Triathlon Canada hires climbing executive as next CEO
Executive director of The Alpine Club of Canada moves to leadership role at Triathlon Canada
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Triathlon Canada
Triathlon Canada has hired Lawrence White as its next CEO, replacing Joe Morissette, who had served as the CEO for about a year before moving on to Speed Skating Canada. Since 2007 White has been the executive director of The Alpine Club of Canada, but has turned to triathlon over the last few years. White finished Ironman Canada last year in 12:01:54, and Ironman 70.3 Calgary earlier this summer in 5:26:46.
“White brings over two decades of leadership experience working in the charitable and non-profit sector,” according to a release from Triathlon Canada today. “Over the last 15 years, the Canmore, Alta. resident has served as executive director of The Alpine Club of Canada – an organization that is an international player tasked with governing the sports of ice climbing, ski mountaineering and indoor climbing in Canada – where he played a pivotal role in establishing the necessary provincial structures to create Climb Escalade Canada (CEC). The CEC became the national sport organization recognized by Sport Canada that eventually led to the inclusion of climbing in the Olympic program at Tokyo 2020.”
White, a former soccer and badminton player in university, spent years in the back country of the Canadian Rockies before turning to triathlon – his wife is an age group athlete who will be representing Canada this weekend at the World Triathlon Age Group Championships in Pontevedra, Spain later this week.
“I am honoured to be given this opportunity to help lead and further develop triathlon in Canada, which is a sport that I have grown to care about deeply,” said White. “Working with The Alpine Club of Canada, I honed my skills in governance best practices, strategy implementation, policy development, operational excellence, member retention, external relations, and fundraising. I’m tremendously excited to bring this skillset and my experience to further the aims of Triathlon Canada.”
“Just like mountaineering, triathlon has the ability to be a transformative journey for many; it certainly was for me in competing at my first full Ironman event,” White continued. “I have come to believe that philanthropy is one of the most meaningful ways to express gratitude of that journey for yourself and others. I intend to identify meaningful opportunities with potential donors and corporate partners that connect people’s love of sport with the organization’s mandate for health.”
White will split his time between his home in Canmore, Alta. and Triathlon Canada’s head office in Victoria, which is where he is originally from.
