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pooya naBei rolling on the latter when they begin play this month, with an eye on taking the championship in December. Were you a soccer or sports fan growing up? I was. My family's always been really into sports; my dad and my brother watch a lot of sports, play a lot of sports. So it was always a topic of conversa- tion around the dinner table, soccer in particular. We were Whitecaps season ticket holders in the old NASL [North American Soccer League] days, and I remember going as a little girl; my dad would take turns taking my brother and I and my mom to games. It was a really spe- cial treat to go to games. How involved are you and the Whitecaps in the North America 2026 World Cup bid? I'm on the Vancouver commit- tee that's put forward its application to be one of the host cities. We made the €rst fuN fACT Lewis's favourite whitecap of all time, former goaltender Martino (tino) Lettieri, kept a stuffed parrot in his net T oday's Vancouver Whitecaps FC shares a name with the soccer club that Rachel Lewis joined in 2003, but the similarities end there. Back then, the Whitecaps were in the second division of the United Soccer Leagues ( USL) and had four other employees. Home games drew an average of 4,292 that season, according to the team. The Whitecaps have since joined North America's biggest league, Major League Soccer (MLS). About 150 sta– now work for the club, which last season welcomed an average of 21,416 fans per game. Lewis has served as the team's chief operating o˜cer since 2008. Besides the owners (Greg Kerfoot, Steve Luczo, Je– Mallett and Steve Nash), she has only two superiors: Whitecaps legend and CEO Bob Lenarduzzi and executive chair John Furlong. A Richmond native, Lewis earned an MBA at UBC's Sauder School of Business before spending time with the Profes- sional Golfers' Association's Air Canada Championship and the Canadian Women's Open. When an opportunity in event management opened up with the Whitecaps, she traded in the clubs for cleats. Looking ahead, Lewis has two main goals for the team: be part of a successful bid to bring the World Cup to North America (and Vancouver) in 2026, and celebrate an MLS Cup win at BC Place. The 'Caps get the ball Rachel Lewis in the male-dominated world of sports, the Whitecaps coo is an anomaly at the top of one of vancouver's biggest franchises by Nathan Caddell THE CoNvERSATIoN short list and, of course, now hope to make the second short list and ultimately host games here. I think it's an unbeliev- able opportunity for Canada in particular to really amplify the sport and what it can do for inspiring more kids to get engaged in it across North America. Did the 2010 Olympics prove that Vancouver can handle a big event like that? I think Vancouver is an out- standing host city. First of all, what more beautiful place is there to come to? I think we've demonstrated success, not only with the Olympics, but the Women's World Cup was a standout success in Vancouver, and I think we're building a reputation as an amazing city to come to with a lot to o–er that has an incredible expertise in hosting world-class events. So this for us should just be the next step. What's it been like rising through the ranks in the world of sports? I've been really, really fortu- nate. Our owners come from tech and have always given me every opportunity. That being said, it's still not uncom- mon to sit in a boardroom where there march 2018 BCBusiness 21 BETTER, FASTER, STROnGER the Vancouver whitecaps gained 13 points in the standings from 2016 to 2017—the biggest increase since the 2012 season—taking third place in the western Conference the team recorded 52 points last season, one behind its best- ever campaign in 2015 this season's squad features familiar faces like teenage star Alphonso davies and new arriv- als such as prolific scorer Kei Kamara soUrce: mls

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