The Equine Canada Board of Directors is pleased to announce the appointment of Jean-Christophe Gandubert, as the organization’s new Chief Executive Officer. Mr. Gandubert, former managing partner of P3 Strategies & Synergies Consultants, will assume the role on March 1, 2013.
“The search committee considered many extraordinary candidates from around the world during the search for our new CEO,” states Michael Gallagher, President of Equine Canada. “Jean-Christophe brings more than 25 years of experience in private and public sector administration and has earned a reputation as a trusted and respected leader.
“We are impressed with his experience developing internal talent, his understanding of the role that culture plays in an organization’s success and his wealth of knowledge in the entire spectrum of sport policy and organizational management.”
As the Senior Policy Advisor, International Affairs for the Office of the Secretary of State (Physical Activity and Sport), Mr. Gandubert provided strategic policy advice to the Federal Minister responsible for physical activity and international sport policy. In this role he was instrumental in the creation of the National Sport Policy and the Canadian Strategy for Ethical Conduct in Sport. During his tenure, he also initiated the development of the Canadian Hosting Strategy implemented by Sport Canada, the international bid strategy to host the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) in Montreal, as well as being responsible for relations with international sport federations and the International Olympic Committee.
A skilled negotiator and communicator, Mr. Gandubert has successfully implemented several public-private partnerships (P3s) to build community facilities ranging in value from $10 to $50 million with sports organizations and municipal governments. Intrinsic to this work was recommending marketing and sponsorship policies to generate revenue to support building the facilities.
Mr. Gandubert is no stranger to managing large sport organizations. As the Chief Administrative Officer of the Oakville Soccer Club, the biggest club by athlete and volunteer base in North America – with over 11,000 athletes, 22 full-time and 30 part-time staff and thousands of volunteers – he resolved regulatory, operational and business issues for the planning and delivery of programs. During that time, a re-branding of the Club increased sponsorship investments and new partnership agreements.
Prior to this, he was the Executive Director of a provincial sport organization, and while there he tripled the federation’s membership, and brought in more than one million in sponsorship revenues. Although he grew up in Ottawa, Mr. Gandubert attended Laval University in Montreal, and has been working in the Toronto area for the last 10 years.
“I am delighted to join Equine Canada at this juncture in time with the challenges it is facing, the expectations set out in the new ‘One Vision’ strategic plan and the great opportunities ahead,” states Mr. Gandubert.
“Building strong relationships with our provincial / territorial governing bodies and with a diverse and dynamic industry, which has such a large impact on Canada’s economy, will be key to our collective success and our ability to embrace and implement change,” he states.
“I know the task ahead is huge and can only be tackled through a shared commitment from staff and volunteers to excellence in everything we do, at every level of involvement, in every discipline we cover, focusing on quality training and valued services while keeping horse welfare always at the centre of our concerns and actions.”
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