February 6, 2019
As Canada’s diabetes epidemic grows, the need to provide more support to the 11 million Canadians living with diabetes and prediabetes has never been more urgent. On March 1, 2018, the Board of Directors of National Diabetes Trustee Corp (NDTC) announced its plan to review the organizational needs of National Diabetes Trust (NDT). After an extensive search, the NDTC is extremely pleased to announce the appointment of Sean Shannon as President and CEO of National Diabetes Trust (NDT) effective February 4, 2019.
“As a strategic and innovative thinker with exceptional leadership qualities, Sean brings a broad mix of business skills to the mission of NDT,” says Ram Krishna, NDTC Board Chair. “He has a proven track record of generating substantial customer and revenue growth, which is critical to meet the growing funding needs of Diabetes Canada.”
Sean has acquired rich business experience across a number of industries. He has held leadership roles in a combination of large, well-disciplined, national consumer packaged goods, manufacturing distribution and marketing companies including Molson Breweries and Procter & Gamble. He was one of four founding employees of the high-growth online travel industry disruptor, Expedia Canada, and was most recently the Chief Operating Officer at Busbud Inc.
Approximately 25 per cent of Diabetes Canada’s revenues are provided through NDT. With the projected increase in diabetes rates in Canada, there will be demand for increased funding and support from this social enterprise. “It is very important to me that NDT’s mission is to support the critical work of Diabetes Canada,” says Sean Shannon. “Canada has been a leader in the fight against diabetes, starting with the discovery of insulin to the present day rallying call to end diabetes and thereby improving the lives of 11 million Canadians living with diabetes or prediabetes. I am honoured to play a role in making a difference in the health and well-being of so many Canadians.”
Of significance is Sean’s substantial proven cross functional experience in consumer marketing, business development, digital, call centres, logistical operations and management of the bottom line. From his time at Molson Breweries where he led a team with a mandate to introduce successful new brands to the Canadian marketplace through his tenure at both Expedia and Busbud, he played a critical role in generating triple digit top line growth In his 14 years at Expedia, he and his team built Expedia.ca from scratch to $3 billion in annual customer bookings, making the brand the #1 travel provider in Canada by far. More importantly at Expedia Canada, he instilled a culture of generating profits from the very early stages.
His career successes have resulted from a motivated leadership team and employees engaged through a positive, collaborative and a fact driven approach. Shannon believes “a successful way to scale a business is by having a customer centric approach from strategy to execution.”
Shannon has an Hons. in Business Administration (HBA) from Ivey School of Business, Western University, He holds Board member positions at the Commonwealth Games Canada Foundation, Food for The Poor Canada and is a sports enthusiast with a keen interest in hockey, tennis, golf, and skiing.
The NDTC Board of Directors would like to thank Janelle Robertson for managing the operations at NDT since the March 1st announcement.
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