Our Team
officialCOMMUNITY boasts a dedicated staff of talented Coordinators, Customer Service Representatives, Designers, Developers, Producers, Project Managers and System Administrators.
If you think you've got what it takes to join our team, visit the our careers page.
Key Staff
Kevin Leflar - President and CEO:
Kevin Leflar is the Co-Founder, President and CEO of officialCOMMUNITY. Kevin is a former recording artist manager who founded and co-owned a label distributed worldwide by BMG. In 1995, Kevin left the entertainment industry to work in high tech by joining NAME, a professional services consulting firm that specialized in finance middleware and content management systems. Kevin has become one of Canada's best-known authorities on the impact of digital technology on the music industry. He is highly sought for speaking engagements and interviews.
Jim Sweatman - Vice President of Operations:
Jim Sweatman is a seasoned senior manager with significant relevant experience in scaling business operations that involve technical systems. Prior to officialCOMMUNITY, Jim held a variety of roles from GM to Senior VP and ultimately the Exec VP of Operations for NAME. He managed the growth of NAME from a start up operation of 10 employees to a TSE-listed company of 250 employees.
Amal Ratnayake - Vice President of Finance:
Amal Ratnayake is a finance professional with extensive experience in varied industries and has a passion for assisting the strategic and tactical leadership to achieve strategic goals. Prior to joining officialCOMMUNITY, Amal held a variety of Roles at Cookiejar Entertainment Inc, Rogers Communication Inc and Sprint Canada Inc. He is a Certified Management Accountant of Ontario, a Fellow Member of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants, UK and holds an MBA from the prestigious Cranfied School of Management in the UK. In his volunteer life, he serves on the board of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants, Canada Branch and currently, is the Deputy President of the branch.
Barry Bergman - Vice President of Artist Relations:
Barry lives and works in New York City and is officialCOMMUNITY's conduit to the American artist community and music industry. Barry is a high profile, 30-year industry veteran who played a key role in signing and the launching the careers of such premiere acts as Meat Loaf and AC/DC. Barry publishes more than 150 songs for various artists including Cher, Kiss and Joan Jett. He founded and is president of the Music Manager's Forum (US) and testified as a music industry expert in congressional hearings and music industry trials on several occasions.
Barry was the subject of a Celebrity Access Industry Profile in 2003.
Bill Siddons - Director:
For decades Bill Siddons primary business has been as representative of the most influential artists in the music business beginning with the doors in 1967. At times he has also been a concert promoter, producer, marketing expert, agent, event and tour producer. His company, THE CORE currently represents Elayne Boosler, Michael Glabicki (Rusted Root), Sharon Little, D-SiSive, and others. He is also on the board of directors of officialCOMMUNITY and is the Head Buyer for Quart Festival 2009 (Norway).
Amber Authier – Director of Communities:
Amber has accumulated 20 years of experience in the music and entertainment industries. Her innovative approach to media relations, project and event management was developed while working on large-scale Canadian festivals and events such as the Molson Canadian Rocks for Toronto - Rolling Stones concert, the North by Northeast Music Festival and Conference and the Juno Awards. Amber has led media relations campaigns that resulted in coverage valued at over $2.6 million. Amber is also a nationally published writer appearing in the Globe & Mail and Exclaim. As part of the officialCOMMUNITY team, Amber has developed marketing, business development and creative strategies for all officialCOMMUNITY sites.
Richard Marzura – Director of Development:
Richard Marzura is a software development professional with extensive experience across the entire development lifecycle. In his 12 years in the software industry he has managed several successful products from inception through to product launch while working at Numetrix Ltd., J.D. Edwards, PeopleSoft and Oracle. He has worked on projects to incorporate products gained through acquisitions into existing product lines as well as launching new products to meet key strategic initiatives. He has led development teams on projects using Extreme/Agile Programming as well as traditional development methodologies to deliver planned functionality on time with high quality to a wide range of customers. While attending the University of Toronto, Richard was a member of a multi-disciplinary team, which was selected to represent the university at Apple Computers international design conference. Richard joined the officialCOMMUNITY team in 2008.
Alanna Uhrich - Director of Ticketing:
Alanna has worked in the entertainment industry for over 20 years. Her background as an actor, writer, director, administrator and producer in live theatre coupled with extensive administration and project management experience in the corporate sector provide a distinctive approach to our Ticketing programs. As an administrator and producer, Alanna started with Calgary's Shakespeare in the Park Festival, then developed a passion for working with international artists at Toronto's Harbourfront Centre, working on the World Leaders Festival, World Stage Festival, World Moves Dance Season, and the Milk International Children's Festival. Since arriving at officialCOMMUNITY in 2005, Alanna has negotiated and administered "best seat" ticket sales for all our artist's communities.
Yvan Couture - Chairman and Advisor:
Yvan is the President & CEO, as well as Chairman of Primal Fusion, a Waterloo-based emerging technology company. He is also an angel investor and member of the Board of Directors of three other technology companies. Until January 2002, Yvan was the Executive Vice President of Mitra Imaging Inc., a 400 person global technology leader in the healthcare informatics industry. He led the negotiations that saw Agfa Gevaert Group of Belgium buy Mitra in January, 2002. Prior to joining Mitra, he was President of Taaz Corporation, a firm providing marketing, software documentation, and business consulting services to technology clients in the Waterloo Region and the greater Toronto area. Yvan was also one of the early driving forces behind Communitech, the Waterloo Region's technology association.