Board of Directors

George served in the capacity of Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) of the City of Richmond from March 1997 to June 2022 and currently serves as the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Richmond Olympic Oval Corporation. Since its incorporation in 2008, George has served as the CEO and as a director on the Board of the Oval Corporation. Richmond became an official Venue City of the 2010 Olympic Winter Games. Today, the Richmond Olympic Oval Corporation continues to work closely with the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to showcase the Richmond Olympic Oval (ROO) as a model Olympic Games community legacy facility; and the Canadian Olympic Committee (COC) on delivering national Olympic Games related programs and events.
The Richmond Olympic Oval Corporation has achieved positive financial results in each year of post-Olympic Games operations and has expanded its business model by adding a number of new business units and strategic business alliances. These include a YYoga Studio; an expanded high performance sport businesses and athlete development centre; an alliance with Canadian Sport Institute Pacific – who relocated a lab and their offices to the Richmond Olympic Oval; a new retail centre; and the Olympic Experience – the first and only official member of the IOC’s Olympic Museum Network in North America. While operating under George’s guidance, the ROO has received approximately 40 awards for excellence in architecture and sustainability, including the prestigious IOC/IAKS All-Time award for excellence in Olympic Legacy facilities.
As the Richmond Olympic Oval approaches its 10 year anniversary, George is preparing the corporation for changes that will ensure the next 10 years are as successful as the first.

A seasoned senior executive whose career highlights included 7 seasons as the President & CEO of the BC Lions Football Club and a member of the CFL Board of Directors. The Club won its sixth Grey Cup Championship in 2011.

An integral part of the Lions organization since 2003, Skulsky was a part of a group led by the club’s late president and CEO Bob Ackles that founded the Waterboys, a collective of British Columbia business leaders who are committed to promoting the Lions brand in the corporate community.

Prior to entering the professional sports field, Dennis spent more than three decades as a veteran media executive with his last five years in the industry as the President & CEO of CanWest Publications, the largest newspaper publishing organization in Canada. His career started in Edmonton at the Edmonton Journal and included business stints in Toronto, Chicago and London, England.

Locally, prior to leading the parent company, Dennis was the President & Publisher of the Vancouver Sun and the Province newspapers’ with Province wide responsibilities for all CanWest newspapers and Global television stations.

Being actively involved in the community was a key focus after his arrival from Edmonton in 1996. His first 20 plus years living in the Lower Mainland included voluntary roles chairing the United Way campaign, as a board member of; St. Paul’s Hospital Foundation, Vancouver Board of Trade, Business BC, Pacific Autism Family Foundation, Tourism Vancouver, YMCA, VGH & UBC Hospital Foundation and currently the Richmond Olympic Oval.

Dennis feels extremely fortunate to have received the British Columbia Community Achievement Award and an Honorary Doctrine Degree from BCIT.

Dennis and his wife Marlene reside in South Surrey and have two married daughters Jodi (Adam) and Kimberly (Francis). Probably their proudest moments are being grandparents to Grace, Audrey and Olivier.

Chris currently serves as a freelance lawyer and sports management consultant.  He also acts as a NHL hockey analyst, writing and webcasting for a hockey content platform called Daily Faceoff. From 2010-2021, Chris held a variety of roles at Canucks Sports & Entertainment, most recently carrying the dual title of Assistant General Manager and Chief Legal Officer.  In that role, he was responsible for NHL player contracts, administration of the NHL collective bargaining agreement and managing various business matters of the hockey team, while also overseeing all legal and risk management activities for the CSE business, Rogers Arena and the Canucks For Kids Fund.  Prior to joining the Canucks, he spent 6 years as Senior Legal Counsel for the Vancouver 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games, where he negotiated a broad spectrum of sponsorship, licensing, service and venue agreements, including VANOC’s agreement with the City of Richmond to build the Oval.  His career in sports management began with pro bono legal work, and a seat on the Board, for the organization that staged the Air Canada Championship PGA golf event.  At that time, he worked as an associate at the Vancouver law firm of Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP.

Chris and his family have called Richmond home since 2005.  His wife, Janeil, has a successful Steveston-based consulting business in the retail design and operations sector.  In days gone by, Chris was an All-Canadian university football player at Queen’s but he now leaves the sporting pursuits to his children, Brady and Devyn, who are active in a variety of youth sports in Richmond.

Christine is a three-time Olympian, representing Canada in the sport of speed skating. She competed in the Torino 2006, Vancouver 2010 and the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympic Games. She is the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Champion in the 1000m, and a member of the 2006 women’s Silver medal-winning Team Pursuit. In addition to her two Olympic medals, she is an eight-time World Champion and set two World Records in her career.

