Reuben’s recommendation
What can Neel do?
Give a quick overview of your work experience (jobs, internships, volunteering)?
Sport Chek (Toronto) - Retail associate; cash wrap & floor during playoff surges; boosted loyalty sign-ups.
National Ballet School (Toronto) - Incoming Sales Lead; fittings and CX, team coordination.
Rebel Sport (Melbourne/Sydney) - Retail; supported Bondi flagship launch; KPI/loyalty coaching.
MCG / Melbourne Cricket Club - Event day ops for major matches/concerts; real-time crowd solutions.
Skate Canada / Skate Ontario - Media ops lead; press/mixed zone; ~50 accreditations; virtual press lounge.
Hockey Australia (DEI Intern) - Templated DEI strategy (UN SDGs); NT outreach (12 schools, 300+ students).
Do you have a track record of delivering measurable outcomes or KPIs?
~50 media/broadcasters accredited at Skate Canada International; led 6–10 volunteers per event;
Ran a virtual press lounge that was adopted post-COVID. 12 schools / 300+ students reached through Hockey Australia NT outreach (planning & coordination).
High-volume game days (80k+ at MCG): supported relocations/wayfinding to maintain flow and CX under pressure.
15% increase in loyalty-linked transactions at Rebel Sport in H1 2025 after coaching and on-floor prompts.
Loyalty penetration rate 7% above target on Sport Chek MLSQ's record sales day (≈2× previous daily record).
Coached quick pitches at cash wrap.
What technical or industry-specific skills do you bring?
Partnerships & Activation: asset coordination, proof-of-performance, on-site promo, post-event reporting
Event Ops: run sheets, radio comms, queue/wayfinding design, crowd flow, incident triage
Media Ops: mixed zone & pressers, interview scheduling, accreditation workflows, media logistics
Retail Performance: POS fluency, cash wrap speed, loyalty capture scripts, attach-rate coaching Data & Tools:
KPI tracking (engagement, conversions, loyalty), Excel/Google Sheets, Smartsheet, SAP, Protecht
Communication: briefing/huddles, stakeholder management (teams, venues, partners), crisis calm
DEI by Design: inclusive fan experience design; framework building aligned to UN SDGs
What tools/platforms/software are they proficient in?
Microsoft 365: Excel (pivots/lookups), PowerPoint, Word Google Workspace: Sheets, Slides, Docs
Smartsheet: project plans, checklists, dashboards
SAP: inventory/receiving; stock movement
Protecht: incident & risk logging Comms/Coordination:
Microsoft Teams, Slack, Zoom
Reporting: KPI tracking and basic data viz in Excel/Sheets
HubSpot: CRM pipelines, contact lists/segmentation, email templates, basic reporting
Archtics (Ticketmaster): working familiarity - account/Order lookups, seat maps, simple holds/reports
What qualifications, certifications, or degrees do you hold?
Master of Business (Sport Management) - Deakin University, 2025 Graduate Certificate (Sport & Event Marketing) - George Brown College, 2022 BA, Russian Studies (minors: South Asian Studies; East Asian Lang & Lit) - McGill University, 2021
I own outcomes, measure them, learn fast, and leave systems better than I found them. If you want someone who finishes, that’s me.
I’m obsessively user-focused and execution-driven. I sweat the details that the end user experiences: signs, clean handoffs, short queues, etc. I’ll rewrite the plan, pick up the radio, or roll stock myself to make it work.
What steps has Neel taken to break into the sports industry?
Built experience across levels: Media ops (Skate Canada), venue ops (MCG), retail CX/loyalty (Rebel, Sport Chek).
Took proximity roles on purpose: Joined Sport Chek & NBS Shoe Room to stay close to fans, partners, and KPIs while targeting partnerships.
Created proof, not just promises: Tracked loyalty/engagement KPIs; wrote short case studies and reporting templates.
Invested in DEI capability: Designed a templated DEI strategy at Hockey Australia; applied inclusive-experience checks to events.
Networked deliberately: SportsGrad mentoring, targeted coffee chats with rights holders/brands; kept relationships warm.
Shared expertise publicly: Ongoing LinkedIn series (fan engagement, Soviet sport history) to show thinking and attract conversations.
Kept learning tools: Smartsheet, SAP, Protecht, HubSpot, Archtics; upgraded Excel/Sheets dashboards.
Sought high-pressure reps: Volunteered/worked major events and playoff surges to build calm, reliable game-day execution.
Neel’s interest in sport all started from the belief that everyone in sport should belong…
I’m a former competitive figure skater who didn’t fit the “typical” profile... because of my skin colour and, frankly, my gender. That often meant feeling a bit alone. That experience is why DEI isn’t an add-on for me, but the whole reason I work in sport. Sport should be a place where everyone belongs, and I want to build that from the grassroots all the way up to our biggest stadiums. I’ve seen how powerful that can be: the Matildas uniting Australia in 2023, the Blue Jays playoff run uniting Toronto in 2025. I want to build those moments so they’re welcoming to all with clear comms, smooth ops, and partner activations that add value without leaving people out.
