Mike LaLeune to take on interim role

(September 1, 2022, Ottawa, ON) …Grant MacDonald is concluding his term as Chief Operating Officer (COO) of Sport Tourism Canada (STC) to pursue other opportunities related to his consulting practice, effective September 1, 2022. Grant advised the STC Board of his plan earlier this summer and will continue to support the organization through the upcoming transition process.

“Grant has been an invaluable part of Sport Tourism Canada for many years. We wish him well in his future endeavours and we are grateful that he will continue to work closely with the STC staff and board moving forward,” commented Heather Bury, Chair of Sport Tourism Canada.

With Grant concluding his term, the STC Executive Committee determined that it was in the best interest of the organization to find an interim COO to lead the organization through to the end of 2022. During this time, the Board of Directors will begin the process of recruiting a permanent CEO to begin in 2023.

The Board is pleased to announce that Mike LaLeune will assume the role of COO through to the end of December 2022. Mike is a senior executive with over 35 years of extensive experience and background in managing, producing, strategic planning, marketing, finance, contracts, negotiations, and operations of major national and international cultural and sporting events. He has also worked with Sport Tourism Canada on multiple projects.

“I am beyond confident that Mike will do a fantastic job for our organization as we look towards 2023. We have a lot of talented staff and contractors and felt that Mike would be a great resource for them and for Sport Tourism Canada,” said Bury. “We look forward to working with Mike over the next few months as we approach Sport Events Congress and the end of 2022.”

Mike LaLeune expressed his excitement to begin his work with STC by saying, “I am very pleased to work with such a strong and important organization as Sport Tourism Canada which represents the $7.4 billion+ sport tourism industry in Canada. As we are all finding our way in the new era, the challenges are great and the opportunities for tremendous successes are inspiring.  STC continues to provide critical support and development assistance to its national clients with an experienced and extremely talented staff and Board leadership. I am pleased to be part of this ongoing success story.”

About Sport Tourism Canada (STC) 

Sport Tourism Canada is a non-governmental, member-based, capacity-building organization that promotes sport tourism as a grassroots economic development initiative at the community level. STC services over 500 members across Canada, including 130 municipalities, 300 national and provincial sport, multi-sport and major games organizations and a variety of other sport and tourism industry partners. Sport tourism is the fastest growing segment of the tourism industry in Canada with over $7.4 billion in annual spending by domestic and international visitors and is crucial to local and regional economic recovery from COVID-19.