ABOUT
About Us
The Canadian Soccer Foundation is a fiduciary body that is legally separate and distinct from Canada Soccer and incorporated under the Societies Act of British Columbia. The primary purpose of the Foundation is to support the efforts of Canada Soccer in promoting the growth and development of soccer in Canada. The purpose, timing and donations expended annually to Canada Soccer, from the Foundation, is at the discretion of the Board of the Foundation.
The Canada Soccer Foundation is dedicated to growing the game and creating opportunities for all Canadians to experience the power of soccer. From supporting our national teams on the world stage to breaking down barriers at the grassroots level, we invest in areas that inspire, develop, and unite communities across the country. Together with our partners and supporters, we are building a stronger future for soccer in Canada – one player, one coach, and one fan at a time.
We are pleased to present the Canada Soccer Foundation Board of Directors, who bring leadership, insight, and a shared commitment to growing the game in Canada.
John Montalbano, Chair
John is the retired CEO of RBC Global Asset Management which managed $370 billion in assets, placing it among the largest 50 asset managers worldwide. John serves as Director and Audit Chair for each of the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, AbCellera Inc. (NASDAQ), and Eupraxia Pharmaceuticals (TSX); moreover, John serves as Director of Manulife Financial and Chairs White Crane Capital, a Vancouver-based hedge fund.
John has served as past Chair for the following organisations: UBC Board of Governors, The Vancouver Public Library Capital Campaign, St. Paul’s Hospital Foundation, as well as The Vancouver Police Foundation. John is a co-Founder of Take a Hike Youth at Risk Foundation and serves as director for Windmill Microlending, The Rideau Hall Foundation and Canada Soccer Foundation.
John holds a Chartered Financial Analyst designation and a Bachelor of Commerce, with Honours, from the University of British Columbia and holds an Honorary Doctor of Letters from Emily Carr University of Art and Design.
Craig Gilchrist, Vice-Chair
Craig Gilchrist is Vice Chairman and Head of Scotiabank’s Global Family Office Group. Mr. Gilchrist has over 25 years of experience in the finance industry. He is responsible for developing relationships with ultra high net worth and family office clients globally.
Before his current role, he was Head of ScotiaMcLeod®, Scotia Wealth Management’s high-net-worth investment advisory arm. In this role, he led a team of over 1,800 professionals across Canada, managing over C$150 billion in assets under administration. Before ScotiaMcLeod, Mr, Gilchrist was Chief Investment Officer at Scotia Wealth Management®, where he managed all investment operations, including the Global Portfolio Advisory Group, Investment Solutions, and Centralized Investment Management. He also served as Co-Head of Scotiabank’s Global Equity Sales and Trading business, responsible for a large team of professionals spanning Canada, the U.S., Europe, and Asia.
Mr. Gilchrist graduated with an Honours Business Administration (HBA) degree from the University of Western Ontario’s Richard Ivey School of Business. He spent the early part of his career as a member of the Investment Banking teams at Goldman, Sachs & Co. and Merrill Lynch Canada where he specialized in various corporate finance and M&A transactions.
Mr. Gilchrist is also a board member of 1832 Asset Management L.P., Scotia Wealth Insurance Services Inc., …. Deputy Board Chair of the Ivey Business School Foundation, and a board member of the Ivey Advisory Board (IAB). He is also a Chartered Investment Manager (CIM®) and a Fellow of CSI (FCSI®) holder. Mr. Gilchrist is also a Canada Soccer C-licensed trained coach who also played for Western University and the Marconi Club in London, Canada.
Andy McCreath
Andy McCreath is the President of McCreath Capital and a partner in McCreath Holdings. As a partner in tinePublic Inc. for 20 years, he was involved in producing large scale speaking tours across Canada including four United States Presidents (George W. Bush, George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton, Barack Obama), British Prime Minister Tony Blair, Oprah Winfrey, Ellen DeGeneres, Michelle Obama, Hillary Clinton, Stephen Hawking and countless others. He was one of the national co-chairs of the 2017 Invictus Games in Toronto. He formerly worked at the NHL head office in New York in the Events and Entertainment Department and also at the Goal Group of Companies Sports Management Agency. He volunteers his time in the Calgary Community co-chairing several events every year. He has served as a Director of TELUS Community Board, KidSport Calgary, SaskPower, Canada 150 Gives Back. He currently sits on board of MacuMira Medical Device Inc., Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame, the Canadian Athletic Foundation (U Sports), University of Saskatchewan Huskies Athletics Board of Trustees and is an Ambassador of the Veterans’ House Canada.
