6 novembre 2002
Rob Jones
The Hamilton 2003 world championships organization has made a significant step forward with the hiring of a Chief Operating Officer (COO) to take charge of day-to-day operations for the event. Neil Lumsden, a Burlington-based business man, has been chosen for the position.
Lumsden is the former General Manager and Director of Football Operations for the Hamilton Tiger-Cats CFL team. He is also the President of True Gravity Sports, an athlete representation and sport marketing company. True Gravity represents Pat Quinn (Toronto Maple Leafs) and skiier Melanie Turgeon, among others.
We had a chance sit down with Mr Lumsden for a few minutes today, on his first full day at the job.
CC How did your name come forward for this position?
NL It was a combination of factors. I received a telephone call to see if I was interested, then there were a number of telephone calls and meetings to see if it was a good fit. I did my own research as well, to see what it was all about.
CC Why did you want to get involved, since it is not a sport that you have been involved in before?
NL I saw this as a tremendous opportunity for the community (of Hamilton / Burlington), and I wanted to see something special happen. My background is football, but I've been in the business of sports my whole career. I don't involve myself in things that I don't get passionate about.
CC What is your role in the organization?
NL My role is to bring everything together, to get the structure in place. It's a matter of bringing all the components together and making it a success, a huge success. My background applies to the business behind this event. The reality of the situation is that a lot of work has already been done. On the technical side we are well advanced. I wouldn't have stepped in if I didn't believe in what had been done (so far).
CC What are the priorities at this time?
NL The first priority is filling out the structure, putting in the foundation, personnel-wise. These are the building blocks of the business. We need to get people in all the key positions so that we can begin to move forward quickly. After that, we can start filling in the strategy in each area in a relatively short time. I can't say that there will be such and such a person in a position by next Tuesday, but it will happen very quickly now. Do I think there is enough time? Absolutely, there is no doubt in my mind.
Mr Lumsden will be introduced to the Board on Friday.
une page mise en ligne le 6 novembre 2002 par SVP
