Rogers Centre Ottawa exec Dan Young retires after 24 years leading convention hub
The vice-president and CFO of Rogers Centre Ottawa is stepping down in November after two decades steering the venue through major redevelopments and crises.
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Dan Young, vice-president, chief financial officer and chief operating officer of Rogers Centre Ottawa, will step down in November after 24 years with the venue — a tenure spanning major redevelopments, economic crises, and the organization's several rebrands.
Young arrived at the downtown convention centre in 2002, drawn by talk of redevelopment and willing to take a significant pay cut to join. He became a lead figure in coordinating the complex rebuilding process, which involved three levels of government, Parks Canada, the Department of National Defence, the National Capital Commission, and UNESCO.
"There was a lot of thinking outside the box on how we were actually going to make this convention centre work and be successful," Young told the Ottawa Business Journal. He drove the business plan and financial model while repositioning the venue to taxpayers as a potential economic driver.
The venue reopened as the Ottawa Convention Centre in 2011, rebranded as the Shaw Centre in 2014, and took its current name in 2024. Young called the redevelopment experience "a crazy time" and "stressful," but one he looks back on with pride.
Beyond the capital project, Young navigated rapid technological change — from cybersecurity threats to artificial intelligence — and stewarded the venue through the pandemic's devastating blow to in-person events. He negotiated financial assistance from multiple government levels to ensure the organization's survival during lockdowns and capacity restrictions.
"Every production is basically about having to make decisions quickly," Young reflected on the job's daily rhythm. His term closes a significant chapter in the city's convention and events infrastructure.
