Executives Board of Directors

President/CEO of Anthem Sports & Entertainment
Leonard Asper
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30 years media industry experience
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Founder/CEO of Anthem Sports & Entertainment 2011-
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CEO Canwest Global Communications Corp., 2000-2010 - multinational media company $3b revenue, $2b market cap, TSE listed) with holdings in Canada, U.S., Australia, New Zealand, U.K., Ireland, Europe and parts of Asia
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COO 1997-1999
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VP Corporate Development/M&A 1993-1997
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Associate General Counsel 1991-1993
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Chairman Rumble Gaming
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Chairman Asper Foundation
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Graduate of University of Toronto Law School, Member of Ontario Bar

Chief Corporate Officer and President, Impact Wrestling
Ed Nordholm
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Oversees the corporate activities of acquisitions, merger opportunities, partnerships, and investors. He plays a key role in the supporting the operational leaders on achieving their strategic plans.
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President of IMPACT Wrestling since Anthem acquisition in 2017
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Board member, general counsel and executive of Anthem since 2010
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Member of original financing to launch Fight Network and served as President of Fight Network from 2008 to 2010
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Former Co-lead of Tricap Restructuring Fund, Brookfield Asset Management’s first special situations fund and former Partner of Torys LLP

Chief Financial Officer
Niral V. Merchant
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18 years experience as CFO to companies in media, technology, investment and industrial sectors
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Formerly with KPMG; Former director of TSX listed entity
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Expertise with numerous corporate finance, cross-border and M&A transactions
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MBA from INSEAD in France/Singapore, CFA charter holder, CPA(CA) from Ontario, Canada and B.Com from University of Toronto

HR Advisor
Michelle Hall
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As an independent advisor, Ms. Hall provides advice to Anthem on human resources policies, programs, and operational matters
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Spent 8 years as a senior executive and ultimately Executive Vice President and Chief Administrative Officer with Postmedia Network Inc, a publicly listed Canadian news media company representing more than 125 brands across multiple print, online, and mobile platforms
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Worked 6 years CanWest Global Communications Corporation, a diversified international publicly listed media organization within the broadcast, print and online sectors, with the final role of policies, Senior Vice President People
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Performed various additional human resources roles in the financial, manufacturing and recruitment sectors

President, Entertainment
Anthony Cicione
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More than 30 years of broadcast and digital media experience
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Oversees all operations and financial performance of the Entertainment Group, which includes AXS TV, HDNET MOVIES, Game TV, Game+, Fight Network and Anthem Media Services, he is also responsible for broadcast and IT support for all Anthem operations
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10 years as VP of Programming & Production at The Score Television Network
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10 years as sports producer at Global Television Network
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Various roles within Olympic Broadcast Services since 2010
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Instructor and Advisory Board Member at College of Sports Media

Founder & CEO, Gravitas Ventures
Nolan Gallagher
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Founded Gravitas Ventures in 2006
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Under his leadership, Gravitas has become a global all rights theatrical distribution company that has released more than 3,000 films on Video on Demand (VOD)
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Named a Hollywood New Leader by Variety and was chosen as part of the inaugural Indiewire Influencer class which recognized leaders in the independent film industry
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Has spoken on numerous industry panels including the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF), SXSW Film Festival, and the Produced By Conference
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Previously worked in corporate marketing roles at industry leaders Comcast, Warner Bros., and General Cinema Theatres
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Holds an MBA from the Marshall School of Business at the University of Southern California whose Lloyd Grief Center of Entrepreneurial Studies named him its 2020 Alumni Entrepreneur of the Year and an undergraduate business degree from Boston College

Executive VP, Anthem Wrestling Exhibitions
Scott D’Amore
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25+ years in business and the professional wrestling industry producing TV/PPV broadcast events in the U.S.
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Oversees operations, production, talent relations and live events for IMPACT
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Creative Director TNA Wrestling (now IMPACT) in addition to other production and management roles during TNA program run on Spike and Fox Sportsnet:
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Oversaw launch of TNA on Spike
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Created all female, “Knockouts Division”
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Produced episodic and commercial content for Spike/MTV
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In 1993, co-founded Border City Wrestling and Can-Am Wrestling School, which has launched or helped further the careers of many top national, international and local professional wrestlers

