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Rugby Canada’s search for a new Chief Executive Officer is over. Former Pan Am Games Executive Vice-President Allen Vansen will take over the position effective immediately. Interim CEO Mark Lemmon returns to his previous role as Chief Marketing Officer.
A native of Corner Brook, Newfoundland, Vansen will work out of Rugby Canada’s Richmond Hill office in the north end of the Greater Toronto area, where he currently resides. Prior to his work with the Pan-Am Games he was Vice President of Workforce Operations for 2010 Olympic and Paralympic games in Vancouver. His resume also includes extensive high level administrative experience in triathlon and alpine ski. This appears to be his first rugby-specific assignment, though he will have observed Canada’s double-gold medal showing at the Pan Am Games.
Vansen succeeds Graham Brown, the long-time Rugby Canada executive who held the role for 13 years before departing at the conclusion of the World Cup in October. The incoming CEO inherits a staff of more than 40 and a program absent a senior men’s head coach, a situation that will require his immediate attention. He will also be challenged to find funding for his senior women’s program, who despite finishing 2nd in the 2014 World Cup have remained on a pay-to-play model, a position widely criticised by the rugby community.
On the positive side he will have a sold-out Vancouver 7s tournament to enjoy in his first days in office, and the excitement of the Rio Olympics in the near future. The inaugural and ongoing Americas Rugby Championship has been a success and professional rugby looms on the horizon for North American rugby. With the sport’s attendances rising rapidly, Vansen’s job will be to capitalise on an expected boom in Americas rugby and guide Rugby Canada to new heights in the coming years.
