culture. Jeff was also
an authorofDeloitteCanada’sreportson gaming/esports and sportbetting reform, and is theFinance
DirectorfortheOntarioPara Network
Nathalie Cook
Vice President, TSN/RDS, Bell Media
Shannon Hosford
Chief Marketing Officer, MLSE
Luke Wileman
Soccer Host and Commentator, TSN
Kevin Truong
Head of Esports & Gaming, The Princess Margaret Cancer Foundation
Shelley Taniguchi
Senior Manager, Global Partnerships, Team Liquid
Tyler Keenan
Vice President, Global Partnerships, OverActive Media Group
Dr.Chris Carr
Director of Performance Psychology & Team Behavioural Health Clinician, Green Bay Packers
Mark Vallena
Head of Content, NBA G League
Sunny Pathak
President & Founder, New Path Sports & Entertainment