Ron Bremner is currently the CEO at UNISYNC and the owner of Gold Medal Consulting Group. Ron is known across the country from his 23 years as a broadcaster and his induction to the Canadian Association of Broadcasters’ Broadcast Hall of Fame in 2000. Ron was also the president and CEO of the Calgary Flames.

I had no intention of leaving broadcasting but at end of day, I asked myself: Do I want to look back some day and wonder what it would be like to run an NHL team?

How did you move from being inducted into the Broadcasting Hall of fame straight into the sports industry and then starting your own consulting company? 

Well I was in broadcasting for 25 years, 23 of them in Vancouver. From 1974-1990 I worked with a radio station in Vancouver, starting at sales and moving up to President and General Manager. Out of blue one day back in Ottawa for a new service hearing, I was asked to run BCTV television which was the largest TV station west of Toronto. I then worked there for five years and one day a head hunter in the sports business called and asked if I was interested in a position which several of my colleagues recommended me for. The position was the President of Calgary Flames. I thought about it. I had no intention of leaving broadcasting but at end of day, I asked myself: Do I want to look back some day and wonder what it would be like to run an NHL team? So I ended up in the hockey business for 5 years—it was extremely challenging. The Canadian dollar was worth about 63 cents against the US, and the significance of this is that we pay all our players in US while earning in Canadian. This was one of the reasons why the Quebec and Winnipeg hockey teams had left at the time. There just wasn’t enough revenue to support a team.

My wife and I then took a 2-year sabbatical.  It was a great time in our lives to do all the things that people plan to but never do it until they have 6 months to live. We travelled all over Europe, and after the trip I went back to school and took French immersion at Laval University.

When I came through Toronto, I was introduced to Larry Tanenbaum—a successful businessman who is the Chairman and part owner of Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment. He offered me a job with Professional Sports Publications in New York so we worked out a deal where 15 days each month I would help run the company down in New York. We then sold it to one of the largest competitors for a very healthy return.

Today I’m undertaking various projects as President of Gold Medal Consulting, where I retain most of the time to mentor and coach company executives.

The challenge is to go into each business to learn a little about the business, and trying to gauge the key people in each company to help them be the best.

Your experiences include President/CEO of BCTV in Vancouver, President/CEO of Calgary Flames, CEO of Professional Sports Publications NY, and Founder of Gold Medal Consulting Group; it seems like you have lead a trail of success since 1990’s.What is by far your proudest moment, and what was the biggest obstacle you had to overcome in any of these jobs?

Well not to be evasive, but each project has its own proud moment for me. They are each like a child and I have a great affinity for them in different ways. I had a special moment with each of them such as in New York City when we sold PSP for great profit, or getting new distribution for our products in the broadcasting digital business. The challenge is to go into each business to learn a little about the business, and trying to gauge the key people in each company to help them be the best. I would never consider myself an expert in any particular business.  My job is to be the captain of the ship and to steer the boat—not to row. The Captain doesn’t tell the cooks how to make good food, or how to work the engine room. The key thing is making sure you have good people in key positions, challenge them, and eventually let them do their job. Continue reading →