Former Toronto Raptors general manager Glen Grunwald has been named president and CEO of Canada Basketball, the organization announced Wednesday.
Grunwald, a native of Chicago, will assume the position on Oct. 1. He joins Canada Basketball on the heels of a four-year stint as director of athletics and recreation at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ont. He is also a consultant with the NBA’s Memphis Grizzlies.
“I’m honoured and proud to have this opportunity to work with Canada Basketball,” Grunwald said in a press release. “This is an exciting time for the sport in our country and I look forward to working with the entire basketball community to continue the tremendous progress the sport has made here at all levels.
“We’re ready to show the world this country’s potential, promise and power as a basketball nation.”
Grunwald, 60, joined the Raptors when the team entered the NBA as an expansion franchise and he eventually spent seven years in the GM role. He left that post in 2004 and worked as president at the Toronto Region Board of Trade before joining the New York Knicks for seven years.
“There are days when the ball bounces in not out,” said John Mills, co-chair of the board of directors at Canada Basketball. “Glen Grunwald’s appointment today as President & CEO of Canada Basketball will be remembered as a transformative moment for basketball in Canada.
“An experienced basketball and business leader, Glen has worked at the sport’s highest levels and welcomes the challenge to win World Cup and Olympic medals,” Mills added.
Grunwald replaces Michele O’Keefe, who stepped down from her role with Canada Basketball in June to work as associate director of athletics and recreation at Niagara College.
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