EXECUTIVE PROFILES
Our Leaders
The executive team exudes qualities of leadership and progressive innovation leading Canlan Sports™ to new opportunities for growth and success.
Victor D’Souza
CPA Director, Chairman
Frank Barker
Director
Connie Carras
CA, CPA Director
Geoff Barker
Director
Doug Brownridge
Director
Chris McMullen
Director
Don Crowe
Director
Joey St-Aubin
Officer & Director
President & CEO
Ivan Wu
CPA | Officer
Chief Finance Officer
Michael F. Gellard
CPA | Officer
Executive Vice President
Rita Price
Vice President, Human Resources
Chief Privacy Officer
Liana Guiry
Vice President Sales, Marketing & Customer Experience
Chad Mahabir
Vice President, Technology
Victor D’Souza
| CPA Director, Chairman
Victor D’Souza is Managing Director of Reignite Capital Corporation, a company that provides interim management and capital to Canadian entrepreneurial companies. Mr. D’Souza has more than eighteen years of experience as a CEO of manufacturing companies and seven years of corporate and investment banking experience. From 2004 to 2008, Mr. D’Souza was CEO of Polyair Inter Pack Inc, a TSX and Amex listed company with revenues in excess of $100 million and multi-plant operations in the US and Canada. Prior to this, he was CEO of Imperial PlasTech; a TSX listed company that he helped found in 1990 and through organic growth and acquisition grew to a $58 million enterprise. Mr. D’Souza is a Chartered Professional Accountant, has a MBA from McGill University and a BSc from University of Western Ontario. He has served as a director on a variety of publicly traded companies over the last twenty years.
Frank Barker
| Director
Mr. Barker is a partner and founder of Kinetic Capital Partners, a private equity investment company with over $50 million under management. Mr. Barker has been active in the private equity field since 1986 and has overseen the execution of a number of early stage growth strategies, corporate turn-arounds and financial restructurings of portfolio companies. Prior to the formation of Kinetic Capital Partners Mr. Barker was interim President and CEO of Canlan Ice Sports Corp. from 1987 to 2000. Prior to that he was the Vice President of Finance at Bartrac Holdings Ltd., Canlan’s controlling shareholder. Mr. Barker was an active director of Whistler Mountain Ski Corporation from 1988 to 1997. Mr. Barker has served as a director of a variety of companies in the fields of wood products, oil and gas exploration, waste management and manufacturing and has been a Director of the Company since 1986.
Connie Carras
| CA, CPA Director
Connie is a CPA, CA by professional background. She has over 35 years of business experience leading strategic change and innovation using the levers of technology and ESG and repeatedly creating market leaders in the process. Connie brings almost a decade of Independent Director governance experience including EnerQuality Corporation Board Chair, ZenniHome Holdings Inc. Director, Canadian Diabetes Association Treasurer, and Director. She brings a strategic focus to issues, adept at balancing risk and compliance oversight with long-term value creation and organizational sustainability. Connie is honored to be a Board Director for Canlan Sports Inc., with the Company’s deep Canadian community roots, the organization’s work in bringing families and communities together through sport, and the opportunities to evolve the Company, its products, and “play” for changing times.
Geoff Barker
| Director
Mr. Barker is a graduate of UBC with Bachelor of Applied Science. He spent 1978 to 1986 with the Provincial Water Management Branch of the Ministry of Environment. Registered with the Association of Professional Engineers of B.C. in 1981 but has since given up professional designation. From 1986 onward, has been Vice President Development with Bartrac Holdings Ltd. and has been a director of Canlan since May of 1987.
Doug Brownridge
| Director
Mr. Brownridge joined the Canlan Board in March 2015 and also serves on various other boards including Coast Capital Savings Credit Union and as Chair of Aprio Governance Software. Mr. Brownridge graduated from the University of Toronto with a Bachelor of Commerce degree in Finance and over the past 20 years, he has held senior marketing and business development positions at Intrawest, Rogers, PMC-Sierra, and Motorola. Mr. Brownridge is currently the Chief Operating Officer of IJL Canada Franchisee. Mr. Brownridge brings a wealth of brand management and marketing experience to Canlan’s Board and will provide added leadership through his experience in driving growth, innovation, and customer engagement.
Chris McMullen
| Director
Mr. McMullen has held progressively senior finance roles, culminating in his role as the Chief Financial Officer at Livingston International, while it was a TSX listed company and its subsequent ownership by two large private equity funds. Mr. McMullen, a Chartered Accountant, and brings to Canlan’s board substantial financial reporting, M&A and capital markets experience.
Don Crowe
| Director
Mr. Don Crowe is the founder and CEO of Arena Sports and affiliates which includes Lil’ Kickers, a 130 member kids soccer franchisor based in Redmond, WA. Mr. Crowe brings to Canlan’s board a wealth of experience in US sports facility management, indoor soccer, and technology development.
Joey St-Aubin
| Officer & Director
President & CEO
Mr. St-Aubin has a Bachelor's Degree in Social Sciences with a concentration in Management of Public Policy from the University Ottawa. He has 25 years experience in the competitive ranks of the sport of hockey and has been a leader in the ice rink industry since 1997. He began his career with Canlan as the facility General Manager in Oshawa and has grown through various positions to now lead Canlan Ice Sports as the President and CEO.
Ivan Wu
| CPA | Officer
Chief Finance Officer
Ivan Wu is a Chartered Professional Accountant and holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree in Finance from the University of British Columbia. Prior to joining Canlan Mr. Wu was a Senior Manager in a public accounting firm where he serviced a variety of clients in the real estate and services sectors.
Michael F. Gellard
| CPA | Officer
Executive Vice President
Mr. Gellard is a Chartered Professional Accountant and joined Canlan as controller in 1996 after spending fifteen years working in public practice where he serviced a wide variety of audit clients. Following the successful financial restructuring of the Company in 2000, Mr. Gellard was made Vice President Finance & CFO.
Rita Price
| Vice President, Human Resources
Chief Privacy Officer
Rita Price is a seasoned executive with over 20 years of experience in organizational design, mergers and acquisitions, succession planning, leadership development, talent acquisition and retention. Rita’s previous roles at LifeLabs Medical Laboratory Services, FlightNetwork.com and TUI Travel enabled her to successfully transform HR into a business partnership role, build robust employee relations, leverage HR systems and increase employee engagement. Rita joins Canlan as VP Human Resources.
Liana Guiry
| Vice President Sales, Marketing & Customer Experience
Liana is an accomplished sales and marketing executive with extensive experience transforming brands, building digital capabilities and creating real value for customers that drives topline revenue growth. Liana’s previous contributions at Delta Hotels and Resorts, Destination Ontario, Revera and American Express demonstrate her expertise in translating business strategies into a compelling brand vision, generating healthy customer demand and strengthening customer engagement. Liana joins Canlan as VP Sales, Marketing and Customer Experience.
Chad Mahabir
| Vice President, Technology
Chad Mahabir is a motivated and principled senior leader with excellent technical, communication, collaboration, and problem-solving skills with a proven track record of delivering technical innovation and transformation. Chad believes in communicating a clear vision and sound technical strategy – based on business goals and needs, market opportunities, and competition – to align teams and deliver value. As a leader with more than 20 years of experience leading technical teams in companies like IMAX, FreshBooks and RBC, Chad believes in creating safe to fail collaborative team environments to drive innovation and empowering skilled team members to carry out their roles and responsibilities, while ensuring the entire team deliver results in a timely, cost-effective manner, aligned to business needs.