Glen Thornborough makes his way from Glenboro to being named one of Boston’s most influential people

Glen Thornborough, President of TD Garden and Chief Operating Officer of the Boston Bruins, was recently named one of Boston’s Most Influential People. In a recent interview, the Glenboro High School graduate attributed his successful career to the work ethic, perseverance, tenacity, and sense of community he developed growing up in Glenboro. He also highlighted the life lessons and humility instilled in him from being raised on a family farm a few miles north of town.

Glen shared the story of his rise in the corporate world, not for accolades or awe, but to demonstrate to young readers that with a goal, dream, and hard work, nothing can stop them. He wants to exemplify how growing up in rural Manitoba can be a powerful stepping stone to success. And he would like to thank his community and pay tribute to his late parents; Henry and Margaret Thornborough for giving him a strong foundation with pillars of life’s most essential tools for personal growth.

His story may be unique, but it began similar to most young Canadian youth where winter months were spent lacing up hockey skates and dreaming of one day making it to the NHL. In his eleventh grade Glen’s dream began to take form when he was asked to join the Winkler Flyers a junior league in south east Manitoba.

Following high school graduation Glen attained a full scholarship to Anchorage, Alaska where he played for and eventually became captain of the Alaskan Seawolves. “Although I was over 3,000 miles from home, mom and dad were actually able to catch many of my games as we often played in the Lower 48. It was rather ironic I ended up in Alaska as it was always my mom’s dream destination and she and dad came up to visit a few times.”

In addition to spending many hours on the ice, practicing and traveling to games across the U.S., Glen studied and graduated with a BA, Advertising/Marketing. Over those four years, Anchorage became home to Glen. It was where he fell in love with the state’s pristine beauty and met his future wife, Bonnie Doucette.

Following university, after a failed attempt at an American Hockey League camp, Glen moved south to Memphis, Tennessee playing in the ECHL as a forward for the Memphis River Kings for two years. After suffering a back injury he knew he must make a decision. “At the time I was finding my way through what might or might not be a hockey career. I knew I wanted a career in professional sports and at 26 years old with a temperamental bad back I knew I would have to shift into the business setting,” he reminisced.

Glen counts himself as fortunate that he was able to make a connection at the league level with the Commissioner and seeing an opportunity in Jackson, Mississippi where a new ECHL team was being developed. He called him introducing himself and telling him of his aspiration of being a coach. The commissioner who is now one of Glen’s best friends gave him the number of the Bandits GM.
Perseverance really set in at this point as Glen made a number of calls to the GM until he finally agreed to meet with Glen. All coaching positions were filled but he landed the position of what he called a very unqualified Director of Corporate Partnerships selling hockey in the deep south. Although at first the task seemed quite daunting it was where Glen found his niche and success. The success achieved was no accident; it came from a strong work ethic instilled growing up on a farm, giving 100% every day, and maintaining humility while making cold calls promoting something quite unfamiliar to the southerners.

“The work ethic was like seeding or harvest seasons on the farm; you worked from dawn to dusk to get the job done, it didn’t matter what else may have been going on; it was a priority which often meant sacrificing something,” he said. This position eventually took Glen to the ECHL headquarters in Princeton, New Jersey in the role of Vice President of Sales and Marketing.

A piece of valuable advice he shares is to choose 5 individuals who you look up to and make it a point to watch what they do, what they have done to arrive at their destination; and try to connect with them and build a relationship.

The following ten years Glen was living in Princeton, New Jersey where he worked in Up Sales and Marketing for the ECHL League Office.

A pivotal moment in Glen’s career was when he asked, Rick Adams who at the time was league commissioner, “What do I need to do to sit in your chair?” Adams’ who later became President/CEO, answer was definitive, “Extend your education.”

The next two years were gruelling as Glen was not only working full time making a name for himself in the ECHL’s sports business, he was travelling from Princeton to Philly were he obtained a MBA at St. Josephs University. Interesting side note is that Glen and Bonnie’s first child, daughter Haidyn, was born the day Glen graduated.

After eight years with the ECHL Glen took a position in Montreal, with Reebok as Vice President of Sports Marketing overseeing relationships with the league and athletes; signing hockey players for the brand. This position enabled Glen to expand his business intelligence globally and have offices in Moscow, Helsinki, Prague…anywhere there was hockey. And it led to further advancement of within the company to VP Global Sports Marketing.

Glen attributed his advancement to the mammoth sized sports corporation due to the ECHL signing Reebok/CCM as the exclusive equipment supplier to all 32 teams. Exclusive, meaning equipment from head to toe; something which had never been done before.
A friend and business contact who Glen had connected with in the ECHL called asking him if he would consider interviewing for the role of Sr. VP of Sales and Marketing for the TD Gardens and Boston Bruins. After a series of meetings Glen was offered the position and he and his family (Bonnie and children, Haidyn and Spencer) were headed back to the US.

Throughout the past 25 plus years many amazing memories have been made, the most memorable work moment Glen shared was: “the Winter Olympics in Vancouver when Crosby had his stick stolen and we put out a reward it. And getting shaken down from an immigration agent in Moscow.”

When asked what he is most proud of during his career his answer wasn’t that he was the one who built a relationship with Bobby Orr who managed the 15 year-old Connor McDavid and signing him with Reebok or how a farm boy climbed to the pinnacle of the corporate ladder, it wasn’t the many milestones he created working on Causeway Street or the launching of many youth hockey initiatives; instead he answered; “The most meaningful is the community work and giving we do here in Boston with the TD Garden and Bruins. We feed over 2000 homeless every Thanksgiving and we provide “back to school” supplies to over 2,500 children in the Boston area.”

PHOTO CAPTION: Glen Thornborough has had a very successful career and attributes his success from the sense of community that he developed growing up in Glenboro.