About

National Board of Directors

Members of the National Board of Directors are all volunteers, as well as busy executives in their daily working lives. They contribute their time and expertise on behalf of the CIOCAN membership to heighten awareness of the key role Chief Information Officers play in business today.

Gary Davenport | Vice-President, Information Technology, MTS Allstream Inc.

Gary is National Board of Directors President, CIO Association of Canada.

As Vice-President of Information Technology, Gary Davenport is responsible for the definition and implementation of transformational business initiatives using information technology for the Allstream business unit of MTS Allstream Inc. In this role, Gary leads a team of dedicated IT professionals focused on improving business capabilities in a very competitive telecommunications industry. He is also the Executive Sponsor for Allstream’s Workplace 2.0 Program enabling much greater levels of employee mobility, productivity and engagement.

Prior to joining MTS in 2006, Gary spent his career within the retailing industry working for the Hudson's Bay Company. During his last seven years at Hbc as VP of IT and then as CIO, he led the transformation of one of Canada's largest and most complex IT operations. In 2004, Hbc's progress was recognized with the winning of five prestigious IT industry awards in a 12-month period.

Gary has participated on many North American and European CIO Councils and also served on the Board of Directors of the Voluntary Inter-industry Communications Standards (VICS) organization. Gary holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from York University.

Mary Anne Ballantyne | Assistant Head, Technology and Innovation, BSS

Mary Anne Ballantyne is Assistant Head, Technology and Innovation with The Bishop Strachan School (BSS).

With 25 years experience in the technology industry as programmer, analyst, manager and senior leader, her passion today lies in the fusion of technology within the continuum of learning. As well as being founder and co-chair of the board for the CIS eLearning Consortium, Mary Anne also sits on the Ontario chapter board for the CIO Association of Canada, the largest association in Canada for CIOs.

A firm advocate of the holistic leadership the CIO role plays in any organization, Mary Anne recognizes building innovative capacity is a challenge and currently leads the BSS effort in a formal IT Shared Services initiative with other Independent Schools.

Mike Battistel | VP Information Systems and Process, SMART Technologies

Mike is President of the Calgary Chapter, CIO Association of Canada.

Mike is a senior executive with over 30 years experience creating and leveraging business systems to ensure enterprises achieve their operational and strategic goals.

Mike’s experience encompasses executive and consulting roles in manufacturing, electronics, logistics, energy, education, health care, and broadcast media. During his 30 years in the industry Mike has led management teams in companies ranging from high tech startups to Fortune 50 enterprises operating in North America, Europe and Asia. He has steered organizations through mergers and acquisitions as well as sustained revenue growth exceeding 35% per year.

Mike is currently VP, Information Systems and Process at SMART Technologies, the industry pioneer and global leader in interactive whiteboards and group collaboration tools. He has been both a member of the Board of the CIO Association of Canada and President of that organization’s Vancouver Chapter. An active community member, he has also served on the Board of several non-profit societies.

Dr. Catherine Boivie | CEO, Inventure Solutions & SVP, IT, Vancouver City Savings

Dr. Boivie is the CEO of Inventure Solutions and senior vice-president, information technology at Vancouver City Savings Credit Union. She was previously senior vice-president of IT at Pacific Blue Cross. Dr. Boivie is also the founding President of the Chief Information Officers Association of Canada and is on the Boards of the YWCA Vancouver, BCIT Foundation and the Information and Communications Technology Council. She holds a Bachelor of Mathematics from the University of Waterloo, and a Master’s degree and PhD from the University of Toronto.

In June, Dr. Boivie was awarded the 2008 Chief Information Officers Leadership Award by the 28,000-member Canadian Advanced Technology Alliance for excellence in managing enterprise-wide information systems that yield the greatest returns and for community engagement and team leadership. In 2003, she received the IT Executive of the Year Innovation Award for Midsize Enterprises from Gartner, Inc.

Cindy Bratkowski| SVP, IT & Client Services, Pacific Blue Cross

Cindy Bratkowski is Pacific Blue Cross's Senior Vice President, Information Technology and Client Services. In Cindy's dual role, she is responsible for both technological and business process improvement initiatives at Pacific Blue Cross/BC Life. Cindy's leadership has empowered people to push beyond the ordinary, resulting in superior service for Pacific Blue Cross members and awards of excellence in customer service for Pacific Blue Cross members and awards of excellence in customer service for both the organizations and various contact centre representatives.

Cindy trained as a registered nurse before moving to British Columbia to major in Psychology and Communications at Simon Fraser University. For over 25 years Cindy has been helping organizations in various industries including newspaper, tourism and insurance, deliver exceptional service.

