The Origin Story
The Board Said No.
He Said Watch Me.
When the WNBA opened expansion bids, the MLSE board passed. Too risky. Not the right time. Larry Tanenbaum disagreed — and rather than fight the committee, he went around it. Through his personal firm Kilmer Sports Ventures, he put up the $50 million expansion fee himself in May 2024, operating the Tempo as a standalone entity entirely separate from MLSE.
What followed was a recruitment drive unlike anything Canadian sport has seen. In under two years, Tanenbaum assembled a group spanning championship tennis, NBA championship architecture, Silicon Valley, Bollywood-meets-Hollywood, luxury hospitality, and the boardrooms of two of hockey's most storied franchises — plus three founding corporate partners who wrote cheques before the team played a single game.
The MLSE board passed. The Toronto Tempo was born anyway.
Tier 1
Principal Ownership
The Architect
Larry Tanenbaum
Kilmer Sports Ventures
Joined May 2024 • Governance & NBA/WNBA Relations
Chairman of MLSE. NBA Board of Governors. The man who bet $50M on women's basketball in Canada when his own board wouldn't. Kilmer Sports Ventures operates the Tempo as its own entity — Tanenbaum didn't ask permission. He built a franchise.
The Icon
Serena Williams
23 Grand Slams. Owner.
Joined Mar 2025 • Global Brand & Merchandise
Announced March 3, 2025. Williams isn't collecting a title — she's running global brand strategy and personally leading "Tempo Threads," the team's lifestyle and apparel line. The Tempo's visual identity has her fingerprints on it before a single regular-season game.
The Blueprint
Masai Ujiri
Toronto Raptors President
Joined Mar 2026 • Basketball Ops & Mentorship
The newest Principal (joined March 31, 2026) and arguably the most impactful basketball mind in the building. Ujiri built the 2019 NBA championship Raptors and now personally oversees "Tempo Rising" — a coaching mentorship program for women and non-binary individuals. He doesn't just know how to win. He knows how to build.
Tier 2
Minority Partners
The Data Engine
Scott Lake
Co-Founder, Shopify
Analytics & Performance Tech
One of the earliest investors after the principals. Lake co-built Shopify into a global commerce empire and is now wiring that same data-forward thinking into the Tempo's performance infrastructure. The analytics and technology backbone of this franchise runs through him.
The Connector
Reetu Gupta
CEO, The Gupta Group
Community & Urban Development
CEO and Ambassadress of The Gupta Group, one of Canada's leading real estate and luxury hospitality firms. Gupta bridges the Tempo with Toronto's business and development community — the person who makes sure this franchise is embedded in the city's fabric, not just its arena.
The Amplifier
Lilly Singh
Entertainer & Producer
Media & Youth Engagement
Canadian-born, globally recognized. Singh built a YouTube empire into a mainstream media career and now leads the Tempo's digital community engagement and youth outreach strategy. If Serena brings the prestige and Ujiri brings the blueprint, Singh brings the next generation of fans.
The Operator
Sukhinder Singh Cassidy
CEO, Xero
Business Strategy & Operations
Former Google and StubHub executive, now CEO of Xero. One of the most accomplished South Asian women in global tech. Her presence signals that this isn't a vanity project — it's a professionally run franchise with executive infrastructure that can actually scale.
The National Bridge
Groupe CH
Geoff Molson & France Margaret Bélanger
National Market (Quebec) Expansion
Owners of the Montreal Canadiens. This wasn't just a capital investment — it was a strategic partnership to make the Tempo "Canada's Team." Groupe CH is why the Tempo has regular-season games at the Bell Centre. Molson brings the hockey dynasty credibility; Bélanger — President & CEO of Groupe CH — brings the operational excellence to execute it.
Tier 3
Founding Corporate Partners
These companies don't hold equity — they provided the multi-year capital injection that made the 2026 launch possible. They are not passive sponsors. They are founding infrastructure.
Sephora Canada
🥇 First PartnerThe first-ever founding partner — signed before anyone else. Focused on community impact and courtside experiences. Sephora didn't wait to see if this worked. They bet on it from day one.
CIBC
👕 Jersey PartnerThe lead financial partner. CIBC's logo appears on both the inaugural home and away jerseys — the most visible real estate in the franchise. When you see a Tempo jersey, you see CIBC. That's not sponsorship. That's partnership.
TurboTax Canada
📊 Financial LiteracyThe most recent major partner. TurboTax specifically sponsors the "Financial Literacy for Athletes" initiative — an acknowledgment that empowering players off the court matters as much as what happens on it.
The Bench
Key Executives
Teresa Resch
President
Came up through the Raptors organization as one of the most respected basketball executives in Canada. Resch knows the Toronto market, the WNBA landscape, and how to build a front office that competes on day one.
Monica Wright Rogers
General Manager
Former WNBA player turned front office executive. Eight seasons on the court before moving to management. She knows what players need, what winning cultures look like, and what scouts miss.
Sandy Brondello
Head Coach
One of the most accomplished coaches in WNBA history. Led the Phoenix Mercury to a championship in 2014. Renowned for player development and offensive system design. The Tempo's first coach is not a placeholder.
At a Glance
| Name | Role | Joined | Primary Focus |
|---|---|---|---|
| Larry Tanenbaum | Principal | May 2024 | Governance & NBA/WNBA Relations |
| Serena Williams | Principal | Mar 2025 | Global Brand & Merchandise |
| Masai Ujiri | Principal | Mar 2026 | Basketball Ops & Mentorship |
| Scott Lake | Minority | Jun 2025 | Analytics & Performance Tech |
| Reetu Gupta | Minority | Nov 2025 | Community & Urban Development |
| Lilly Singh | Minority | May 2025 | Media & Youth Engagement |
| Sukhinder Singh Cassidy | Minority | May 2025 | Business Strategy & Operations |
| Groupe CH | Minority | Sep 2025 | National Market (Quebec) Expansion |
| Sephora Canada | Founding Partner | Jan 2025 | Community Impact & Courtside |
| CIBC | Founding Partner | Apr 2025 | Lead Financial / Jersey Partner |
| TurboTax Canada | Founding Partner | Mar 2026 | Financial Literacy for Athletes |
The Bottom Line
This Isn't an Ownership Group.
It's a Coalition.
Tanenbaum provides the infrastructure and the governance. Williams provides the global brand and the cultural credibility. Ujiri provides the championship blueprint and the mentorship pipeline. Lake provides the data. Gupta connects the franchise to Toronto's urban core. Singh and Cassidy convert it into media and scale.
Groupe CH makes it a national story. Sephora, CIBC, and TurboTax wrote the cheques that made the 2026 launch possible. Resch runs the front office. Wright Rogers builds the roster. Brondello coaches the team. Every person in this group has a role. Every role is load-bearing.