About Nicholas

In May 2016, Fort McMurray was on fire. Nicholas Cartmell was leading community investment and partnership programs at TELUS when the crisis hit. Within hours, the company's response required coordination across government, media, community partners, and internal teams, all under intense public scrutiny. There was no playbook. What mattered was judgment, speed, and the trust Nicholas had already built with people in every one of those rooms.

That moment did not define his career. But it revealed what his career had been preparing him for.

TELUS

Nicholas spent more than a decade at one of Canada's largest telecoms, leading strategic partnerships and community investment programs nationally. He launched a digital fan experience practice that enabled Canada's first digital stadium experience at BC Place and expanded across venues including Commonwealth Stadium and Scotiabank Saddledome. That work taught him how to build programs where corporate ambition and community value reinforce each other.

BC Sports Hall of Fame

As CEO, Nicholas led a provincial cultural institution through a period of significant growth and change. His signature achievement was raising $650,000 for an Indigenous Sport Gallery. The capital campaign required community engagement, donor relations, corporate sponsorship, and government support to succeed simultaneously. He testified before the BC Select Standing Committee and advocated for pandemic relief on behalf of cultural institutions across the province.

Element Event Solutions

Nicholas led Element Event Solutions, managing operations, brand development, and a growing team. He secured Element as an official supplier for the Invictus Games Vancouver Whistler 2025 and built a customer service training program for frontline staff. The role sharpened his instinct for operational discipline inside fast-moving, high-volume environments.

What Drives Him

Nicholas looks for organizations where the mission is real and the work is hard. He has spent enough time inside institutions to know that the ones worth leading are the ones that serve something larger than themselves. He has a young child, and he thinks often about the kind of institutions the next generation will inherit. That is not an abstraction for him. It is the filter he applies to every opportunity he considers.