The Team

Robert Bayigamba
​CEO

Robert Bayigamba has held a number of executive positions in both the public and private sectors. He is the owner and managing director of Manumetal Ltd – One of Rwanda’s leading furniture manufacturers. He co-owns Cristallis Ltd, a mining company, and is the Chairman of The Rwanda Association of Manufacturers. Robert formerly served as the President of the National Olympic and Sports Committee of Rwanda. In the public sector, Robert served as the Cabinet Minister in charge of Youth, Sport and Culture. Moreover he was the Head of the Privatization Secretariat under the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning where he coordinated the privatization of 20 state-owned companies including strategic utility companies. In the private sector, Robert served as the Chairman of the Rwanda Private Sector Federation, the apex body of Rwanda’s business community, from September 2004 to October 2011. Furthermore, Robert has been involved in several projects in an array of industries including the Gaming Industry, Agri-Business, Printing and Regional Transport. Robert has also been member of various committees at national level including the steering committee for the National Program on Innovation and Competitiveness and the steering committee for Regional Integration and is the Chairman of the Manufacturing Group of COMESA (Common Market of Eastern and Southern Africa 19 Countries) Robert holds an Executive MBA in Corporate Strategy and Economic Policy of Maastricht School of Management in Holland.  

David Helmer
​President

David is a continual entrepreneur with 35 years of experience in international projects and companies. He is the Co-Founder and Owner of Helmer Scientific, an advanced manufacturing, global laboratory equipment company with distribution in 130 countries. He is the Co-Founder of Bigger Future-Rwanda, a strategic coaching and investment company in Kigali through which he has multiple investments in East Africa. David is also a partner in VisionTech Partners, an angel investment group that focuses on early stage life science and technology start-ups. He serves on the board of Sagamore Institute, a Midwestern policy think (and do) tank. David has previously served as Executive Director for a Ukrainian-based humanitarian organization, and an organization working in South Africa. He is currently launching a distribution company for the African continent. He is a former mentor with Praxis, an accelerator for high impact non-profits and businesses, and founder of Collaborosity, where he uses his wealth of life experience to coach humble leaders toward greater life purpose and relationship. David received his BS in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Minnesota.

Dale Neuburger

As Director of BCW sports practice - North America - based in Indianapolis, Dale brings thirty years of professional experience in soliciting and managing major sporting events as well as experience as an administrator of highly successful sport-related organizations. As a consultant since 2005, his clients have included important cities like Phoenix, Pittsburgh, and Columbus, as well as significant organizations like the United States Olympic Committee (including 22 of its NGBs) and the National Collegiate Athletic Association. Mr. Neuburger has broad experience in international sports, currently serving as Vice President of FINA (International Federation for swimming), and formerly serving as Assistant Chef de Mission for the US Olympic delegation in Athens. He was President of Indiana Sports Corporation for 12 years, helping Indianapolis to host more than 200 events that created $2 billion in incremental economic development. Mr. Neuburger also led the successful $50 million fundraising effort to relocate the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) to Indianapolis.

Milt Thompson

​Milton O. Thompson is an attorney and of counsel with the law firm Bleeke Dillon Crandall. He is most recognized for sports and entertainment Law. He is the president and CEO of Grand Slam – a sports, entertainment, and recreation management consulting firm. He is the co-founder of Play Ball Indiana, a former certified Contract Advisor with the NFL and NBA Players Association, and a Board Member of the Indianapolis Indians Baseball Club. He hosted the weekly radio show "Playing for Keeps" on ESPN950. Well-known for his work in community development, sports and recreation-planning, and in building community collaborations through effective partnerships. Milt currently serves on the Indianapolis Capital Improvement Board, the Tourism Tomorrow Board of Visit Indy, the Indiana World Skating Academy Board, and a number of other boards. Previously, he was the former General Counsel to the Pan American Games and held the position of Vice President of Indiana Sports Corporation. A former First Team All-American baseball player at his college alma mater, Milt has served as a member of the college's Wittenberg Board of Trustees since July 1998 and is now an Emeritus Director. He graduated from Wittenberg University with a B.A. and from Indiana University School of Law - Bloomington.

