Scott Smith | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1966-11-27)November 27, 1966 (age 58) Bathurst, New Brunswick, Canada |
| Alma mater | University of New Brunswick |
| Occupation | Ice hockey executive |
| Known for | Hockey Canada president and CEO |
Scott Smith (born November 27, 1966) is a Canadian formerice hockey executive, who worked forHockey Canada from 1995 until 2022. He served as vice-president andchief operating officer (COO) from 2007 to 2016, as president and COO from 2016 to 2022, and as president andchief executive officer in 2022. Smith oversaw growth business operations for Hockey Canada, managedInternational Ice Hockey Federation competitions, and negotiatedpublic–private partnerships, and television deals. He resigned in October 2022, amid calls for leadership change due to theHockey Canada sexual assault scandal.
Smith was born November 27, 1966, inBathurst, New Brunswick.[1] He graduated fromBathurst High School in 1984.[2] He completed an education degree at theUniversity of New Brunswick in 1988.[1][2] Smith was executive director from 1991 to 1995, of theNew Brunswick Amateur Hockey Association.[1][3][4][5] He served as an assistant coach for theUNB Varsity Reds during the 1994–95 season, and was an instructor for coaching and player development.[1]
Smith began working forHockey Canada in 1995, as the manager of hockey operations for theAtlantic Canada centre of excellence inSaint John, New Brunswick.[1][2][3] He relocated to theCalgary,Alberta office in 1997, becoming the director of operations, and in 1998 was promoted to vice-president of Hockey Canada business operations.[1][6] The change coincided with the retirement ofMurray Costello, andBob Nicholson becoming president. In 2003, Smith was named byThe Globe and Mail in its 40-under-40 list.[1] Smith became the senior vice-president in charge of business operations in 2005, then senior executive vice-president in 2006, and chief operating officer (COO) in 2007.[1] Smith was responsible for the day-to-day business of Hockey Canada under Nicholson.[1][7]
Smith's management and marketing of international events was cited by theStanford Graduate School of Business as a reason for the growth of Hockey Canada.[8] His planning of programs has created profit margins, and increasedtelevision ratings.[8] His work included organizing theIIHF World U20 Championships and theIIHF World Women's Championships hosted in Canada, negotiating a broadcasting agreement withThe Sports Network andRéseau des sports, and Hockey Canada sponsorships and licensing.[1][7] He also sat on the board of directors for the International Hockey Heritage Centre, theInternational Ice Hockey Federation Marketing Committee, and the IIHF 100th Anniversary Committee.[1][7]
Smith soughtpublic–private partnerships for Hockey Canada with mutual value, sustainable relationships with similar goals, and realistic goals that Hockey Canada can deliver to partners, to get more funding and sponsorships in the future, instead of relying on donations and government subsidy.[7] Smith said that governmentsubsidy is five to seven per cent of the total Hockey Canada budget, distributed to coaching and officiating development, the national teams for Olympic participation, some is fromSport Canada.[9] Smith negotiated withCanadian Tire, andBauer Hockey in 2014, to create the First Shift Program.[9][10] The program includes equipment for new players to the game, and a six-week program to learn the game.[5][9] As of 2018, First Shift helped 15,500 Canadian children play hockey, and made its debut inInuvik,Northwest Territories.[10]
Smith negotiated Hockey Canada's relationship withMolson Brewery such that it is different at adult events, and youth events below thelegal drinking age, and ensured there are guidelines for usage of the Hockey Canada brand.[7] He has also negotiated deals to perpetuate Hockey Canada Foundation philanthropy, seeking corporate sponsors with an interest in youth hockey, and to run events with hockey alumni, and involve community leaders, such as a partnership with the city ofMontreal and theMontreal Canadiens, to provide hockey for underprivileged youth.[7] Smith pursued anethical consumerism policy for Hockey Canada and its merchandise suppliers.[11] Smith said that Hockey Canada wants "to keep up to the highest standards of transparency", and work with labour rights groups, including theWorker Rights Consortium and theWorldwide Responsible Accredited Production."[11]
Smith spoke at theWorld Hockey Summit in 2010, and expressed concerns that youth hockey was no longer growing in Canada. He stated that 9.1% of Canadian children from ages 9 to 15 were playing ice hockey, a figure which had changed in the last decade. He felt that the increasing cost of playing, and increasingcultural diversity which embraced other sporting options and contributing factors; and it would be necessary for minor hockey associations to promote the game and make it easier to participate.[12]
