‍TORONTO (March 20, 2024) — Canada Basketball announced Wednesday that Stephanie Withall has joined the organization as Vice President, Partnerships & Operations, effective immediately.

“It’s an exciting opportunity to join the team at Canada Basketball, especially at such a pivotal time for this organization, said Withall. “Basketball continues to experience tremendous growth in participation and popularity across the country, and I’m looking forward to working closely with Canada Basketball’s partners and stakeholders on ways we can continue to grow the game together.”

Reporting to the President & CEO, Withall will lead the organization’s business, partnership and event operations.  Withall will focus on the organization's developing partnership and fundraising strategies while driving commercial opportunities through a robust event management and community engagement strategy.

Withall joins Canada Basketball from the Canadian Football League (CFL), where she was the Associate Vice President of Global Partnerships. During her time with the CFL, she worked closely with the league’s largest brand partners to activate their programming throughout the regular season and Grey Cup. Prior to joining the CFL, Withall was at Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment (MLSE).

"We’re thrilled to welcome Stephanie to our Canada Basketball executive team as we continue to grow our commercial business to help drive our ambitious basketball objectives," said Michael Bartlett, President and CEO of Canada Basketball. “Having worked previously with Stephanie, I know first-hand her ability to create meaningful outcomes for partners through high-value event and marketing programs. This experience will be invaluable as we continue to evolve as an organization.”

Throughout her ten-year career at Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment, Withall held several critical roles as a member of the Global Partnerships Team, including, most recently, Senior Director, Global Partnerships. While with MLSE, she managed the organization’s partnership marketing portfolio and delivered world-class activation programs for MLSE’s partners across all properties, including the Toronto Maple Leafs, Toronto Raptors, Toronto FC, and Toronto Argonauts.

Before joining MLSE in 2007, Withall spent time at Pipeline Communications Inc., Ronald McDonald House Charities and IMG Canada in various events and partnership roles.