Building Partnerships, Trust, and Collaborating Towards a Common Goal: Catherine Gosselin-Després’ Story
How Paralympic sport is advancing in Canada.
The partnerships you build can allow you to further your professional path and continuously advance the sport industry. This is what has helped Catherine Gosselin-Després become the respected leader she is today.
In her role as Executive Director, Sport with the Canadian Paralympic Committee, Catherine leads the Sport Department which aims to fulfill two key pillars of focus: Games Operations and Delivery, and Paralympic Performance and Pathway.
“The Games area focuses on delivering Team Canada for all of the Games, including Paralympic Summer and Winter Games, Parapan American Games, and Youth Parapan American Games. In the Performance and Pathway area, we work closely with our Paralympic national sport federations, performance partners and other partners around Games preparation and planning for optimal results at the Games. We also work with our sports around athlete identification, athlete transfer between sports and pathway alignment so that all partners in the system are working cohesively together to support athletes throughout their careers to maximize their potential.”
Since the 2010 Winter Paralympic Games, Catherine has observed an exponential growth in Paralympic sports. Catherine believes this growth will result in greater recognition and inclusion of Paralympic sport. It is no surprise then, that this is what excites Catherine most about the Paralympic landscape in Canada.
“Our sports are more and more sophisticated and are recognized as an integral part of the Canadian sport system. I want every Paralympian to be recognized just as much as an Olympian for their accomplishments.”
In May, Catherine was announced as one of the five recipients of this year’s 5 To Watch Canada’s Sports Business award. When asked what it meant to be recognized as one of Canada’s top leaders in sport business, Catherine was amazed at the amount of support she received from her colleagues in the sport community.
“I am really grateful to be part of this prestigious list. I have worked for years in this field and never expected to get such an award from my peers. I want to make sure that all young professionals, and specifically young women in amateur sports and professional sports, are at the forefront as sport leaders in Canada and shine.”
Without a doubt about, arriving at the position that Catherine is in today would not have been possible without hard work, which is a consistent theme amongst all 5 To Watch award winners. For Catherine, she also credits the fact that learning through adversity has helped her in her career.
“As a leader you learn so much more through hard situations, difficult decisions, and change management. It is important to look back and put things in perspective. In the moment, it is always hard and stressful, but a few months and years later, it feels so much easier and makes you stronger as a leader. The more you are in those situations, the easier it gets to deal with many types of challenges.”
Aspiring sport business professionals are always hungry to learn from acclaimed leaders in the industry. For them, Catherine believes that honesty and respect are important values to live by.
“Be honest, be transparent with everyone you work with, respect them, be kind and responsible, be a team player. Stay competitive in your field, refresh yourself, be ahead of the trends, and be humble and down to earth.”
Congratulations, Catherine!
Catherine Gosselin-Després is the Executive Director, Sport at the Canadian Paralympic Committee. To learn more about Catherine’s story, you can connect with her on LinkedIn.
Will you be attending this year’s 5 To Watch?
The 5 to Watch Awards are presented annually to five Canadian sports business professionals who have achieved remarkable career success prior to their 40th birthdays. Canadian Sport Business Network is proud to be a community partner for the 2017 5 To Watch Awards, taking place on Thursday, June 22.
For more information about the event, please visit the event website.