Cindy is past President of the BC Contact Centre Association, which provides networking and educational programs to its members; she is a member of the BCIT Contact Centre Advisory Council; Treasurer on the board of the CIO Association of Canada; and a founding board member of the Community Against Preventable Injuries.

Kelvin Cantafio | Visiting Scholar, University of Waterloo; Executive Lead, Information Services, International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies

Kelvin is Toronto Chapter President, CIO Association of Canada.

Kelvin Cantafio has over 20 years of senior-level national and international experience in IT for Business and the Non-Profit Sector, including 13 years as the Chief Information Officer and Director of IT for a multi national NGO. In addition to providing IT management consulting , Kelvin is a Visiting Scholar for the University of Waterloo where he assists with various projects related to the MMSC Online program in Management of Technology.

Kelvin is a founding member of NetHope and currently serves as Vice Chair. NetHope is an information technology consortium of 27 leading international non-governmental organizations (NGOs) with combined annual revenue of over US$30 billion. He previously served on the Advisory Board for the CIO Executive Council of Canada and he is a member of the IT advisory board for Oxfam Canada. As the CIO for Plan International, an international children’s development agency, Kelvin used his knowledge in Organizational Development to successfully lead IT transformation in a complex, global, multi-cultural environment. Previously, as the Chief Information Officer for Foster Parents Plan of Canada, Kelvin was responsible for the overall strategic and operational management of information systems.

Prior to his involvement in non-profit sector, Kelvin served as the Project Director for the Management of Information Processes and Systems (MIPS) initiative at Canadian Tire. The initiative revolutionized the way Canadian Tire sold over 56,000 of its products. Cantafio has been credited as the developer of the MIPS concept. Kelvin is the recipient of several prestigious international awards for IT innovation, including the World Information Technology and Services Alliance (WITSA) Global IT Excellence Award.

Ward Chapin | CIO, ICBC

Ward is Chief Information Officer at ICBC. Previously, as VANOC’s Chief Information Officer, Ward led the team that implemented and managed all the technology and systems critical for staging the Vancouver 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games. Chapin’s responsibility leading up to the Games is as diverse as the technology and the systems he oversaw, spanning day-to-day office requirements for 1,200 staff to systems that manage the accreditation, communication, security and transportation functions for all Games’ participants.

A longtime executive with HSBC Bank, Chapin built a progressive career with the financial services company in Canada and abroad. Prior to joining VANOC, he was responsible for Information Technology Operations for the HSBC Investment Bank in London, England. He also spent more than three years in Paris as director of IT Operations, assisting with the integration of HSBC’s acquisition of CCF Bank, a federation of 11 banks. During his tenure with HSBC Bank Canada, Chapin served as Vice President, Technical and Corporate Services, and also held various IT-related roles in information systems auditing, systems development and IT operations.

Chapin began his career in audit while at Montreal Trust, moving on to operational and information systems positions for CitiBank, Toronto Dominion Bank and Bank of BC. As one of the first experts in automated teller machines, he quickly became a popular figure on the North American IT speakers’ circuit.

David Codack | VP, Employee Technology & Network Services, TD Financial Services

David has experience with entrepreneurial as well as large multinational organizations within the Automotive, Health Care, Aerospace, Computing, Telecommunications, Insurance, Construction, Retail and the Financial Services sectors. He has worked in 29 different countries in various capacities and has managed staff in 4-5 continents simultaneously. David performed roles in Finance, Technology and Operations/Manufacturing/Supply Chain. He also developed and designed companies and systems and he has built companies around technology. He is competent in all areas of Infrastructure, Architecture, Development, Maintenance, Testing, and Integration. David has delivered many large scale integration and consolidation programs which resulted in substantial multi-million dollar savings for various companies. David has experience in a variety of roles including VP, EVP, President, CEO, COO and CIO. He is involved with universities and colleges through Mentorship, Advisory Boards, Judging and Awards.

Andrew Dillane | CIO, Randstad Canada Group

As CIO, Andrew Dillane leads the overall e-business strategy for the Randstad Canada Group including Randstad Canada, Sapphire Canada, ATS Reliance, OriginHR and GMS Canada. Andrew’s management experience in business and technology has focused on client-centered technology solutions. His leadership role in Sapphire Canada’s CONNECT™ technology solutions has resulted in the company being a two time recipient of a Canadian Information Productivity Award (CIPA). Andrew holds a BCOM from Ryerson University, is the National President for the CIO Association of Canada, serves on the Program Advisory Council for Ryerson University’s Information Technology Management (ITM) degree programs and is an expert member of the Canadian Coalition for Tomorrow’s ICT Skills. Andrew also serves on the Advisory Board for Kids Internet Safety Alliance (KINSA).

