Winnipeg Football Club Board of Directors
The Winnipeg Football Club is a not-for-profit, community organization governed by a 13-member volunteer board of directors. It is a business much like many other community organizations in Manitoba such as the Manitoba Theatre Centre, the Royal Winnipeg Ballet and the Winnipeg Folk Festival.
The role of the Board is to consider and collaborate with management on the development of a strategic plan for the business and to oversee its implementation. The board hires the President and CEO and this is the only employee who reports directly to the Board. The running of the business is delegated to the President and CEO whose performance is formally evaluated annually by the Board.
On April 23, 2013, the Winnipeg Football Club Board of Directors announced a public nomination process to fill all future new Director positions.
During an open nomination period, anyone interested in serving on the Board of the WFC and who possesses the appropriate qualifications is invited to submit an application or nominate a person who has given permission to submit their name. Once that nomination period closes, each application will be reviewed by the Governance and Nominating Committee of the WFC Board. Once qualified candidates have been identified, the full Board of Directors will elect the new Board member(s).
To learn about the qualifications necessary to sit on the WFC Board of Directors, click here.
Current Winnipeg Football Club Board Members
Mike Pyle, Chair
Mike Pyle became the Chair of the Board in January 2022 after previously serving as the Vice Chair. Mike is the CEO of Exchange Income Corporation, a position he has held since the company’s inception and he also serves as a director on the company’s Board. Mike is currently a Board member of the Manitoba First Investment Fund and serves as it Chair. Mike is a Director of the Manitoba Business Council and will become the Chair later in 2023. In the past Mike has served on the Board of Manitoba Hydro, CentrePort Canada and the St. Mary’s Academy Foundation. Active in amateur sport, Mike is a Past-President of Softball Manitoba and sat on its Board. A life-long Bomber fan and season ticket holder, Mike has an MBA from the University of Manitoba and holds his ICD.D designation from the Institute of Corporate Directors.
Barb Gamey, Vice Chair
Barb Gamey became Vice Chair of the Board in January 2022. Barb is a co-founder of Payworks, a Manitoba based company and one of Canada’s largest national providers of Payroll, Human Resource, Time and Absence Management solutions, serving 29,000 customers, paying 700,000 Canadians while handling $35 billion in funds annually. Payworks currently employs 300 people in Manitoba and 440 nationwide.
Barb is dedicated to community involvement: she currently sits on the Winnipeg Blue Bombers Board of Directors, the Business Council of Manitoba’s Board of Directors, the UM Properties Board and served as United Way Winnipeg’s 2018 Campaign Chair. Barb is also the Chancellor of the University of Winnipeg and sits on the board for the University of Winnipeg Foundation. She is an ongoing supporter of numerous other community and charitable organizations.
Scott Sissons, FCPA, FCA, Treasurer
Scott Sissons became Treasurer of the Board in January 2020 after previously serving as Corporate Secretary. Scott is a partner at KPMG LLP with more than 25 years of experience providing accounting, auditing, and advisory services to the public, private, not-for-profit, and government sectors. Scott holds a Bachelor of Commerce from the University of Manitoba and is a Chartered Professional Accountant. Scott’s other current and past community involvement includes: Board Member and Treasurer of Valour FC, Board Member of the Winnipeg Chamber of Commerce, Past-Chair of the Board of Directors of the Winnipeg Chamber of Commerce, Past-Treasurer of the Winnipeg Chamber of Commerce, and a member of the Audit & Finance Committee of the United Way of Winnipeg. Scott previously served as a Council Member of the Manitoba Institute of Chartered Accountants from 2011 to 2015. Scott grew up on a family farm in Portage La Prairie and has been a long-time, avid supporter of the Blue Bombers.
Kevin Neiles, CRM, CAIB, Corporate Secretary
Kevin Neiles became the Corporate Secretary of the Board in January 2020. Kevin Neiles is the Chief Marketing Officer and President of the Prairie Region of Arthur J. Gallagher Canada Limited. Kevin began his insurance career with Ranger Insurance in 1986 and became a partner in 1988. Kevin was a board member of the Insurance Brokers Association of Manitoba from 1992 to 1998, serving as president in 1997. He also served as director with the Insurance Brokers Association of Canada in 1997 & 1998. Kevin has a Bachelor of Physical Education from the University of Manitoba and is a Canadian Accredited Insurance Broker (CAIB) honours graduate. He also earned his Canadian Risk Management (CRM) designation from the University of Toronto’s School of Continuing Education. Kevin played four years in the CFL (Montreal, Winnipeg, and Calgary), winning the Grey Cup in 1984 with the Bombers. Kevin and his wife Tracy have two sons, Garrett and Adam.
Neil Armstrong
Neil Armstrong is the President and CFO of Warehouse One, a national specialty apparel retail chain with 123 stores and nearly 1,000 employees across Canada. He currently serves on the Board of Directors of four affiliated retail companies including Bootlegger, Ricki’s, Cleo and Suzanne’s as well as two affiliated service entities in Comark Services and Parian Logistics. Including Warehouse One, Neil has a role in leading and governing nearly 500 retail stores across Canada.
