Oilers appoint new marketing director
15 years ago
The Telegraph Journal is reporting today that the Oilers have made another hire with experience with Hockey Canada, bringing in new marketing director, Pat McLaughlin.
McLaughlin was hired by the Oilers Executive VP of Sales and Marketing, Stew MacDonald. MacDonald was the Chief Operating Officer of the Saint John’s Flames (evidently a good one too—he was named AHL Executive of the Year in 2001) while McLaughlin was the operations director of Atlantic Canada Centre of Excellence, a Canadian Hockey Association program that coordinated minor hockey in the Maritimes and worked in partnership with the Flames.
From the article:
MacDonald, now the executive vice-president of commercial operations for the Oilers, needed someone to fill the vacant role of director of marketing for the National Hockey League club.He initially called McLaughlin to inquire about potential candidates but the more they talked, the more MacDonald was convinced McLaughlin was a great choice—because of his first-hand knowledge of McLaughlin’s ability.“When we recruit, there is skill set and there is also fit,” said MacDonald. “We are really big on making sure the person has the skill set but also making sure they fit here so they are set up for success with the organization.”
Here’s what McLaughlin’s resume looks like:
2001–2008: Director of Leadership & Organizational Development, JD Irving Ltd. JDI is a conglomerate company that is active in over half a dozen industries. They’re the largest forest industry concern in Atlantic Canada as well as Canada’s largest ship builder. In 2007 they surpassed the $1 billion mark in total sales and had around 4,000 employees. From the company website:
JD Irving Limited is committed to growing leaders and providing them with challenging and rewarding career opportunities. With a focus on creating an aligned and engaged workforce across various industries, JDI offers both internal and external competency based development tailored to individual needs. Our external partners are recognized as world-class, assisting us in creating one of the best leadership pipelines in the country. We partner with some of the top educational and training development schools in Canada who are considered to be “leaders in developing leaders”.
1999–2001: Director of Marketing, Hockey Canada
????–1999: Operations Director, Atlantic Canada Centre of Excellence
Additionally, in McLaughlin’s previous work with Hockey Canada (based out of Calgary from 1999–2001), he likely (I’m speculating here) would have had contact with a whole bunch of national-level sponsors; contacts that should come in handy in his new position with the Oilers.
On the hockey side of things, the article mentions that McLaughlin has remained active on the east coast, “coaching, conducting courses or as a scout with the Saint John Sea Dogs.” He’s listed as a scout on the Sea Dogs website. St John’s finished 2007–08 tied with Halifax for the lead in the QMJHL’s East Division, but being slotted second due to fewer wins.
Pat McLaughlin looks like yet another solid hire for the Oilers front office.
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