Executive Vice President & General Counsel, Gravitas Ventures
Brendan Gallagher
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Joined Gravitas as Vice President of Business Affairs and General Counsel following 5 years of practice as an attorney at Frantz Ward LLP in Cleveland, Ohio, where he predominantly focused on commercial litigation, insurance disputes, and labor and employment issues. As part of his practice, he also supervised the nationwide litigation efforts of a banking client’s automobile-financing division
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Holds a JD from the Cleveland-Marshall College of Law (summa cum laude) and a BA from Boston College
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Prior to attending law school, Brendan worked for the business-consulting company Accenture, participating in client engagements at NASA, Dow Chemical, and Consol Energy among others

Chief Financial Officer, Gravitas Ventures
Brian Kenyon
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Joined Gravitas Ventures in August 2020
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He is a finance and operations executive with more than thirty years of experience transforming and leading growing organizations in diverse industries
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Spent 18 years with The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame where he served as its Executive Vice President and CFO and served as the Chief Financial and Operating Officer at the Cleveland Museum of Natural History
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Started his career in public accounting with Coopers & Lybrand and gained experience with publicly traded companies in the manufacturing, retail, coal mining, and staffing industries. His experience includes financial strategy, operational and administrative management, strategic planning, licensing and merchandising, and risk management
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He is a CPA with a Bachelor’s Degree in Accounting from The University of Akron

Vice President, Sales
Anthony Burroughs
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More than a dozen years of media sales experience
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Oversees all Canadian ad sales
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Nearly a decade selling for Canada’s leading sports networks -- Rogers Sportsnet and Bell Media - TSN
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Helped launch TVA Sports for Quebecor Media
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Managed sales for sporting events including NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs, MLB World Series, NBA Finals, 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics, World Jr. Hockey Championships, UEFA Euro Soccer, FIFA World Cup Soccer, and the CFL Grey Cup.

President, Invicta Fighting Championships
Shannon Knapp
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Oversees operations, production, talent relations and live events for Invicta FC
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Founded Invicta Fighting Championships in 2012
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20+ years MMA industry experience with leading MMA organizations including the UFC, Strikeforce, Affliction, IFL, King of the Cage, WFA and SportFight

Vice President Administration and Operations
Carol McDaniel
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Joined AXS in 2006, currently oversees Information Technology, Engineering, Post Production, Programming Operations, Traffic Operations and Master Control for AXS TV and HDNet Movies
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Has over 25 years experience in media operations, production and promotion
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Leads hardware and software integrations across departments and business units

Vice President Programming Game+ and Fight Network
Chad Midgley
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More than 22 years of media programming experience
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15 years as VP Programming & Content at Fight Network
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7 years in programming at The Score Television Network
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Conceptualized, launched Fantasy Sports Network (now Game+) and Fight Network
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Key roles on events involving, among others NBA, MLB, NHL, CFL, PGA Tour, UFC and multiple combat sports promotions

Vice President Business Development
Ariel Shnerer
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Leading media rights distribution and coordinating across content and sales to develop growth strategies that maximize revenue and reach across the Anthem portfolio
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Former roles with Anthem include General Manager Fight Network, Senior Director of Programming, Global Distribution & Communications for Anthem, overseeing growth initiatives and content strategy for assets across the Anthem portfolio, including execution of licensing agreements with major studios, distributors and content producers, as well as international launches across North America, Europe, Africa and the Middle East
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Former head of distribution for IMPACT Wrestling, spearheading the launch of the IMPACT Plus digital subscription platform, digital expansion with Pluto TV and Twitch, as well as international broadcast partnerships
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Former combat sports analyst for FOX Sports and The National Post
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More than 15 years of broadcast and media experience, covering programming, production, digital, technical infrastructure, marketing and communications