Christine has also completed a Master’s degree in urban planning at the University of British Columbia where her research aimed to help host cities transition Olympic facilities and infrastructure into successful community-oriented legacies, particularly transitioning Olympic Villages to affordable and social housing for the host city post-Games. She believes that the Olympics can have a powerful positive impact on the local hosting city and region.

Christine currently works at the City of Vancouver as a planner in the Transportation Division, and sits on the Richmond Olympic Oval Board of Directors, the same place where she won her Olympic Gold medal.  In this role, she can continue to have a positive impact on both the high-performance athletes and local community members that train and utilize this world-class legacy facility.

Christine is an appointed member of the COC’s Athletes’ Commission, where she helps support the planning and delivery o Games for Canadian athletes.  She was also an Athlete Role Model for the sport of speed skating at the Lillehammer 2016 Youth Olympic Games. In this role, she provided mentoring and facilitated discussions for young athletes in diverse topics such as mental health, fair play, nutrition and cooking.

Gail Terry is the General Manager of the Richmond Auto Mall (RAM), Canada’s premiere automotive retail location for the past 30 years. Coming from 10 years in media and communications, she joined RAM in 1988 as Marketing Director. Soon after, Gail was handed the keys to the new role of GM. No handbook for Auto Mall Management existed – Gail was the first of her kind and a key subject of JD Power’s Auto Mall study that named RAM the best organized auto mall in North America. Her role in the group grew immensely from the moment she took the wheel and she is still one of only a handful of true GMs operating in this capacity.

Gail facilitates the efficient operation of RAM, overseeing all cooperative activities including the mall’s marketing, promotions and public relations, ensuring the positive brand image of RAM. She plays an integral role in the cultivation of member relationships to achieve greater cooperation on all RAM issues. Over the past 3 years she has acted as the Project Liaison between RAM and the developers of the mall’s 10 acre expansion.

Gail is extremely active in the Richmond community, developing many successful non-profit events, sitting on several boards and NPO committees. She received Richmond’s 1995 Women of the Year award and is a dynamic voice within the city. Gail is passionate about life … her career, people, animals and the environment – giving back is a huge part of her mantra and she lives by it daily in her role as GM of the Auto Mall.

Gary Collinge is the General Manager of the Pan Pacific Hotel Vancouver. Gary has spent 40 years in the hotel industry holding General Manager positions for the past 26 years. Born in Manchester, England, Gary grew up in Toronto before moving west to attend the University of Victoria. His career has taken him to Calgary, Victoria and now Vancouver.

Throughout his professional career, Gary has been involved with many industry groups. In addition to the Richmond Olympic Oval Corporation, Gary serves on the Boards of the Hotel Association of Vancouver and Vancouver Hotel Destination Marketing Association. Gary was very involved in efforts supporting the bid for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games and the taskforce for the expansion of the Vancouver Convention and Exhibition Centre. He served three terms as a member of the board of Tourism Vancouver and served on the Governance, Marketing and Nominating Committees as well as Chair of the Investment Advisory Committee.

Lisa Cowell works as a Public Relations and Communications consultant with a focus on helping non-profits to define their vision, build their brand recognition, and explore new ways to deliver quality programs and services. Lisa worked in fundraising and communications in the non-profit sector for more than 20 years. She began her career in sales and marketing but quickly realized that contributing to the community was her passion. She joined the team at Canuck Place Children’s Hospice in 2000 and since then has worked with several organizations in the healthcare and social service sectors.

Most recently, Lisa was the Manager of Fund and Community Development for Aspire Richmond (formerly Richmond Society for Community Living), Richmond’s largest provider of services for people with disabilities. In her role at Aspire, Lisa was responsible for fundraising revenue for program development and capital projects. She also managed Aspire’s awareness initiatives, expanding the organization’s profile in the community to promote a vision of supporting individuals – and their families – to lead thriving, connected, happy lives.

An active member of the Richmond community, Lisa also serves on the Board of Directors for the Richmond Chamber of Commerce. Lisa lives in Steveston with her husband and two children. For the past two decades, she has spent much of her spare time at the many gyms, fields, pools and rinks in Richmond cheering on her kids and their teammates.

Moray Keith is the President of the Dueck Auto Group – 3 GM Dealerships in Greater Vancouver, of which Dueck on Marine is the largest dealership in Canada, along with Dueck Downtown and Dueck Richmond. In addition to the Richmond Oval Corporation, Moray serves on the Boards of a number of organizations, including the BC Lottery Corporation, the Vehicle Sales Authority, the Vancouver Board of Trade, he is Chairman of the BC Sport Agency, and President of the Delta Police Foundation. He is a Regional Director of the Canadian Forces Liaison Council. He was the Chairman of the 2011 Grey Cup Festival in Vancouver, and sits as a Director of the BC Football Hall of Fame, while also being a Founding Member of the BC Lions Waterboys.