Dean Doige | Director Information Services, Clark Builders

As Director, Information Services at Clark Builders, Dean has responsibility for IS strategic planning, infrastructure, service delivery, and business solutions across the Clark Builders group of companies. Dean has overall accountability of overseeing the management of all IS related projects, assets, and people and ensuring bottom line business value is achieved through the use of technology.

Previous to this role, Dean filled several positions within the Tyco International group of companies managing IT teams and projects throughout the Americas, Europe, Australia, and parts of Asia.

Dean’s strong business acumen and his technical aptitude, coupled with his solution-driven approach has proven to be an enabler for the use of technology as a strategic direction and a competitive advantage. Dean’s forte is the ability to lead rapid business transformation as a result of technology-based business solutions.

Susan Doniz | CIO, Groupe Aeroplan

As part of the executive team of Groupe Aeroplan, Susan fills the new role of Global Chief Information Officer, responsible for defining the global internal and external Information & Technology Strategy to deliver innovation and growth across and within regions.

Prior to Groupe Aeroplan, Susan was CIO and a Global Shared Services leader of Procter & Gamble Canada, where she led a global transformational strategy to digitize P&G from Concept Creation to Shopper Purchase -- a top global priority to make P&G a faster, simpler and more agile organization for over 135,000 employees in over 80 countries.

As well as the CIOCAN National Board, Susan serves on the Centre of Outsourcing & Research(CORE), Wilfred Laurier Industry Advisory Committee, Engineers without Borders, and the Salvation Army National Board. She also created an industry-wide initiative to match CIOs with talented women in technology aimed at increasing women retention and performance in technology.

Almin Surani | CIO, Canadian Red Cross

Almin Surani is the Chief Information Officer for the Canadian Red Cross with over 17 years of experience in the technology field in both private and non-profit companies. With over 6,600 employees and over 20,000 volunteers, the Canadian Red Cross has operations across Canada and 17 countries around the world. As the CIO, Almin has the responsibility to lead IT strategy and operations to achieve business goals by fostering innovation, prioritizing IT initiatives, and coordinating the evaluation, deployment, and management of current and future IT systems across the organization.

Almin has also served in senior roles ranging from software development to quality management to strategic planning. He not only drove the strategic planning process (2010-2015) for the Canadian Red Cross but also participated on a working group that contributed to the 10-year strategy for the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies. Prior to the Canadian Red Cross, Almin was in both a Six Sigma Black Belt role and Director of Product Development for QuickBooks and Quicken for Intuit Canada. In 2002, he received his MBA from Queens University.

Jories Timmers | IT Director and CIO, Powerex

Jories is Vancouver Chapter President, CIO Association of Canada.

Jories Timmers is the IT Director and CIO at Powerex, the Energy Trading arm of BC-Hydro, where he leads a team of 50 personnel in Vancouver, Canada. He has worked as a member of a Global IT Management team as a Chief Information Security Officer for companies spanning 40 to 220 countries. His specialization in IT Strategy and Security, Project Management, Compliance, Audit and Governance has been gained over 18 years and he has worked internationally in the Netherlands, Italy, France, Spain, Switzerland and Canada. He has degrees from the Delft University of Technology in Computer Engineering, an MBA from McGill and holds the PMP, CISA, CISM and CISSP certifications.

In his spare time, Jories enjoys outdoor activities which include hiking, skiing and kayaking.

Jim Williams | Director of Information Services, A&W

For the past 12 years, Jim has been directing the Information Services group for A&W Food Services of Canada Inc. A&W is the second largest quick-service hamburger restaurant in Canada by number of restaurants and is recognised as one of the 50 Best Managed Companies in Canada. Previously Jim directed the Information Systems group for a North American packaging and paperboard producer with over 25 facilities.

A founding Board member of CIOABC (now known as CIOVAN), Jim was President from 2001-2005 and has guided the association in doubling membership, establishing strategic alliances in both business and technology, and maintaining a positive financial position. Also, as a founding Board member of CIOCAN, Jim brings his experience with associations and business relationships to build a national association of senior IT executives.

As a Board member of a now dissolved chapter of the Association of Systems Management, Jim was responsible for establishing and managing education events and meetings. Jim has also participated on a number of business advisory councils for various technology services related organizations.

Laura Williams | CIO, Peel District School Board

Laura Williams is the Chief Information Officer at the Peel District School Board (PDSB). With over 150,000 students and 13,000 employees, PDSB is Canada's second largest school board spanning Mississauga, Brampton, and Caledon. Laura has held senior IT positions at several organizations including National Director of IT at PriceWaterhouseCoopers, National Director of IT at Oracle Canada, and IT Director for both the Ministry of Education and Ministry of Training, Colleges, & Universities, Government of Ontario. She holds an undergraduate degree in Computer Science and a Masters degree from the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education/University of Toronto.