Hockey Canada names Katherine Henderson as president, CEO

 

[July 05, 2023]  (Reuters) -Hockey Canada has hired Katherine Henderson as president and chief executive officer, the national governing body said on Tuesday after a scandal-filled year in which the organization faced scrutiny over its handling of sexual assault allegations.

Henderson, who has spent the past seven years as the chief executive of Curling Canada, will begin her role on Sept. 4.

"Katherine has the track record and experience to lead the ongoing transformation of Hockey Canada," Hugh L. Fraser, chair of the Hockey Canada board of directors, said in a news release.

"With her at the helm we are confident that we will continue to take the steps necessary to ensure hockey is a safe and inclusive sport and that Hockey Canada benefits from best-in-class governance."

At Curling Canada, Henderson successfully led initiatives to introduce new Canadians to the sport, spearheaded pay equity for men's and women's curling teams, and led a financial turnaround of the organization's business model.

Prior to that role Henderson was the senior vice-president of marketing and revenue for the Toronto 2015 Pan American Games organizing committee where she helped the Games set attendance, ticket sales and television ratings records.

"The future of hockey is limitless," said Henderson.

"I am looking forward to working with our board and staff, our athletes, our members and local associations, our corporate and hockey partners, and our fans and participants to ensure that all Canadians have a personal hockey experience that is right for them."

Henderson replaces Scott Smith, who resigned last October when all of the governing body's board members also said they had agreed to step down amid the scandal.

Hockey Canada came under fire in May 2022 when news broke of an alleged group sexual assault involving members of Canada's 2018 world junior team and subsequent out-of-court settlement.

The allegations against the unnamed players have not been proved in court but the Canadian federal government did freeze funding to the national governing body over its handling of the alleged sexual assault.

The embattled organization has since said it would no longer use a fund that was financed by registration fees of players across the country to settle sexual assault claims and also announced a full governance review.

The Canadian government restored funding earlier this year after Hockey Canada met the necessary conditions.

To have its funding restored, Hockey Canada needed to become a full signatory to Abuse-Free Sport, implement recommendations from an independent governance review and commit to frequent updates to the federal government.

(Reporting by Frank Pingue in TorontoEditing by Toby Davis)

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