David J. Finch holds a PhD in management and is an active educator, scholar and practitioner. He currently holds several academic appointments including Associate Professor at Mount Royal University’s Bissett School of Business in Calgary, a Visiting Fellow at the Henley Business School at the University of Reading (UK) and an Adjunct at the Gordon S. Lang School of Business and Economics at the University of Guelph. Dr. Finch is also the Associate Director of the Institute for Innovation & Entrepreneurship at Mount Royal. Dr. Finch has authored over 50 scholarly papers and published in journals such as the Academy of Management Learning & Education, Journal of Business Ethics, Journal of Marketing Management, Journal of Sport Management and the Corporate Reputation Review. Prior to joining academia, Dr. Finch held progressively senior roles in areas of corporate strategy in Canada, the U.S. and the U.K. with Bell Canada Enterprises, Rogers Communications and Harris Corporation and he was a founding partner of T1 Agency.
Norm O’Reilly is currently Dean of the Graduate School of Business at the University of Maine and a Professor in the Maine Business School. He is a high performing academician with strong industry links, who is recognized as one of the leading scholars in the business of sports globally. Prior to coming to Maine, Dr. O’Reilly has held leadership positions at the Lang School of Business & Economics at the University of Guelph, the Department of Sports Administration at Ohio University’s College of Business, and the School of Sports Administration at Laurentian University. He has taught at the University of Ottawa, Syracuse University, Stanford University, Ryerson University, Athabasca University, Bayreuth University, and the Russian International Olympic University. Dr. O’Reilly holds a PhD in Management from the Sprott School of Business at Carleton University, an MBA from the Telfer School of Management at the University of Ottawa, a MA in Sports Administration from the University of Ottawa, and a B.Sc. (Kinesiology) from the University of Waterloo.
Gashaw Abeza is an Assistant Professor at Towson University. Dr. Abeza holds a PhD from the University of Ottawa (Canada) and has held appointments at Southern Methodist University, University of New South Wales (Australia) and Addis Ababa University (Ethiopia). His research interest is in marketing communication, with specific areas of expertise in social media related to sponsorship, ambush marketing, branding, relationship marketing, and research methods in sport. His work is published in peer-reviewed journals and edited volumes in the area. Prior to returning to academia, Dr. Abeza had a successful 7-year career as an international sport manager and marketer, highlighted by his work in more than 15 countries and his role as an organizer for global sporting events.
Brad Clark is an Associate Professor of Broadcast Media and Journalism at Mount Royal University in Calgary (Canada). Dr. Clark has a doctorate from Charles Sturt University in Bathurst (Australia). His doctoral dissertation examined network television news representations of Indigenous peoples and racialized groups in Canada. Prior to entering academia, Dr. Clark spent six years as a national reporter for CBC Radio based in Calgary. He covered the oil and gas industry from Caracas, Houston; Tuktoyaktuk, N.W.T. and Washington D.C. His career at CBC started in Edmonton in 1992, where his duties included reporting for an award-winning radio investigative team. At CBC his personal interest in sports often crossed into his professional life, too; he reported on NHL lockouts, Stanley Cup finals, the 2002 Paralympic Games in Salt Lake City, and the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens.
David Legg is a Professor and past Chair for the Department of Physical and Health at Mount Royal University in Calgary. He is the Past President of the Canadian Paralympic Committee and past board member for the 2015 Pan Parapan American Games in Toronto. David has also served on the International Paralympic Committee’s Sport Science Committee. In June he was elected President of the International Federation of Adapted Physical Activity. Dr. Legg also worked with the Calgary BidCo for the 2026 Olympic and Paralympic Games.