Andy was the recipient of the Queen Elizabeth ll Diamond Jubilee Medal, Canada’s Top 40 Under 40 Award, Alberta’s 50 Most Influential People, Calgary’s Top 40 Under 40 and the University of Saskatchewan Young Alumni Award. Business in Calgary designated him as one of Calgary’s Leaders of Tomorrow.
Andy is a graduate of the University of Saskatchewan where he played on the men’s soccer team. Andy lives in Calgary with his wife Camille and his two boys Jack and Max.
Blair Lowther
Blair is currently General Counsel & Government Relations at Vancouver Rise FC, a professional women’s soccer club based in Vancouver and a founding club in Canada’s top-tier women’s Northern Super League. At Vancouver Rise FC, Blair has been intimately involved in building the club from the ground up and contributing to the development of league rules, commercial agreements, stadium leases, and government relations strategy.
Prior to joining Vancouver Rise FC, Blair practiced corporate law at one of Canada’s largest national law firms, where he advised public companies listed on the NYSE, Nasdaq, TSX, TSX Venture Exchange, and Canadian Securities Exchange. His practice focused on corporate finance, securities regulation, mergers and acquisitions, and governance matters.
In addition to his legal career, Blair has a strong background in sport governance and community service. He served as Chair of Sport BC for five years and as a Director for eight years, contributing to the advancement of amateur sport across the province. He also served for eight years as a Director of Canada SCORES, a national youth development charity that supports vulnerable youth through soccer, poetry, and community service.
Blair’s diverse experience in law, sport, and community leadership reflects his deep commitment to advancing professional and amateur sport and meaningful community impact. Blair holds both a Bachelor of Arts (BA) and a Juris Doctor (JD) from the University of British Columbia and has been a member of the Law Society of British Columbia since 2010.
Bob Lenarduzzi
Bob Lenarduzzi has been a driving force in Canadian soccer for over 50 years — as a player, coach, executive, and ambassador — with an unparalleled legacy rooted in his hometown of Vancouver.
Player Legacy:
- Starred for Vancouver Whitecaps from 1974–1984, with a North American Soccer League (NASL) record 312 appearances.
- Named 1978 NASL North American Player of the Year — the only Canadian to earn that honour.
- Key contributor to the Whitecaps’ 1979 Soccer Bowl championship — Vancouver’s only North American title.
- Earned 47 caps for Canada; helped qualify for the 1984 Olympics and 1986 FIFA World Cup.
Coaching & Leadership:
- Player-coach of the Vancouver 86ers, winning four straight Canadian Soccer League (CSL) championships.
- Head coach of the Canadian men’s national team (1992–1997).
- Twice named CSL Coach of the Year.
Executive & Ambassador Impact:
- Held key roles including general manager, director of soccer operations, and president of Whitecaps FC.
- Led the club’s successful bid to join Major League Soccer (MLS), launching in 2011.
- Brings national profile, mentorship power, and a trusted civic and corporate network to the game.
Recognition:
- Inducted into four soccer Halls of Fame: Canadian Soccer, North American Soccer, BC Sports, and United Soccer Leagues.
- Named among CONCACAF’s Top 30 Players of the 20th Century.
- Awarded the Order of British Columbia (2005).
- Named USL Executive of the Year (2000).
Today, Bob serves as club liaison for Whitecaps FC — a powerful connector, mentor, and advocate for the future of Canadian soccer.
Doug Guzman
As Deputy Chair, RBC, Doug Guzman advises on enterprise priorities and provides senior RBC coverage to select individual, family, corporate, institutional and government clients. Together with other members of Group Executive, Doug is responsible for setting the overall strategic direction of RBC.
Prior to this appointment, Doug was Group Head, RBC Wealth Management and Insurance for nine years and led RBC’s businesses that serve the wealth management needs of affluent, high net worth and institutional clients globally, and teams that provide asset management and trust products, and asset servicing solutions. He also oversaw RBC Insurance, which provides a wide range of insurance, wealth and reinsurance solutions to individual, business and group clients.
Doug joined RBC in 2005 and was Managing Director and Head of Global Investment Banking, RBC Capital Markets, responsible for the firm’s Investment Banking teams globally, as well as U.S. Municipal Finance. He had senior client coverage responsibility for a number of RBC Capital Markets’ most important clients and was a member of the firm’s Operating Committee and Loan Commitments Committee.
Prior to joining RBC, he was a Managing Director at Goldman Sachs in New York and Toronto, where he had co-head responsibility for each of the Global Metals and Mining and the Canadian Investment Banking businesses.
He is Vice Chair of the Board of Directors of Unity Health Toronto and Chair of the Advisory Board of Ivey Business School at Western University.
Doug has an HBA from Ivey and an MBA with high distinction (Baker Scholar) from Harvard Business School. He is married with two children and lives in Toronto, Canada.
