TEAM PROFILES
Stephen V. Mirabile
President and Chief Operating Officer
Stephen is a 20 year veteran of the global event industry having unmatched experience spanning the largest public events of the last two decades.
His impressive portfolio has included senior management roles on six previous Olympic and Paralympic Games and has been an Expert Advisor to the International Olympic Committee for Event Operations. Stephen is currently the lead executive overseeing all business endeavors related to the Vancouver 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games, and sits on Contemporary's Board of Directors.
In addition to several Olympic Games, Stephen has also led teams in some of the largest and most complex events in the world, including 1994 FIFA World Cup, 2003 Special Olympics World Games, multiple NFL Super Bowls, the 2005 Visit of His Holiness the Dalai Lama and the Melbourne 2006 Commonwealth Games.
As President, Stephen plays a crucial role in client services, corporate strategy, business development and the management of CI's offices throughout the world.
Stephen is widely recognized for his ability to build and manage teams of executive professionals toward a common goal. His work ethic, discipline, and focus on results have led to clients considering him a true partner in delivering a world class event. These talents are instrumental in turning an organization's vision into a successful event experience.
Todd Severson
Director, Client Services
Over the last twelve years, Todd has guided event planning and operations for venue teams in 21 cities across 8 countries, spanning 5 continents.
Todd has an encyclopedic knowledge of planning Olympic events and on-the-ground experience in delivery. Having worked on 8 Olympic projects (six past Games and two future Games), Todd has supported organizers with sound advice and recommendations, based on hands-on experience. Todd is currently the Project Director for Vancouver 2010’s Games Security Screening (GSS),a joint venture including Contemporary Security Canada, Aeroguard, and UPSG. In early 2009 this select group was chosen by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) and the Government of Canada to supply approximately 5000 Games Time security screening staff (magnetometer operators, wanders, screeners) for the Vancouver 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Games.When not working directly on Olympic Projects, Todd manages CI’s Asia-Pacific office out of Sydney, Australia.
Damon Zumwalt
Chairman and CEO
Forty years ago, Damon founded Contemporary Services Corporation and pioneered it into the leading event security services company in the world. His peer group approach to security and crowd management became the most effective and reliable means of providing professional crowd management services and security for the sports and entertainment industry.
The growth of CSC's services to more than 6,000 events annually led to the creation of complementary event companies, namely, APEX for executive protection, ProtaTECH for event workforce technology and ultimately Contemporary International for highly-skilled, event management professionals who apply their expertise and experience to bring success to major event projects all over the world.
Ellen Babers
Senior Manager, Project Integration
A veteran of more than 20 years in the event management industry, Ellen Babers is a seasoned professional of event planning, training, and operations. Ellen first coordinated international events in Costa Rica and Turkey and has since worked on five Olympic Games and one Commonwealth Games.
Ellen’s knowledge of events began as an athlete and evolved to support multi-venue teams in the planning and fulfillment of their event operations. She is a hands-on manager who guides her teams through informed, strong, direct support. Currently, Ellen is manager of Project Integration for our Vancouver 2010 team.
Susan Smith
Senior Manager, Travel & Logistics
Starting with Staffing and Volunteer management in the Salt Lake 2002 Olympic Winter Games, Susan continued with CI to support a variety of projects from our central HQ, including Athens 2004, Torino 2006, and Vancouver 2010. Susan currently focuses her time on our corporate logistics and travel.
David Churches
Senior Advisor, Bidding & Event Strategies
David Churches is an internationally renowned consultant providing specialist advice relating to the bidding for and the planning of major events. He has provided his expertise and confidential advice to candidate cities for the 2004, 2008 and 2012 Olympic Games; cities considering candidature for the 2004, 2008, 2012 and 2016 Olympic Games; and bidding and organizing committees for the Asian Games and the Commonwealth Games.
In addition, David has inspected Olympic venues in Los Angeles, Melbourne, Munich, Nagano and Tokyo, and provided technical advice for major sporting projects and events in Bangkok, Hanoi and Kuala Lumpur.
Jan Damnavits
Senior Manager, Operations
Jan led CI’s project team for the Torino 2006 EVS program, and is currently directing our team for the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games. With experience on 5 Olympic projects – from Atlanta 1996 to Vancouver 2010 – Jan has performed a number of critical roles in Event Services and Venue Operations. Beyond the Olympics, Jan has been involved in the event industry for over 20 years, supporting a variety of different clients.
Fiona Richmond
Senior Manager, Operations
Fiona is an event operations expert, specializing in the planning and operations of multi-venue sporting complexes and common domain spaces. Fiona has been a lead Manager of the primary common domains for three Olympic Games, as well as two Commonwealth Games.
These experiences have put her in a unique position to understand the integrated operations across transport, security, event services and the other associated functions within common domains and city urban domains. Fiona has finished her third season at Sundance Film Festival, as our Manager of Theatre Operations.
Trevor Walsh
Senior Manager, Human Resources
Trevor has extensive experience in events and is a specialist in workforce planning and management. His hands-on work in staff scheduling and support covers 8 multi-sport events, starting with the Winnipeg 1999 Pan American Games through to the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games.
Trevor understands the intricacies of scheduling and mobilizing a large workforce under difficult time constraints and is currently leading our support of our new client – the Vancouver Convention Centre.
