According to a memo sent out by Triathlon Canada to its provincial partners, CEO Lawrence White “is no longer with the organization and the Board of Directors have appointed an Interim CEO.”
White came on board as the new CEO last September – before that he had been the Executive Director of the Alpine Club of Canada since 2007.
The interim CEO will be Mark Hahto, who previously worked with Own the Podium and before that was the chief operating officer at Swim Canada. He’ll be in the position until after the Olympic and Paralympic Games in Paris.
White was named to the position after Joe Morissette, who had been CEO for about a year, was hired to head Speed Skating Canada. Morissette took over the CEO position at Triathlon Canada after a tumultuous period that culminated with former CEO Kim Van Bruggen, head coach Jono Hall and high-performance director Eugene Laing all leaving the organization after the Tokyo Olympics
Here’s the full text of the message sent by Triathlon Canada to it’s partners on May 21:
Dear partners,
Please be advised that Triathlon Canada’s CEO, Lawrence White, is no longer with the organization and the Board of Directors have appointed an Interim CEO effective today.
On behalf of the Board of Directors, I am pleased to introduce you to accomplished sport leader, Mark Hahto, who will fill the role of Triathlon Canada’s Interim Chief Executive Officer through the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
Officially beginning his role today, May 21, Mark brings extensive depth and breadth of sport leadership experience to Triathlon Canada that I know will help us immediately address our organization’s needs while leading and managing Triathlon Canada that is aligned to the strategic direction set by the Board of Directors. In addition to assisting and supporting the Board with achieving its strategic and governance objectives, Mark will have responsibility for administration, planning, financial management, partner relations, communications, and all Triathlon Canada programs.
Mark has held a number of management positions in Canada’s sport system spanning more than four decades. Most recently, he was vice-president of summer sport for Own the Podium from 2012 until he retired in 2022. During his tenure, he immersed himself in Canada’s summer high-performance culture where he played a key role in working with national sport organization chief executive officers, advisors and technical leaders to build high-performance programs, resulting in improved and medal-winning performances at the Olympic and Paralympic Games.
Prior to joining Own the Podium, Mark was the chief operating officer at Swimming Canada where he led the development and implementation of the national body’s audacious Vision 2020 strategic plan, with a mandate to be amongst the top-six medal producing swimming nations at the 2020 Olympic Summer Games and doubling of Canada’s swimming medal production at the Paralympic Summer Games.
Mark moved into the management side of sport as executive director of Swim B.C. after spending more than two decades on the pool deck working in a variety of coaching roles with athletes across the country from the grassroots to elite level.
A passionate, decisive and pragmatic leader, Mark is an exceptional talent whose background in working with elite athletes, business acumen and strategic leadership skills bring immense value to Triathlon Canada.
Given his familiarity with the role and our stakeholders, we are confident Mark will provide the necessary support and leadership our staff and provincial sport partners require, while also protecting our high-performance program to ensure there will be no disruption to our preparations and performance plans on the pathway to Paris.
This approach will enable the Board of Directors to develop a comprehensive succession plan to permanently fill the chief executive officer role ideally by the Fall of 2024.
Please join us in welcoming Mark to Triathlon Canada.
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