On September 17, The Centre welcomed Bruce Gordon as the new Chair of the Board of Directors.  Bruce is a resident of Waterloo, and has truly made a name for himself as an enthusiastic and dedicated volunteer for a number of organizations since he moved to the community 15 years ago.  He is Chairman, Manulife Canada and Manulife Bank of Canada and serves on the board of the C.D. Howe Institute.
For more than a decade Bruce Gordon has been actively involved in the Kitchener-Waterloo community, currently chairing Barnraisers, serving on the Board of Waterloo Region Family Network, the Advisory Committee of the Conrad Centre for Business Entrepreneurship and Technology at the University of Waterloo, and chairing the Development Committee.  He is also a partner in Social Venture Partners.
If that wasn’t enough, Bruce has also served on the board of St. Mary’s Hospital Foundation as well as chairing the hospital’s Leadership Committee, and was also a member of the University of Waterloo’s Board of Governors, Executive Committee, Finance and Investment Committee, and Audit Committee.
Bruce joined The Centre’s board last season and takes over the CITS Board leadership from Marcus Shantz, who volunteered to extend his term of service on the Board in 2014 in order to serve as interim Chair.
“On behalf of the board and staff, I want to thank Marcus for his personal commitment and willingness to lead the organization through a complicated but necessary period of change.  In addition, he invested a significant amount of time and energy over the last nine months, as Chair, participating on the Steering Committee established to oversee the recent review and fostering a stronger collaborative working relationship with the City and symphony,” said Bruce Gordon.  “I look forward to building on this legacy.”
CEO Sandra Bender acknowledged the magnitude of commitment that would entail.  “The Centre began the long journey to overhaul its operations and activities in the fall of 2013.  Bruce takes on the role of the Chair at a time when the organization is facing significant required capital upgrades to boilers and roofing, on the one hand, while also developing the capacity of the organization to broaden services and activities to ensure that the 550,000 citizens of this region are given access to the best possible experiences in arts and entertainment.”
Bender acknowledges that these volunteer roles are critical to the health and advancement of these organizations.  She is confident that Bruce Gordon’s breadth of experience arrives at the perfect time when the organization is tackling important issues that will define it for next decade and beyond.  “Bruce brings enthusiasm and leadership skills to CITS which will help continue to achieve our goal and ensure that organization inspires and engages the largest possible proportion of the community; both satisfying existing audiences and engaging those who do not traditionally engage with the venue,” states Bender.