Since then, Neel has gone on to work throughout sport, achieving things like
Achievement 1 | Achievement 2 | Achievement 3 |
|---|---|---|
Ran a virtual press lounge that was adopted post-COVID. 12 schools / 300+ students reached through Hockey Australia NT outreach (planning & coordination). | 15% increase in loyalty-linked transactions at Rebel Sport in H1 2025 after coaching and on-floor prompts. | Loyalty penetration rate 7% above target on Sport Chek MLSQ's record sales day (≈2× previous daily record). |
Where does Neel want to go?
Next Six-12 months | Next 5-10 years |
|---|---|
Move into a full-time Partnerships/Activation role (Coordinator/Associate level) in Toronto. Own end-to-end activations (planning, on-site, proof-of-performance) and build a repeatable reporting template. Level up CRM/ticketing fluency (HubSpot, Archtics) and KPI dashboarding in Excel/Sheets. Embed inclusive fan-experience checks (wayfinding, copy, access) into every event I touch. Grow my industry network with targeted conversations and share 1–2 short case studies publicly. | Lead Partnerships & Fan Experience for a major league/rights holder (team, federation, or brand), owning strategy and commercial outcomes. Host committee leadership for a world-class event (World Championships / multi-sport), delivering best-in-class, inclusive fan experience. Work within an international federation (e.g., ISU) or global property, managing partners across regions. Embed measurable inclusion standards into partnerships and event ops. Build and mentor a high-performing team that turns KPIs into stories partners are proud of. |
What sporting problem keeps Neel up at night, and how would you solve it?
I want more kids playing for longer. That means removing the barriers that make some feel alone or “not for me” -cost, access, culture, and representation - so children of every gender, race, and background can build healthy, active lives through sport.
What is Neel like?
What kind of environment do you thrive in?
Teams with strong alignment around a clear goal. When everyone knows the plan and pulls in the same direction, I can do my best work. Communicate fast, fix blockers, and finish. That’s how we launched Bondi under crunch, kept Skate Canada’s media ops running through disruptions, and handled the Sport Chek playoff surge: high trust, clear roles, and a shared “get it done” mindset.
When have you had to show resilience in your life or career?
During the Blue Jays playoff surge at Sport Chek, we were hit with nonstop deliveries and crowds. I was the only cashier open-to-close most days, so I had the clearest picture of what changed hour to hour. I stayed late to process stock, reworked fixtures/back-stock on the fly, and ran quick briefings for midday starters (what’s hot, where it lives, what’s low). I also partnered with our Online Lead and Store Manager to fix an order-pickup bottleneck so click-and-collect didn’t jam the tills. We broke our daily sales record three days in a row... and on the third day (World Series Game 1 + Raptors home opener) we finished at 25× our forecast. Loud, messy, relentless... but we got it done.
What about Neel’s interests outside of work?
What are your interests outside of work?
Chess
Reformer Pilates
Live music
Complaining about bad romance novels
What is your favourite sporting moment?
Yuna Kim OGM Vancouver 2010
What’s your ideal holiday?
Just spending time with friends. They are unfortunately scattered around the world. I don't need to see the sights, I don't need the sun and sand. I just need good food and good company.
If you had 30 minutes to pick the brain of anyone, who would it be and why?
Richard Feynman. I’d ask how he avoids “cargo cult science” by measuring what matters and not what’s easy, and how that lens guided his work on the Challenger commission where he cut through politics to surface. I want his take on bridging the gap between management narratives and front-line reality: build small tests, listen to the people closest to the problem, make the evidence visible, and let the data lead even when it’s uncomfortable.
What’s book or podcast that’s helped your career you recommend?
Disrupting the Game (Reggie Fils-Aimé). It sharpened how I make bold-but-practical calls: obsess over the end user, keep the message simple, test small and iterate, and align teams around one clear priority.
Additional details
Where in the world are you located, and where are you open to work?
Toronto, Canada. Would prefer to work in Toronto but open to roles across Canada and the US.
What is the most important consideration for you in your next role?
Learning and progression
Fair compensation
What others say about Neel
“The best staff member I’ve encountered in many years. If I had my own business I would create a job just to employ someone like him.” - Patron, Melbourne Cricket Club
“You made every interaction - every challenging situation - one where people felt you were on their side.” - Scott Field, MCC Event Supervisor
“Neel is an exceptional volunteer and an integral member of our media team… he displayed true leadership, flexibility, and enthusiasm.” - Karine Bédard, Skate Canada Director of Communications and Brand
What questions does Neel have for employers?
Which KPIs matter most, and how often do we review them?
Where do handoffs break most (ticketing/CX/partners)?
How do frontline insights get fed back into strategy?
How do you prove partner value beyond impressions?
How do you design for first-timers/accessibility?
What tools are in the stack—and what’s missing?
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