Cary Kaplan is the president and owner of the sports marketing

Sports marketing

Sport marketing is divided into three sectors. The first is the advertising of sport and sports associations such as the Olympics, Spanish Football league and the NFL. The second concerns the use of sporting events, sporting teams and individual athletes to promote various products. The third is...

 firm Cosmos Sports in Canada

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

 launched in 2003. The company specializes in consulting for sports teams and leagues in sales, marketing and business operations. High profile clients have inclued the NHL CFL

Canadian Football League

The Canadian Football League or CFL is a professional sports league located in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football, a form of gridiron football closely related to American football....

, MLS

MLS

- Organizations :* Major League Soccer, the highest level professional soccer league in the United States and Canada* Michigan Lutheran Seminary, a preparatory high-school in Saginaw, Michigan- Commerce :...

, AFL

AFL

AFL may refer to:* American Federation of Labor, one of the first federations of labor unions in the United States, and now part of the AFL-CIO* American Football League AFL may refer to:* American Federation of Labor, one of the first federations of labor unions in the United States, and now part...

 the Houston Rockets

Houston Rockets

The Houston Rockets are an American professional basketball team based in Houston, Texas. The team plays in the Southwest Division of the Western Conference in the National Basketball Association . The team was established in 1967, and played in San Diego, California for four years, before being...

 and the Phoenix Suns

Phoenix Suns

The Phoenix Suns are a professional basketball team based in Phoenix, Arizona. They are members of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference in the National Basketball Association and the only team in their division not to be based in California. Their home arena since 1992 has been the US...

From 2005 until October 2009, he served as the Commissioner & Chairman of Canada's only pro soccer league, the Canadian Soccer League (CSL).

CSL Inc. chairman Domenic Di Gironimo acknowledged Cary Kaplan’s tremendous contribution to the CSL. “There’s no doubt that Cary has moved the CSL ahead dramatically during the past few years, such that it is well positioned to occupy the second level professional soccer in Canada. And that’s essential for Canadian soccer. We thank him for his excellent leadership and his generous and very considerable contribution to the Canadian Soccer League.” (October 31, 2009)

Prior to founding Cosmos Sports, Cary worked for the Edmonton Oilers Hockey Club for six years, the last two as the president & alternate governor of the Oilers top affiliate, the Hamilton Bulldogs

Hamilton Bulldogs

The Hamilton Bulldogs are a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League. They play in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, at Copps Coliseum, nicknamed 'The Dog Pound'. They are the AHL affiliate of the NHL's Montreal Canadiens...

, of the American Hockey League

American Hockey League

The American Hockey League is a 30-team professional ice hockey league based in the United States and Canada that serves as the primary developmental circuit for the National Hockey League...

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"Hockey in Hamilton owes a lot to Cary Kaplan," said Tony Battaglia, Chairman of the Hamilton Bulldogs LP. "In 2000–01, when the team's future in Hamilton looked bleak, Cary organized the 'Stay Dogs Stay' campaign. His efforts resulted in over a thousand new season's tickets being sold, and a new lease with the city. Without Cary's efforts, the team may have folded."
Battaglia added that Kaplan initiated the process that brought the current, local ownership group together, and was instrumental in bringing the Montreal Canadiens and Edmonton to the table. As a result, the Hamilton ownership group was able to secure the Canadiens' AHL franchise
In 1999, he won the Ken McKenzie Award

Ken McKenzie Award

The Ken McKenzie Award is presented annually to an individual who accomplished the most during the season in promoting his or her American Hockey League team, by marketing and public relations. The award is named for Ken McKenzie, the co-founder and longtime president and publisher of The Hockey...

 as the AHL's top marketing executive; he has an MBA from Dalhousie University

Dalhousie University

Dalhousie University is a public research university located in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. The university comprises eleven faculties including Schulich School of Law and Dalhousie University Faculty of Medicine. It also includes the faculties of architecture, planning and engineering located at...

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