Canadian Women & Sport Concludes Successful Board of Directors Election
Toronto, ON (May 20, 2021) – Canadian Women & Sport has concluded its 2021 Board of Directors election and is excited to welcome Susan Irving (Chief Marketing Officer at Kruger Products, L.P.), Rahim Mohamed (Director of Soccer at Saskatchewan Soccer Association) and Trinh Tham (Chief Marketing Officer at Harry Rosen) to the board.
The three new candidates bring diverse perspectives and experiences within and outside of sport, which was a key focus for the nominations committee. Their full bios are below. They join as Canadian Women & Sport launched its new strategic plan for 2021-2024.
Canadian Women & Sport would also like to celebrate the election of Tanya Mruck as Chair and Althea Arsenault as Vice Chair. Bill Cooper and Deidra Dionne were re-elected as Directors-at-Large.
I’m honoured to be nominated for this role and excited for the work that is to come with the strategic plan. There have been great strides in the work Canadian Women & Sport has done and I’m excited to oversee and continue that momentum going forward to create equitable and inclusive spaces for women and girls in the Canadian sport system.
Tanya Mruck, Chair
As the organization welcomes its new board members, it also bids farewell to former Chair of the Board of Directors, Nathalie Cook, and fellow directors Rochelle Grayson and Leanne Nicolle.
All three were part of the Theory of Change project Canadian Women & Sport completed in late 2018, which was instrumental in setting the strategic direction for the organization. Each also contributed to various committees to ensure long-term organizational sustainability. As Chair of the Finance, Audit & Risk Committee, Rochelle led the creation of the financial and operational systems and was an integral part of increasing annual revenue at the organization. Serving as Chair of the Marketing and Communications Committee, Leanne was a driving force behind the successful re-brand of CAAWS (Canadian Association for the Advancement of Women in Sport) to Canadian Women & Sport. As Chair of the Board, Nathalie helped drive the increased advocacy voice Canadian Women & Sport adopted, leading to increased corporate and media partnerships.
“Rahim, Trinh and Susan each bring extensive expertise to the organization and will be valuable assets heading forward. We are building on strength with this new board makeup, with great representation from across sectors and increasingly diverse perspectives. I am confident that we have the right skills and experience around the table to meet our strategic objectives, most notable to empower 10,000 leaders and 500 organizations to bring gender equity to life in their work by 2024. I would also like to recognize and thank our departing members Nathalie, Rochelle and Leanne for their commitment and passion over the past six years—a period which saw the organization grow and advance tremendously in pursuit of its mission.”
Allison Sandmeyer-Graves, CEO
The board election process was delayed from September 2020 to April 2021 to mitigate risks caused by the uncertainty of the COVID-19 pandemic. The call for candidates for five Director-at-Large positions, as well as Chair and Vice-Chair, opened October 1, 2020, and closed February 1, 2021. Terms will start on April 30, 2021 and will end September 2022. This shortened period will re-align the terms with the regular schedule of elections.
The organization’s commitment to expand diverse representation at the board table, as reflected in its Diversity, Equity and Inclusion policy, was a key consideration for the Nominating Committee and will continue to be prioritized in all facets of the Board’s work.
Bios of New Canadian Women & Sport Board Members
Susan Irving is an industry leader with a passion for brands and a reputation for delivering business results through strategic integrated marketing campaigns. Now, as Chief Marketing Officer for Kruger Products L.P., Susan is responsible for leading the marketing team to set the vision, strategic direction, and drive business performance for all Kruger Products brands and marketing activities in Canada and the United States. She is also a Director and Officer of the organization and a key member of the Company’s Executive Team.
Rahim Mohamed is the Director of Soccer at Saskatchewan Soccer Association (SSA) where he oversees the strategic and technical operations of soccer within the province. In this capacity, Rahim manages the SSA player pathway technical programs and services, human resource management and technical communications within the organization. Through his previous roles as both a technical director at Toronto High Park Football Club and Byron Optimist Soccer Club, and his roles as an assistant coach in at Fanshawe College, FC London and the University at Buffalo, Rahim brings a wide array of experience managing strategic planning and operations that will be assets to the organization.
Trinh Tham is the Chief Marketing Officer for Harry Rosen, Canada’s most iconic luxury menswear retailer, where she oversees marketing and e-Commerce for a portfolio of banners including Harry Rosen, Ermenegildo Zegna and The Outlet by Harry Rosen. She is responsible for reinventing how Harry Rosen connects with clients and drives business growth through its brand strategies, integrated marketing, product marketing, insights & analytics, loyalty program, digital innovation, PR, store marketing and e-Commerce experience.
For complete bios of all members of the Canadian Women and Sport Board of Directors, please visit our website.