Board Members
JENNIFER BISHOP, chair
Jennifer Bishop is a partner at Aird & Berlis LLP, where she serves as Co-Chair of the firm’s Mergers & Acquisitions Group and as Founder and Co-Chair of the firm’s Sports, Media & Entertainment Group. She is the Global Chair of the International Bar Association’s Women Lawyers’ Committee. Jennifer is recognized as a leading Canadian corporate lawyer by multiple legal ranking organizations, including Best Lawyers in Canada, The Canadian Legal Lexpert Directory and the Top 40 Lawyers Under 40. She has also been named one of the 2024 Top 25 Women of Influence by Women of Influence+.
Formerly an elite tennis player, Jennifer remains dedicated to sport through her work with Tennis Canada and other key global leadership sport positions. She is the immediate past Chair of the Board of Tennis Canada and currently serves on the Executive Board and as Chair of the Nominating Committee. Jennifer is a member of the International Tennis Federation’s Davis Cup Committee, which oversees the men’s World Cup of Tennis. She also served on the Billie Jean King Cup Committee from 2019-2021, which oversees the women’s World Cup of Tennis. In 2022, Jennifer was appointed to the Canadian Olympic Committee’s Ethics and Governance initiative, a position she holds with great pride.
Jennifer fuels her passion for giving back to sport as Chair of the Board of the Doug Philpott Inner-City Children’s Tennis Federation, the only tennis charity in Canada dedicated exclusively to children in priority needs neighbourhoods, serving over 8,500 participants each year. Jennifer is an ambassador for Tennis Canada’s Game. Set. Equity initiative and in 2022, she was inducted into the Newfoundland & Labrador Tennis Hall of Fame as an athlete and a builder.
Jennifer is frequently called upon to speak internationally on matters relating to business law and corporate governance, leadership and gender equity. In recent years, she has Co-Chaired a United Nations Session on the Status of Women, spoken on the Said Business School/Oxford University International Women’s Day Panel, spoken to Georgetown University’s MBA class regarding the monetization of sport, and was keynote speaker at PepsiCo Canada’s International Women’s Day Event and Rotman School of Management’s Sports Business Association Annual Conference. She is also a key contributor to Tennis Canada’s annual UNMATCHED: Gender Equity in Sports Conference, where influential attendees and speakers such as Billie Jean King and Maria Sharapova rally together to advance gender equity.
Eleanor O’Gorman, vice president
Ms. O’Gorman has a background in sports, education, and retail management in the private club industry, and extensive experience with program development.
Beginning her career in Winnipeg as a high school teacher, she later relocated to Toronto and has worked at the Toronto Cricket Skating & Curling Club, the Granite Club, and the Badminton & Racquet Club in various senior Professional and Sport Management roles. More recently, she has managed the retail sports shops for the Mayfair Clubs.
She is a graduate of the University of Manitoba, a former Top 10 player in Manitoba in badminton, squash and tennis; and was recently inducted in the Tennis Manitoba Hall of Fame for her competitive achievements and patronage.
As a volunteer, she is a Past President of Tennis Manitoba, the National Association of North American Club Athletic Directors, and currently serves as a Board Member of the Meadowbrook Golf & Country Club.
Sharon Arnold, secretary
Sharon Arnold served in several capacities on the OTA Council, now Board of Directors, holding positions of Secretary, Treasurer. and Education Committee Chair over a period of more than 20 years from the 1960′s through the 1980′s. As Education Committee Chair she developed the first teaching manuals for use by physical education teachers and promoted tennis instruction in schools. She has also been a Canadian Open volunteer for many years and holder of a Tennis Canada Distinguished Service Award.
One of the group of volunteers who first formed Philpott Children’s Tennis, she now serves on the Board of Directors and has been Chair of the Program Committee since the inception of the organization.
As a player, Sharon was a Canadian U18 Junior Champion and a National and Provincial Senior Doubles Champion in both doubles and mixed categories. She also Captained two Canadian International Teams–the Maria Bueno and Maureen Connolly Cup teams. Sharon has been an active tennis instructor for her entire adult life and continues to this day to instruct tennis at the community level.
Arlen Sternberg, member
Arlen became a board member in 2012. He has had a longstanding connection to the sport and to the Toronto tennis community, including having played competitively as a junior and then in the NCAA as an undergrad in the US. He is a strong believer in the value of sport and the life lessons it teaches, especially for children, and is honoured to assist such a worthy organization as Philpott Children’s Tennis. Arlen received a BA degree from the University of Louisiana (formerly NLU), a law degree from Osgoode Hall Law School, and is a partner at a large Toronto law firm.
Adam Borovilos, member
Adam Borovilos joined the Philpott Board in 2012. He is a Chartered Accountant, and is currently the Director-Statutory Reporting for Brookfield Residential Property Services. Prior to joining Philpott, Adam served as Treasurer on the executive committee of Bridlewood Community Tennis Club in Scarborough, where he developed his love for tennis. He has also served for several years on the Board of Street Health Community Nursing Foundation, a not-for-profit organization focused on delivering health care and advocacy for the homeless and under-housed in downtown Toronto.
Kosty Gilis, member
Kosty Gilis joined the Philpott board in 2016. He has played tennis since the age of 6, though never quite reaching the skill level of many of his fellow Philpott Board members. Having started tennis in a local City of Toronto parks and recreation department-sponsored tennis program, his desire to be involved with a great organization like Philpott is directly tied to his own experience as a child and a belief that tennis is a sport like no other – it requires stamina, athleticism and mental strength, while teaching self-reliance and on-the-spot thinking. Kosty received his B.S. in Economics from the Wharton School at University of Pennsylvania and a M.B.A. from Harvard Business School. He is a Managing Director at Onex Corporation.
Peter Malcomson, member
A lifelong tennis enthusiast, Peter bring many years of sales and marketing experience, from both outside tennis and inside the tennis community to his position. After graduating with an English degree from York University, Peter spent 15 years in the advertising world, working first for an ad agency and later in sales and marketing for several media outlets including SCORE Golf, the National Post, and Transcontinental. He was also a partner in the country’s largest in-store radio network, POPPS. Peter eventually directed his efforts to the tennis business, working on contract for Tennis Canada and part-time as a tennis instructor at the Waterside Sports Club in Toronto. Most recently he was a partner in RL SportsLines, a tennis and golf apparel distributor. He joined the OTA in October 2010 in the capacity of Marketing Manager. Responsibilities include communications, sponsorship, and event management.
Cindy O’Doherty , member
Cindy is a veteran of the IT industry with over 30 years of experience in distribution. She is a highly motivated sales representative with a proven track record of success in developing new business and increasing sales in the HPE Enterprise space. Cindy’s strong background in customer service and her use of the three C’s: communication, compromise, and commitment stand out in the industry.
Among her many professional achievements, Cindy has had the honour of winning the prestigious top performer President’s Club award 10 times, the National MVP award in her capacity as a Business Development Manager at Ingram micro Canada in her first year with the company, and received multiple Canadian, North American and Global awards during her many years in the industry.
Cindy has helped grow her company’s business more than 100% in the infrastructure technology enterprise space. Her professionalism and rapport, with some of the largest technology partners Canada, have directly contributed to our success and speak volumes about her character.
Cindy’s true passion is tennis. She grew up in St. Catharine’s in an athletic family that had strong roots in the tennis community. Her mother competed for Team Canada many times over the course of 20+ years and recently Cindy had the privilege of representing Canada at the World Masters Championships in Mexico City. Cindy is an avid supporter of the tennis community both locally and on the national level.
