From June 7th-11th, UCFB and GIS will be hosting the Virtual Toronto Global Sports Summit and giving students, alumni and staff the chance to hear from some of the leading names in Canadian sport.
From ice hockey to soccer to basketball, Toronto is home to North American sporting instititions such as NBA’s Raptors, MLS’ Toronto FC and NHL’s Maple Leafs. Keep on reading to find out who’ll be talking and what to expect from day three of the summit...
Bands & Brands: How organisations are leveraging music to tell their brand stories
Kevin Chubey – Director of Partnerships, Music & Live Events
Since graduating from the Ted Rogers School of Management at Ryerson University in 2010, Kevin Chubey has established himself as an impassioned entertainment professional at Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment (MLSE). Kevin held positions with the ticket sales and service team for the Toronto Maple Leafs and Raptors, before landing in Global Partnerships where his tremendous ability to develop meaningful relationships with his clients and showcase his firm grasp of strategic partnership marketing have led him to his current role of Director, Global Partnerships & Marketing – Music and Live Entertainment representing Live Nation. Since joining the partnerships team, he has seen his fair share of success and recognition winning Major League Soccer (MLS) and National Basketball Association (NBA) Activation of the Year awards, multiple Canadian Marketing Association and SMCC awards and a National Sports Forum award.
Riah Sethna, Director, Global Partnerships, Music & Live Entertainment
Riah is an entertainment marketer with a passion for building strategic marketing plans that connect brands with the live music space in Canada. As the Director of Live Music & Entertainment in the Global Partnerships division at Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment, Riah leads corporate partnership development and strategy for Live Nation as a function of their joint venture with MLSE. Riah is a graduate of Western University, where she obtained an Honours Specialization in Media, Information, and Technoculture with a Certificate in Professional Communication. Riah’s passion for strategy and marketing comes from five years of prior agency experience, where she focused specifically on communications planning and execution in CPG and Beauty.
MLSE Brand Management
Meghann O'Hara-Fraser, Director, Marketing
As Director of Brand Marketing, Meghann oversees the strategic planning and development of all team and lifestyle brands at MLSE. Having spent the majority of her career in brand consulting, Meghann brings together the practice of best in class art and storytelling with a disciplined approach to measurement of impact and ROI, to help realize the full potential of marketing across the organization. Meghann thrives on building a high performance culture in her teams, and loves the competitive spirit of sports both on and off the court. Meghann began her career in advertising and then spent several years based in New York leading global brand consulting initiatives for fortune 500 companies. She holds an MBA from the University of Cambridge, and a Bachelor of Science from Bishop’s University.
Hosting Major Global Events – panel discussion
Caroline Wright – Senior Director, Operations & General Manager of ScotiaBank Arena
Caroline is a seasoned sports marketing professional with expertise in Operations, Brand Management, Retail and Venue Strategy. As a leader at Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment (MLSE), one of the world’s premier sports and entertainment organizations, she thrives in enterprise-wide project management, leading multiple teams to deliver a common vision with executional excellence.
MLSE has one of the largest and most diverse sports & entertainment portfolios in North America, and with over Twenty years of leadership experience, Caroline is the General Manager for world class facilities that are home to Toronto Maple Leafs(NHL), Toronto Raptors(NBA), Toronto FC(MLS), Toronto Argos(CFL) and many other teams in addition to a thriving Live Entertainment business.
Wright is a critical thinker with the creative insights, vision and leadership required to juggle multiple brands and priorities. Prior to her appointment as General Manager, she held leadership roles in the areas of Venue Strategy, Project Development, Creative Production, Marketing, Fan Loyalty, Retail, Global Partnerships & Ticketing. Wright is also a Registered Holistic Nutritionist and proud mom of two teenage boys.
Duncan Fraser – Director, Event Experience, MLSE
Duncan’s role is primarily focused on improving all processes around event activities at all MLSE venues. During his time in the role he has defined, developed and built processes around an internal strategic events agency, and centralised event management across all of MLSE’s properties by identifying and delivering on solutions to grow the company’s business objectives and meet client expectations.
Erin Mullally – Manager, Live Events
Erin plays a key role in the overall planning and operations of all three of MLSE’s event venues. As the Manager of Live Events she is responsible for overseeing the high-level planning and execution of our major sporting events for Toronto FC, Toronto Raptors and the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Erin works directly with the team’s respective leagues and operations staff to ensure a flawless execution with her team of coordinators. Through strategic planning and dedication, the events team has succeeded in planning Toronto’s most notable sporting events inside our venues.
As a rising female leader in the industry, Erin has critical insight as to what it takes to achieve a wide range of success in the field, and is committed to MLSE as they continue to be one of the top leading sports organizations in North America.
Marketing High Performance College Sports
Mary Beth Challoner - Manager, Events, Marketing and Sports Information at University of Toronto
Mary Beth Challoner is the Manager of Events, Marketing & Sports Information at the University of Toronto – one of the leading universities in the country for developing athletes through their sports programmes. Her session promises to be hugely insightful on the workings of this system, how it compares to the NCAA in the US and to the UK’s system, as well as showcasing some of the excellent work that the university does in this area.