Leon Younger

Leon is the founder and President of PROS Consulting. He has more than 29 years in parks, recreation, and leisure services. Leon is a recognized leader in applying innovative approaches to managing parks and recreation organizations. He has held positions as Director of Parks and Recreation in Indianapolis, Indiana; Executive Director of Lake Metroparks in Lake County, Ohio (Cleveland vicinity); and Director of Parks and Recreation in Jackson County, Missouri (Kansas City). He received the 1994 National Park and Recreation Association’s Distinguished Professional Award for his progressive and innovative thinking in management of public parks and recreation entities.Leon is routinely invited to present his management and development philosophies at conferences, workshops, and training across the United States, as well as internationally. He is co-creator of the Community Values ModelTM, a business model that synthesizes community and stakeholder input into a strategic plan. He regularly addresses sessions at the National Park and Recreation Conferences and has served as a board member and instructor at the Pacific Revenue and Marketing School in San Diego, California and the Rocky Mountain Revenue and Management School in Colorado.

Michelle Perry

​Throughout her career, Michelle has provided expertise and guidance to sport-related organizations focusing on strategic and business performance planning; event bidding and hosting strategies; and, sports facility analysis for concurrent competitive and recreational use. Michelle brings over 25 years of major event management experience and has a broad background in organizational bidding processes, facility management, and strategic and business development. Michelle served at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) where she spent 12 years overseeing the NCAA Women’s Final Four – the highest profile and most important women’s collegiate sporting event in the United States.  Her responsibilities included the oversight of tournament operations, financial management and external business development, facility operations, security protocols, game management operations, and participating team coordination.

Neelay Bhatt

Neelay’s experience on four continents includes Disney, The Super Bowl, The Summer Olympics and Paralympics Games, besides years of consulting, public speaking and training. TEDx, the global platform for ideas, describes him as a business and communications visionary, and his service on the National Recreation and Park Association’s Board of Directors is committed to ensuring that ‘no child is left indoors’.  He has led 130+ strategic and master planning, sports facility development, customer service training, and marketing and branding projects while focusing on innovation, partnerships, financial sustainability, and a guest experience of the highest quality. These projects have recommended facility development and infrastructure improvements totaling over $2 billion USD, and are helping to shape a better vision for parks, recreation, and sports all over the world.

Brian Krohn

​Brian D. Krohn is an associate professor and chair of the Department of Tourism, Event, and Sport Management at IUPUI.  He earned a PhD in Tourism Management with focus on sport tourism and consumer behavior.  Prior to his graduate education, Brian was golf professional serving as director of instruction, head golf professional and general manager.  He has worked with several agencies conducting research and developing business and marketing plans within sport, tourism, and hospitality.  As a professor, Brian has overseen over 100 student projects focused on business development within tourism.  As a researcher, he focuses on active sport tourism including golf, running, and cycling.

Mark Urtel

Mark Urtel is the Chair of Department of Kinesiology at IUPUI. He has been teaching physical education and physical activity for over 20 years. Additionally, he has coached at the elementary level through to the competitive youth / interscholastic level and at the college-level. He also spent 12 seasons in the summer camp industry with the last three coming as camp director. He has chaired the IUPUI campus committee on assessment along with currently leading the assessment efforts for the department. He also maintains a consistent presence in the community by engaging his students in service-learning, serving on advisory committees, and providing professional development opportunities all centered on improving upon the physical education and physical activity opportunities of school-aged youth.

