Order of Canada Officer, Olympic legend to lead national injury prevention charity

Toronto, May 2, 2017 – Parachute today announced the appointment of Steve Podborski to the role of Parachute President & CEO. Effective June 5, 2017, Steve will assume leadership for Parachute’s strategic direction, fundraising initiatives, program delivery and day-to-day operations.

“Steve brings to Parachute an impressive leadership background, dedication to community involvement, and a passion for Canadian achievement,” said Normand Côté, Chair, Parachute Board of Directors. “Steve’s competitive spirit and winning attitude, together with Parachute’s injury prevention expertise, will ensure the charity drives positive change to reduce the devastating human and economic costs of preventable injury.”

Steve brings a stellar record of achievement to Parachute. He is a two-time Olympian and first North American male to win an Olympic medal in downhill skiing, capturing a bronze at the 1980 Olympic Winter Games in Lake Placid, New York. In 1982, Steve became the first and still only non-European male to win the World Cup downhill title and credits much of his unprecedented success to his ‘Crazy Canuck’ teammates. Since that time he has worked as an Olympic TV sport announcer for NBC and CBS and was Director, International Affairs for the successful bid for the 2010 Vancouver Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games. Steve is in four sports Halls of Fame and is an Officer of the Order of Canada. Steve was the Assistant Chef de Mission for the Canadian Olympic Team for the 2010 Games, the most successful Canadian Olympic team in Games history with 14 gold medal performances. He was also Canada’s Chef de Mission for the 2014 Olympic team in Sochi.

“I am honoured and excited to have been selected to lead this outstanding national charity,” said Steve Podborski. “One child is dying every nine hours in Canada because of injury. It is a solvable health issue because Parachute has the cure – prevention. My mission is to spread awareness of the cure and lead Parachute to even greater success.”

Steve leaves his role as Director Wellness at TELUS to lead Parachute. His tenure at TELUS began in 2003, in a consulting capacity regarding the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games. This developed into Steve becoming Director, Strategic Initiatives (2005) leading sponsorship activations with world class organizations including Formula 1, Vancouver Canucks, Calgary Flames, Montreal Alouettes, Alpine Canada, Soccer Canada, Snowboard Canada and Hockey Canada. Steve then became Director, Community Affairs (2009) contributing to TELUS being recognized as the World’s Most Philanthropic Corporation in 2010. As part of his increasing responsibilities at TELUS, Steve contributed to the management of TELUS’ generous giving to charities across Canada while driving results for Canadian kids in two major sports and health education programs: HEROS and 60 Minute Kids Club.

Under Steve’s leadership, Parachute will be dedicated to spreading the life saving message of injury prevention, while growing support for the charity with individuals, communities, sponsors and all levels of government.

Injury is the number one killer of Canadians aged 1-44, with 43 people dying every day.

The human costs are catastrophic with the loss of life equivalent to a jumbo jet crashing every ten days, with no survivors. The financial costs of preventable injuries continue to rise with $27 billion lost to the economy annually, surpassing heart and stroke disease costs.1

To learn more, please visit www.parachutecanada.org.

1 Cost of Injury Report. Parachute, 2015.

About Parachute

Parachute is a national charity helping Canadians stop the clock on preventable injuries. The injury impact is staggering. Preventable injuries are the #1 killer of children. They cost the Canadian economy $27 a year, and worst of all, one child dies every nine hours. Through education, knowledge and empowerment, Parachute is working to save lives and create an injury-free Canada. For information, visit us at parachutecanada.org, follow us on Twitter, or join us on Facebook.

For more information visit http://www.parachutecanada.org

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For more information or to arrange an interview please contact:

Lorraine Doherty: C: 416-779-3256 E: ldoherty@parachutecanada.org

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