Moray is the President of the Chiefs Development Group, which built and opened the Prospera Centre Arena in Chilliwack, BC, the Langley Events Centre in Langley, and the Moose Jaw Multiplex in Moose Jaw, SK. He is a past co-owner of both the WHL Chilliwack Bruins Hockey Club and the BCHL Langley Chiefs Hockey Club, and the current Co-Owner of the Chilliwack Chiefs BCHL Hockey Club. Moray is also the proud recipient of the 2010 JCC Sports Personality of the Year Award.

Peter German was a member of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police for 31 years, retiring as Deputy Commissioner for Western and Northern Canada. He also served 4 years as Regional Deputy Commissioner (Pacific) for Correctional Service Canada. His postings in the RCMP included as Detective Inspector in Ottawa, the RCMP’s Operations Officer in Richmond, national Director General of Financial Crime, and Lower Mainland Commander. He spearheaded the creation of market enforcement, international anti-corruption and integrated counterfeit enforcement teams, and was a team commander in North Africa. During the 2010 Olympics, he was responsible for RCMP resources in the Urban Domain.

A lawyer and member of the Ontario and British Columbia bars, Dr. German holds graduate degrees in law and political science, including a doctorate in law from the University of London. He is the author of Proceeds of Crime and Money Laundering, published by Thomson Reuters. His awards include Officer of the Order of Merit of Police, and the Gold Medal of the International Society for the Reform of Criminal Law. Dr. German is a frequent lecturer and has served as a Canadian delegate to various international forums. Peter, his wife Louise, and daughters Alexandra and Kimberly are long time Richmond residents.

Umendra Miital has over 37 years of diverse experience in Federal, Provincial and Local Governments as well as in the private sector. Currently Umendra is the Executive Vice President and the General Manager of the Ebco Industries Ltd. and the Advanced Cyclotron Systems Inc. located in Richmond, BC. These companies are engaged in the fabrication and manufacturing of heavy steel components and medical cyclotrons and have over 250 employees ranging from Engineers and Scientists to Technicians, Machinists and Fabricators.

Umendra has had a long career in Executive Management positions including 8 years as the City Manager & 4 years as the General Manager of Engineering Services for Surrey, and 3 years as Deputy Minister in Manitoba amongst others. Umendra is a Registered Professional Engineer and has a Bachelor’s and a Master’s degree in Mechanical Engineering.

Walter Soo served in the gaming entertainment business for 36 years with Great Canadian Gaming Corporation.

He is a past recipient of the Display of Excellence Casino Award for individual contribution to the Canadian Gaming Industry. In 1987, Walter opened the first Richmond Casino and later played a key role in the visionary formation and development of River Rock Casino Resort. On a global scale, Walter has managed international gaming and entertainment projects in Asia and Europe.

Guided by his passion and sense of community, Walter has also served as Vice Chairman of the S.U.C.C.E.S.S. Foundation, a charitable organization responsible for raising funds for S.U.C.C.E.S.S. Society, one of B.C.’s largest non-profit social service providers.

Over the years, Walter has participated in Richmond community programs such as serving on the Board of the Richmond Chamber of Commerce, a Member of the Richmond Economic Advisory Committee, Richmond Canada Line Business Liaison & Communication Committee, and the Richmond Sister City Committee.

Walter has resided in Richmond since 1991.

In his 50-year career, Wayne Duzita has held a variety of positions within many business sectors including retail, tourism, manufacturing, construction, leasing and marketing. Wayne is semi-retired working under contract with the Terracap Group of Companies developing, owning and managing warehouses, office and hangars on airports in Canada. Wayne continues to be an active volunteer in the Richmond community serving as the Co-Chair of the Richmond Christmas Fund, Vice Chair of Tourism Richmond, Co-founder YVR for Kids, Chair of Richmond Cares Richmond Gives Not so Silent Night, member of the Olympic Oval Corporation, Rotary and several political and business associations.

In the past he was Chair of Canuck Place Children’s Hospice and Foundation, Chair of the Trinity Western University Richmond Advisory Committee, a founding member of the first E-Rotary Club, Vice Chair of the 2010 Games Operation Trust, member of the Conference Board of Canada / Greater Vancouver Board of Trade Economic Scorecard 2016 committee, member of the 2006 Translink Governance Review and Chair of the Richmond Chamber of Commerce Transportation committee.

Wayne is the recipient of the Paul Harris Fellow, Star of Richmond, the British Columbia Community Achievement Award and the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Metal. Wayne has his Bachelor of Commerce degree from the University of British Columbia.