Susanne Wereley - President, AthletesCAN | Communications Manager, Rowing Canada Aviron

What happens when the lessons learned at the highest level of sport become lessons for leadership? In this episode of Defining Moments, Dustin Heise sits down with Olympic gold medalist Susanne Wereley to explore the defining experiences that shaped her journey from the rowing boat to the boardroom. Susanne shares the moment Canada's women's eight realized they were capable of something special, how finishing fifth at the Rio Olympics changed her relationship with success, and how that experience helped the team redefine excellence on their path to Olympic gold in Tokyo.   They also discuss what high-performance sport can teach us about leadership, including taking responsibility before blaming others, staying open to difficult feedback, communicating consistently, building trust, and recognizing that even champions always have something they can improve.   Now serving as President of AthletesCAN, Susanne is helping amplify athlete voices and advocating for athletes to have a meaningful seat at the table. She and Dustin also explore how Canadian sport can create clearer pathways and greater opportunities for the next generation.   It’s a conversation about resilience, accountability, communication, athlete advocacy, and what it really means to pursue excellence without expecting perfection.