Olympic rowing gold medallist Jackson has more than 30 years of experience as a leader in high performance sports, including his stint as chief executive of the Own the Podium programme, which helped Canadian athletes enjoy unprecedented success at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, where the host nation won a record-breaking 14 gold medals.

Jackson spoke of the ambitions he hopes to fulfil throughout his time in the role.

"I'm pleased to assist Alpine Canada during this time of transition," he said.

"My goal is to provide interim leadership to the organisation from this point until the new chief executive is in place.

"We will support the athletes, coaches and staff and help them build momentum going into the Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games in Sochi, Russia, in 2014."

Jackson won gold in the coxless pairs at Tokyo 1964 and went on to serve as director of Sport Canada, as well as three terms as President of the COC and gaining inclusion to the Alberta Order of Excellence last year.

"We are very fortunate that someone of Roger's stature has agreed to assist Alpine Canada in this time of transition," said Danny Minogue, chairman of Alpine Canada's Board of Directors.

"He is a very experienced and successful leader who will give Alpine Canada and our partners and supporters great stability and continuity during the course of our search for a replacement for Max Gartner.

"Max has made a long and lasting impact on ACA by always working hard to find the best coaching and management combinations to power our athletes to Olympic, World Championship and World Cup medals.

"He will be missed but after over 30 years of service his contribution to ski racing in Canada will always be remembered."

Jackson spearheaded the programme which saw Canadian athletes, including pictured snowboarder Maelle Ricker, take an unprecedented number of medals at Vancouver 2010

A statement from Alpine Canada emphasised that Jackson, who also helped advise London 2012 during its successful bid, is merely a temporary appointment, and that the search for a new permanent President is underway under the guidance of recruitment firm Odgers Berndtson.

"Odgers Berndtson is a national firm that has a lot of experience in the sports arena," said Alpine Canada vice-chair Chris Slubicki, who chairs the Search Committee.

"It has recruited CEOs for many other athletic and not-for-profit organisations.

"We have an interim executive team in place now and we're all systems go."

Alpine Canada's vice-president of sports Paul Kristofic will continue to oversee the sports departments for alpine, Para-alpine and ski cross, whilst Claire Buffone-Blair will assist Jackson on the organisational side on an interim basis.

Contact the writer of this story at [email protected]


Related stories
June 2013: Gartner to leave Alpine Canada after more than 30 years
April 2013: Canadian snow sports organisations join forces to form marketing consortium