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Canada Basketball

Brian Cooper Elected Chair Of Canada Basketball Board Of Directors

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Jun 3, 2020

TORONTO, Ont. (June 3, 2020) – Canada Basketball announced Wednesday several updates to its Board of Directors following the organization’s Annual General Meeting, which was held virtually on Tuesday afternoon.

After being appointed Co-Chair of the Canada Basketball Board of Directors in January, Brian Cooper was re-elected a Class A Director and elected to the role of Chair.  He previously served on the Board of Directors from 2004 through 2017.

Currently the Chair of MKTG (formerly S&E Sponsorship), a leading sponsorship agency in Canada, Cooper has negotiated more than $1 billion worth of sponsorship agreements with brands such as Canadian Tire Corporation, Scotiabank, adidas, and Molson.

Rob Wright, who most recently served as Co-Chair along with Cooper, was also re-elected a Class A Director and will assume the role of Vice-Chair moving forward.

Wright is the President and Founding Partner of Mowbray, Wright Financial and IPC Investment Corporation and has over 30 years of experience in the finance industry.

He has been involved with the Canada Basketball Board of Directors since 2011 and has served in several different roles, including Vice-Chair and Treasurer, prior to becoming Co-Chair in 2019.

Brian Bidulka was also re-appointed a Class A Director and to the role of Treasurer, a position he has held since 2014.  

Bidulka, who has been a member of the Canada Basketball Board of Directors for six years, is a Chartered Professional Accountant and the Executive Vice President & Chief Financial Officer of Postmedia.

Scott Lake, Founder and CEO of Hello Ventures, was elected as a Class A Director.  A startup entrepreneur, technology investor and philanthropist, Lake also cofounded Shopify, Canada's largest tech company.

Lake is also the Co-Founder of the Friends of Victoria Basketball, a non-profit dedicated to bringing world-class basketball tournaments to Vancouver Island while also supporting and promoting youth, indigenous and wheelchair basketball across BC.

He joins the Canada Basketball Board of Directors following the departure of Nadine Crowley, who did not seek re-election.

Crowley, who has over 25 years of experience as a social worker, had been a member for the past three years.  A FIBA carded Official, Crowley has been officiating since 1988 and most notably refereed at the 2006 World Championship for Women in São Paulo, Brazil.

Crowley will continue in her leadership contributions to the sport as a member of Canada Basketball Officials Commission’s sub-committee on Education and Development and in her role as a FIBA Commissioner and Supervisor of Officials.

Joe Di Curzio was re-appointed as a Class B Director.

Canada Basketball Board of Directors consists of 11 members, including:

- Brian Cooper, Chair, MKTG (Chair)

- Rob Wright, President/Founding Partner, Mowbray, Wright Financial and IPC Investment Corporation (Vice-Chair)

- Brian Bidulka, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, Postmedia Network Inc. (Treasurer)

- Niko Carino, Founding Member, October’s Very Own

- Joe Di Curzio, Trades and Engineers Navigator, Manitoba Start

- Shannon Hosford, Chief Marketing Officer, Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment

- Basil Kavanagh, Associate Professor, School of Human Kinetics & Recreation, Memorial University

- Scott Lake, Founder and CEO, Hello Ventures

- Wayne Parrish, Senior Vice President, Editorial, Torstar Corporation

- Candice Stasynec, Event Facilitator & Strategist, Always Game Consulting

- Masai Ujiri, President, Toronto Raptors