John Dierdorf

John is a Principal and the Chairman of the Board of Browning Day. The leader of the sports studio, John is recognized for his design of award-winning sports venues across the United States. He was the Associate Architect of Lucas Oil Stadium and Victory Field Baseball Stadium. His versatility and creativity have allowed him to work on a variety of projects including club/hospitality, government/civic and corporate/commercial architecture. Hanging out with his Industrial Arts teacher father piqued his interest in how things go from the idea stage to being constructed. After more than 40 years in the profession, the process of meeting with clients, hearing their needs and translating their dreams into conceptual designs that further their vision, and actually seeing the building constructed still gives him the most satisfaction. When he is not gardening, golfing or painting, John is probably cooking for his family. John is a graduate of Ball State University, College of Architecture and Planning where he earned a Bachelor of Architecture degree in 1974. A member of the Browning Day staff since 1974, he became a principal of the firm in 1982.

Lucas Cannoot 

Cannoot Lucas has over two decades of experience in elite sports management and coaching. He spent four years at the Belgian Federal Soccer Federation school and graduated with distinction as a Trainer-Coach. While at the school, he developed new coaching and team-building strategies with the executive committee. He was the technical manager of elite youth development and education as well as the technical manager of the elite women football segment. Lucas served as a professor, coach and general manager of the football-studies department at the R.A.E.C. Mons club in Belgium.  He is also the founder & general manager  of the “100 plus “ IRIS A youth academy in Brussels. Furthermore, Lucas has extensive experience in business development across various industries. 

Allen Simms

Allen Simms is a decorated former track and field athlete, passionate elite coach and social entrepreneur.  A six-time All-American, NCAA Division I National Champion, USATF National Champion, 4-Time World Championships participant and 2008 Olympic Games qualifier. He has a wealth of coaching experience at all levels.  Simms is also the founder of Impano Academy Rwanda, a non-profit amateur sports organization established in 2016 based in Kigali, Rwanda. The academy is designed to promote the sport of track and field by offering professional coaching, guidance, and education to Rwandans. The organization travels around the country carefully testing prospective student-athletes in collaboration with local clubs, teams, and national federations. They train local coaches to identify talent, select the best sporting youth, and develop them into future champions. Simms is the Founder/CEO of the dynamic startup Impano Activewear, a global brand that designs, manufactures and sells African inspired sportswear. Simms graduated from the University of Southern California in 2005 with a bachelor’s degree in multimedia technology and earned a Master of Art in liberal studies and a graduate certificate in global studies from the University of North Carolina-Greensboro in 2014.

Michael Lindell

​With diverse leadership experiences within the for-profit and non-profit sectors, Mike brings a unique skillset and energy to CGS. His ability to forge strategic relationships combined with his talent for creating sustainable solutions to complex challenges makes Mike a valuable part of our team.  His career began with over eighteen years in the student loan industry where he successfully led multiple operational teams and special projects before annually exceeding expectations as a sales executive. In 2005, he was recruited by Chase Student Loans to launch and manage the Chase Health Education Loan Program – a unique set of loan products and services designed to the meet the financing needs of medical students. As the National Director of this program, Mike traveled extensively supporting the sales activities of regional account executives and presenting to thousands of medical school students on the topics of debt management and financial literacy. At the Sagamore Institute, an Indianapolis-based think-tank, Mike launched Scholarships for Education Choice and, within its first three years, raised over $9.5M and awarded over 4,000 scholarships. 

Darrin Gray 

Darrin Gray is the CEO of Brandirect, a corporate brand, communications and leadership consultancy which he has led since 2004 that has served many notable sports organizations, including Athletes in Action, the National Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association, the Indiana High School Athletic Association and The Indianapolis Colts. As part of his work, Darrin co-developed a behavioral character assessment instrument, Purpose Inspired CompetitorTM with Dr. Dan Snively to systematically measure and improve athletic performance. He regularly consults athletes and coaches about how to work on mission-critical actions in order to achieve higher levels of performance. Additionally, Darrin maintains relationships with hundreds of professional athletes and coaches that he involves in “strategic sports philanthropy” programming. He has conducted NFL-sanctioned programming at multiple Super Bowls, and has worked directly with over half of the NFL franchises on community based programming. He develops innovative partnership strategies to reach families via special events, broadcast, and new media with the assistance of media partners and corporate sponsors.