Prior to becoming COO of Hockey Canada, Smith was not well known outside of hockey, and seemed to be an internal replacement for Nicholson when the latter retired in July 2014.[13] Smith was considered for the presidency whenTom Renney was hired instead.[2][14][15] On December 29, 2016, Hockey Canada announced that Smith would replace Renney as president on July 1, 2017.[14][16][17][18] Smith kept his role as COO, while Renney remained as CEO.[14][18] Renney said that by promoting Smith, "there was an opportunity for Hockey Canada to be more effective in fulfilling its mandate",[4][14][17] and that he and Smith have “very complementary skill sets and approaches”.[16] Renney said that their respective "jobs really won’t change a whole lot, other than that we make ourselves more diverse".[18] The change created a higher public profile for Smith, while he continued to oversee regular business operations.[4][14]
Smith said that one his first objectives after becoming president was to "deepen the quality of the hockey experience" and to attract more players and coaches into the game.[5][19] He also believed that Hockey Canada's existing coaching, officiating, and respect in sport programs are top notch.[5][19] He noted that as of 2016, Hockey Canada had approximately 675,000 registered players, and he wanted to increase that and give more players an opportunity to be at the World Juniors.[2][5][14] He implemented new analytical measures at Hockey Canada to track new players to the game, and retention rate of them.[9] He also began afloorball program, and distributingchildren's literature to reach out to newer Canadians and ethnic communities, in attempt to have hockey teams reflect themulticulturalism in Canada.[9]
Smith became president of Hockey Canada at the same time which the organization was criticized about the ticket prices and the lack of attendance at the2015 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships, and the2017 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships, co-hosted inToronto andMontreal. At the previous events Canada hosted, the total attendance in Calgary and Edmonton was 455,342 fans, Ottawa drew 453,282 fans, but attendance dropped to 366,370 fans in Canada’s largest cities.[20] Smith said that the Toronto market was saturated by other events such as the2016 World Cup of Hockey, theNHL Centennial Classic, the104th Grey Cup, theMLS Cup 2016, the2016 NBA All-Star Game, and the playoff success of theToronto Raptors, and theToronto Blue Jays.[21][22] Ticket sales in Montreal struggled, despite prices being lowered by 30% in 2017 compared to 2015, and a marketing change to sell more individual games, and fewer package deals.[20][21][22] Despite the poor attendance, Hockey Canada achieved 80% of its goal of $21 million in ticket sales, to reinvest into the community and the participating teams.[20][21][22]
Later in 2017, Smith announced a new deal withBDO Global in Canada, to begin the Goals for Kids program, and expand its partnership of events such as theWorld U-17 Hockey Challenge, theWorld Junior A Challenge, theWorld Sledge Hockey Challenge, theNational Women's Under-18 Championship, theEsso Cup, theTelus Cup, and theRBC Cup.[23] The deal included a set donation per goal scored by teams at those events, which is reinvested in the host communities as a legacy program.[23] Smith was optimistic thatNational Hockey League players would participate inice hockey at the 2018 Winter Olympics, but was prepared for alternative measures.[9] He and Renney collaborated regularly with team management ofSean Burke with the men's national team, andMelody Davidson with the women's national team to ensure that staff and athletes were prepared to perform on the ice.[6] In 2018, Smith extended the partnership with Bauer Hockey for another eight years, who have been the official equipment supplier for the national teams since 1996.[24]
On July 1, 2022, Smith succeeded Renney aschief executive officer of Hockey Canada while retaining the position of president.[25]
In July 2022, Smith testified at a probe by theDepartment of Canadian Heritage committee into Hockey Canada's handling of sexual assault allegations in 2018, and whether to remove the freeze on funding by the government to Hockey Canada. Smith stated that Hockey Canada paidCA$8,900,000 to settle 21 cases of alleged sexual assault since 1989, including the use of a fund supplied by player registration fees. He dismissed calls by the committee for him to resign, and wished to resolve the issue. He also released a 19-page document which outlined an action plan to address the concerns of theHockey Canada sexual assault scandal, and to change the culture within hockey.[26]
Amid calls for leadership change due to the scandal, the board of directors and Smith resigned from Hockey Canada on October 11, 2022.[27] Nine months later, his replacement was announced asKatherine Henderson, the first female president of Hockey Canada.[28]
As of 2018, Smith resides in Calgary with his wife, Karen.[1] He has one son, who grew up playing hockey.[5] Smith has family in the Bathurst area, and a summer cottage onChaleur Bay.[6] He considers himself fortunate to have a career in hockey, and is grateful for its experiences, highlighted by the gold medals won by the men's and women's ice hockey teams at theWinter Olympic Games from 2002 to 2014.[6]