Sarah Jordan
Sarah Jordan is a purpose-driven, transformational leader with experience as a private equity CEO, bank executive, strategy partner and board member with deep expertise in consumer retail & financial services, customer & employee experience, value creation & profitability.
She is currently a Deals Partner with PwC Canada where she specializes in midmarket portfolio companies and private equity funds. Previously she was the CEO of Mastermind Toys, the nation’s largest specialty toy and kids’ bookstore where she transformed the retailer into Canada’s Authority on Play. Most notably she delivered a digital transformation, created a private label line of bestsellers and elevated the brand to a purpose-driven culture. Under her leadership, Mastermind Toys was recognized as one of Canada’s Best Managed Companies in 2023 & 2022 and was named Canada’s Brand of the Year in 2022 by Strategy Magazine. Previously she was the Senior Vice President, Customer Experience and Omni Channel Strategy at Scotiabank where she led the bank from #5 to #1 in customer experience ratings. She spent a decade with Boston Consulting Group as a Partner, where she advised Fortune 500 companies on large scale retail & financial services customer-centric transformations and cultural change agendas.
She is passionate about using her platform for trailblazing investments. She is a co-owner in AFC Toronto, the city’s first professional women’s soccer team. She is also an investor in Rawcology, Dough Parlour and Wellness Monster. She is a board member at Ingenium Foundation (Canada’s Museums of Science & Innovation), at Canada Soccer Foundation, an advisory council member at Women Funding Women, and a member of the Kids Help Phone fundraising cabinet. Previously she was a board member at Wawanesa Mutual Insurance Company, and served on the Retail Council of Canada, the Canadian Toy Association and the Queen’s University MBA Advisory Boards. She has both an engineering and MBA degree from Queen’s University.
Seth Boro
Seth Boro is a Managing Partner at Thoma Bravo. Since joining in 2005, he has been instrumental in managing the firm and supporting its growth and success across the software and technology space. Based in San Francisco, Seth leads Thoma Bravo’s infrastructure software and cybersecurity strategy. He also serves on the investment committees for all Thoma Bravo funds, and currently sits on the boards of Calabrio, ConnectWise, Darktrace, Flexera, Hyland, LogRhythm, Ping Identity, Proofpoint, Qlik, SailPoint and Sophos.
During his time at Thoma Bravo, Seth has held more than 30 board seats, led over 15 exits, and helped Thoma Bravo establish one of the largest cybersecurity portfolios in private equity, representing approximately $60 billion in total enterprise value. Seth has also received industry recognition for the deals he has led, including the 2023 sale of Imperva to Thales (Private Equity Deal of the Year at the 2024 International M&A Awards) and the 2019 sale of DigiCert (Private Equity Deal of the Year by The Deal).
In addition to his contributions to the private equity sector, Seth, alongside his wife, Jen Hamilton, founded the Room to Breathe Project, which is committed to supporting and improving young people’s mental health and well-being, with a specific focus on under-resourced communities. Seth is also a Board Observer at Bay FC and the Northern Super League and serves on the boards of the NHL’s Ottawa Senators, the Ottawa Rapid FC and the Canada Soccer Foundation.
Originally from Canada, Seth received his Bachelor of Commerce degree from Queen’s University School of Business, and later earned his MBA from the Stanford University Graduate School of Business. Seth began his career as an analyst at First Marathon Securities (now National Bank Financial) before joining the investment bank Credit Suisse in Toronto. Prior to Thoma Bravo, Seth was part of the investment team at Summit Partners, where he focused on private equity investments in the technology and business services sectors. Given Seth’s deep expertise in the fields of technology and cybersecurity, he regularly provides insights on sector trends, opportunities and risks through media interviews and at global industry events, including the Milken Institute Global Conference.
Tara Larsen
Tara is a values-driven financial executive and governance leader with a passion for building stronger organizations and communities. As Chief Financial Officer of CBCL Limited she leads strategic planning, financial operations, governance, and risk management for a dynamic group of companies.
With over 15 years of board experience spanning the public, private, and non-profit sectors, Tara brings a deep and balanced perspective to organizational oversight and strategic direction. A Chartered Professional Accountant and graduate of the ICD-Rotman Directors Education Program (ICD.D), she currently serves on several boards, including the Canada Soccer Association, the Canadian Mental Health Association – Nova Scotia Division, and Atlantic Integrated Water Utility Consultants. Her board contributions are grounded in strong governance, financial stewardship, and inclusive leadership.
Tara is known for her strategic mindset, collaborative approach, and unwavering dedication to creating positive, lasting impact—whether in the boardroom, on the field, or in the community.
