Calgary 2026 Olympic and Paralympic Bid Board Chair Announced

CALGARY, June 7, 2018 /CNW/ - The partners of the Calgary 2026 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games Bid (officially called Calgary 2026, for short) are pleased to announce that Scott Hutcheson has been selected to serve as the Chair of the Bid's Board of Directors. He will be formally installed at the first meeting of Calgary 2026's Board of Directors.

Scott Hutcheson is the co-founder of Aspen Properties and currently serves as the company's Executive Chair of the Board. Scott is an active member in Calgary's arts, culture and sports scene. He is Chair of the Board of Directors of Arts Commons; Co-Chair of the Board of Directors for Winterstart, which operates both the men's and women's Alpine World Cup ski races at Lake Louise; and serves as Chair of the Board of WinSport, which owns and operates legacy assets from Calgary's '88 winter Olympics.

"Today marks another step in the bid to bring the 2026 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games to Calgary. I am impresses by Mr. Hutcheson's sound leadership, wealth of experience in guiding organizations, and passion for serving Canadians and communities. I am confident that Mr. Hutcheson will engage and collaborate with partners and lead Calgary 2026 with dedication and energy toward a successful bid," said the Honourable Kirsty Duncan, Minister of Science and Minister of Sport and Persons with Disabilities.

"We look forward to working with Mr. Hutcheson and the Calgary 2026 Board of Directors as we move towards a decision point and potential bid submission. The Alberta Government is committed to working with Calgary 2026, City of Calgary, and the federal government to ensure that any possible Olympic and Paralympic bid makes sense for Alberta," said Ricardo Miranda, Alberta Minister of Culture and Tourism.

Calgary 2026, with support from its partners, will complete the bid exploration and development work that began in 2016. Calgary 2026 will clarify the vision and details of a potential Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games, and will develop a more accurate hosting cost estimate. Calgary 2026 will also produce a Bid Book, which would be submitted to the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in January 2019, if all parties decide to move forward with the bid and the IOC selects Calgary to become a 2026 Candidate City.

"Calgary City Council is very pleased to have Mr. Hutcheson take on this role as the Calgary 2026 Board Chair," said Calgary Mayor Naheed Nenshi. "He understands the opportunities and challenges ahead of us and is an excellent representative of Calgarians and our wider community. Of course, there are still many questions left to answer before we decide to submit a bid. With a Board Chair in place, we can confidently engage in thoughtful public discussion and deliberation."

Calgary 2026's next steps are to appoint a Vice-Chair, to hire a CEO and to work with the Bid's partners as they appoint Directors to the Board.

"The Canadian Olympic Committee strongly supports the selection of Mr. Scot Hutcheson as the Calgary Bid's Board Chair. Mr. Hutcheson is an experienced, and trusted visionary who is a perfect fit for this role.  We are confident in his ability to deliver an inspiring and transparent vision for a potential 2026 Winter Olympic Games. Most importantly, he believes in the power of sport and the positive impact it can have for the people of Calgary and our country," said Tricia Smith, President of the Canadian Olympic Committee.

"The Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games have the potential to shape and enhance a national vision for sport in Canada by creating a galvanizing opportunity for what is possible – for Canada to host a major world class international sport event, and to showcase the most accessible, inclusive and sustainable games and legacy," said Karen O'Neill, CEO, Canadian Paralympic Committee. "We look forward to working with the Calgary 2026 Board of Directors to explore this potential bid and the incredible opportunity this provides to our communities, provinces and country." 

"This is an important milestone for the 2026 bid exploration process, and will create the momentum that we need to get to the bid proposal stage. Canmore was transformed by the 1988 Games, and we now look forward to working with the other Bid Corporation partners to understand what a 2026 Games might mean for our community and the Bow Valley Region," said Town of Canmore Mayor John Borrowman.

Public engagement about the potential Olympic bid will take place in Calgary in the coming months, and a plebiscite is anticipated to take place later this year. Together, the Bid's partners, will ultimately decide whether Calgary will submit a bid to host the 2026 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games.

Biography: R. Scott Hutcheson

R. Scott Hutcheson is the Executive Chair of Aspen Properties, a fully integrated, privately held commercial real estate company based in the city of Calgary. Together with investment partners, Aspen owns and manages approximately $1.0 billion in assets, comprising 2.65 million square feet of downtown office space and 2,327 parking stalls in the cities of Calgary and Edmonton. The portfolio consists of seven buildings in downtown Calgary, one office building in the Beltline, and two "AA" office towers in downtown Edmonton. Within the portfolio, an additional 1.2 million square feet of "AAA" LEED Gold office space has been approved for development. Aspen also owns the iconic Calgary Tower.

Prior to co-founding Aspen Properties in 1998, Hutcheson served as President of a real estate partnership in Florida that was financed by an ivy league university endowment fund. He was also previously employed as an investment banker for Goldman, Sachs & Co. in New York and San Francisco. In addition to his position as Executive Chair of the Board of Aspen Properties, Hutcheson is an active member in the community serving on numerous boards. He is Chair of the Board of Directors of Arts Commons, Co-Chair of the Board of Directors for Winterstart (the organization which operates both the men's and women's Alpine World Cup ski races at Lake Louise) and serves as Chair of the Board of WinSport (the organization that owns and operates the legacy assets from Calgary's '88 Winter Olympics). He is also a member of the Board of Directors of Own the Podium, a member of the Board of Governors of Shawnigan Lake School and a member of the Board of Directors of Opportunity Calgary Investment Fund. Hutcheson is the Co-Chair of Calgary Economic Development's, Real Estate Advisory Committee, and a member of the Young Presidents' Organization (Gold). In the past decade, Hutcheson has served on five public company boards and has been an officer of three TSX companies. He was a member of the Canadian Alpine Ski Team (1978-1982), a first team All-America NCAA athlete and a member of four NCAA Championship Ski Teams.

Hutcheson earned a Master of Science degree from Columbia University and a Bachelor of Science degree from University of Utah and holds an ICD.D designation from the Institute of Corporate Directors.

SOURCE Global Public Affairs