Join Canadian Club Toronto on May 12 when we host the CEO and Secretary General of the Canadian Olympic Committee, David Shoemaker, in conversation with Chef de Mission and Olympic Champion Marnie McBean. They will discuss the resilience of Team Canada as they strive for success this summer and beyond, the power of sport to inspire change, and how the team has adapted in the face of the unique challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Marnie’s photo credits: Andrew Lahodynskyj / Team Canada David Shoemaker
CEO and Secretary General, Canadian Olympic Committee
With over 20 years of experience in the sports industry, David Shoemaker is an accomplished global sports executive and a trusted name in the worlds of sports, business and law. David joined the Canadian Olympic Committee (COC) in January 2019 after being named Chief Executive Officer and Secretary General.
David oversees the broad scope of operations of the Olympic Movement in Canada including national sport development programs, Team Canada preparation, Olympic bids and events, as well as the commercial and marketing arms of the organization. He works closely with the 52 national sport federations to provide the tools and support they need to develop the next generation of Olympians.
Before joining the COC, David spent seven years as CEO of NBA China. He had a highly successful tenure at the helm of the organization, leaving a legacy of record revenue growth, expanding marketing partnerships to unprecedented levels and spearheading the creation of the largest digital media partnerships in sports with Tencent. Under David’s leadership, the NBA’s popularity surged to new heights with over 640 million people watching NBA programming in China. David also played a pivotal role in bringing the Chinese Ministry of Education on as a strategic partner to teach basketball to millions of schoolchildren, launching a series of grassroots initiatives including several NBA Academies across China to develop top prospects.
David worked for seven years at the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA), serving as President from 2009 to 2011. He was instrumental in the global expansion of women’s professional tennis and was a member of the executive team responsible for the historic achievement of equal prize money for women at both the French Open and Wimbledon.
He spent seven years in New York City, practicing law at Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP and Proskauer Rose LLP, where his clients included the National Hockey League, the Association of Tennis Professionals, Major League Soccer, the Philadelphia Eagles and the Florida Marlins.
David began his career in 1996 as law clerk to the Right Honorable Antonio Lamer, Chief Justice of Canada, following his graduation from the University of Western Ontario Faculty of Law. He also holds a bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of Toronto (Trinity College).
A native of Ottawa, ON, he currently resides in Toronto with his wife Jennifer and their three children. David also speaks three languages: English, French and Mandarin Chinese.
Marnie McBean
Chef de Mission and Olympic Champion
Marnie McBean is one of Canada’s most decorated Olympians, and an expert in turning potential into performance. As one of only two Canadians ever to win three Gold medals in the Summer Olympics, she is used to performing under pressure. Her 12 World and Olympic medals bear witness to this.
Globally, McBean is one of only two women to have won a medal in all the Open Women boat classes; winning gold or silver medals in the single, double, pair, four, quad and eight. In 2002, the international rowing federation, FISA, recognized her outstanding career with their highest honour – the Thomas Keller Award.
After a record-breaking rowing career, the Canadian Olympic Committee hired her as a Specialist in Olympic Athlete Preparation and Mentoring. She worked closely with 5 Canadian Olympic Teams, both summer and winter, as they prepared to compete and “own the podium”. Regardless of their sport, she worked to prepare them emotionally and psychologically, helping to transform their potential into reality. Her job, simply, is to ensure the highest performance possible.
In total, Marnie had been to 9 Olympics as an athlete, member of the media or as a mentor. She is member, and had been a Governor, of the Canadian Sports Hall of Fame, a recipient of the Governor General’s Meritorious Service Medal and has been given the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Medal and was an Honorary Team Coach with Team Canada for the Special Olympics World Summer Games in Abu Dhabi. Concurrent to her Olympic career, Marnie managed to finish a degree in Kinesiology from the University of Western Ontario and had been given three honorary doctorates. She is actively involved in helping to promote the safety, health and activity of Canada’s youth as well as many sport and athlete development groups. For this, and her mentoring – she has been appointed as an Officer to the Order of Canada.
Marnie has been named the Chef de Mission for Canada’s Tokyo 2020 Olympic team. As such, she is officially the head of delegation, and keenly advocating for, encouraging and mentoring Canadian athletes to believe in More; More of what they can do, try, learn and be.
Marnie’s first book, The Power of More; How Small Steps Can Help You Achieve Big Goals continues to get reprinted.