Winnipeg born and raised and a proud Bomber for Life, Neil has enjoyed a very successful and rewarding career since receiving his CA designation in 1997. His passion for the Bombers comes from his childhood and he has proudly passed down this passion to his children. Neil understands the commitment necessary to play a sport at a high level and is excited to join the Board to apply his professional knowledge and experience to a position that provides governance over an organization that has deep roots in this community and in his heart.
Shaun Hauser
Shaun Hauser is the C.E.O. and Co-Founder of Wellington-Altus Financial Inc., a Canada-wide comprehensive wealth management company established in 2017. Shaun is a successful Investment Advisor in Winnipeg and has worked in the field since receiving his Bachelor of Commerce (Hons.) degree from the University of Manitoba in 1998. He has extensive experience in the management and organization of departments and companies in the wealth management industry. Shaun also worked for Wellington West, where he managed operations and sales for the company’s asset management subsidiary. Recently, Shaun served on the executive committee of NBF Wealth Management, where he was VP of Advisor Strategy and Support.
Shaun is a life-long Winnipeg Blue Bombers fan and a season ticket holder for the past 12 years. He is thrilled to give back to a Club that has given him so much since he was a boy.
Carmine Militano, P.Eng. ICD.D
Carmine Militano is the President of Bockstael Construction, Manitoba’s Builder for over 110 years. He is focused on Bockstael’s growth agenda and is an acknowledged specialist in the practice of strategic business planning and project management. Carmine brings a “360 degree perspective” to the Bockstael team with more than 40 years’ experience across the entire design-construct life cycle including consulting, manufacturing and construction.
Carmine has served on a number of Boards and is currently the Chair of the St. Boniface Hospital Foundation Board, a Director of the St. Boniface Hospital Board, and a Director of the Holy Names House of Peace Board. He is a member of the Football Manitoba Hall of Fame.
For the better part of 40 years, Carmine and his wife Nancy have been season ticket holders of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. Having grown up in a “Bomber household”, Carmine and Nancy’s three children are also avid Bomber fans.
Frank Robinson
Frank Robinson became a member of the board in February of 2021 and also serves on the Blue Bomber Alumni Board of Directors. Over the course of Robinson’s 10-year CFL career, he won two Grey Cups Championships (1984 with Bombers, 1986 with Tiger-Cats), and was a two-time Eastern All Star as well as serving as a CFL Players Association Representative. Robinson worked for companies such as Coca-Cola (Director of Regional Sales), AT&T, and Tim Hortons (Owner/Operator) and is currently owner of a Chicken Chef restaurant location in Winnipeg. Robinson holds a Bachelor of Art in Economics from Tulane University, and after finishing his professional football career, he has remained an avid Blue Bombers supporter and an active member in the Winnipeg community.
Perry Rose
Perry Rose is the Senior Vice President, Asset Management and Corporate Counsel of Qualico Developments Canada Ltd. Founded in Winnipeg more than 70 years ago, Qualico is one of the largest privately owned real estate companies in the country, with strong business and philanthropic ties to the city. Perry graduated with a law degree from the University of Manitoba in 1980 and an MBA from the Ivey Business School at Western University in 1984. Now in his 37th year with the company, Perry currently provides head office asset management of Qualico’s extensive rental property portfolio in western Canada and the United States.
Born and raised in Winnipeg, Perry is active in many sports and a lifelong Bombers fan. Perry seeks to utilize his business acumen and experience to contribute to the ongoing success of the Bombers.
Lisa Stiver
Lisa Stiver is a partner at the law firm of Thompson Dorfman Sweatman LLP who’s practice focuses on corporate and commercial law. She is the Chair of the Management Committee and Chair of the firm’s Business Law Practice Group. She is also on the firm’s Student Committee, having chaired it from 2012-2019.
Lisa dedicates her time to both legal activities and organizations that benefit our community – she is a seminar presenter, author of written materials and Learning Group Facilitator for The Centre for Professional Legal Education program (CPLED) for the Law Society of Manitoba and Virtual Assessor for the Practice Readiness Education Program (PREP). Lisa also teaches courses on Contract Administration and Management, Competitive Bid law, and advanced courses on Public Procurement. Lisa currently sits as Past-Chairperson of the Misericordia Health Centre Foundation, is a Member of the United Way Finance and Administrative Committee, a Vice-President of Nor’West Co-op Community Heath Care Centre, Inc, and a Director and Past President of Winnipeg’s Contemporary Dancers.
Garth Waddell
Garth Waddell is Vice President of Exchange Income Corporation, a diversified acquisition-oriented public company with operations focused in aerospace and aviation services, equipment and manufacturing. Waddell holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree from the University of Manitoba and is a Chartered Professional Accountant. He has held leadership positions with several Winnipeg-based public companies during his 35-year business career with experience in accounting, finance, operations oversight, mergers and acquisitions, and strategic planning. Waddell has volunteered at numerous athletic events over the years including the Pan Am Games and the Brier. Waddell has had a life-long affinity for the CFL and especially for his hometown Blue Bombers.