Sail Canada Board of Directors 2026-27

The Sail Canada Board of Directors has elected Nick Cogger from Knowlton, Quebec for the 2026-2027 term. He will take the seat previously held by Valérie Lavigne from Quebec, who completed the limit of two terms starting in 2020.

Cogger joins Sail Canada Board of Directors Chair Fiona Cochrane, as well as Directors at Large Torstein Braaten, Dan Cloutier, Hugh Goodday, Martha Henderson, and Jennifer T. Walker, in addition to Athlete Directors Sarah Douglas and James Juhasz.

He is a bilingual global operations and events executive with more than 20 years of experience leading multidisciplinary teams through complex, high-profile projects across sport, marketing, and commercial brand platforms.

Cogger managed multimillion-dollar budgets, developed commercial partnerships, strengthened revenue diversification strategies, and supported organizational growth through strategic sponsorship and stakeholder alignment.

He has held senior leadership roles within international sporting federations as well as Olympic and Paralympic organizing committees. He currently leads brand experience teams for Lightspeed Commerce across North America while directing the ongoing operations of World Cup alpine skiing events in Mont-Tremblant, Quebec.

Previously, he was the Deputy Venue Manager for Sailing at the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Summer Games, and the Logistics Manager for Alpine Skiing at the Vancouver 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games.

He also had many management and director positions, including at Tough Mudder, IRONMAN and C2 International events, while collaborating with global brands including Meta, Twitch, Google, and Michelin.

Cogger is a lifelong sailor and coach. He grew up sailing Lasers at the Brome Lake Boating Club, doing so competitively until he was 17, before spending seven summers as a youth instructor and coach at various clubs in Quebec and Ontario.

In his twenties, he crewed on keelboats out of Royal Vancouver Yacht Club and Royal Canadian Yacht Club, and he is now a member of Royal St. Lawrence Yacht Club where he keeps a keelboat and enjoys cruising with his family.

“I am honored and enthusiastic to have the opportunity to serve on the Sail Canada Board of Directors,” said Nick Cogger. “Sailing has been a lifelong passion of mine, and I’m excited to give back to a sport that has given me so much, both personally and professionally.”

Established in 1931, Sail Canada is the national governing body for the sport of sailing in the country.