Board of Directors
The members of the Board of Directors for CIOCAN, who are all very busy executives within their own organizations, gladly volunteer their time to serve as a Director of the Association. They do so for two reasons. Firstly, they passionately believe in the need for a National association of CIOs, and secondly, they see today's business need for the promotion of the understanding and role of a Chief Information Officer in successful organizations..
Darrell Jones
SVP & CIO
As Vice President and Chief Information Officer at Canadian Western Bank, Darrell holds overall responsibility for the strategic planning, delivery and management of technology across the Canadian Western Bank group of companies. Prior to joining Canadian Western Bank in 2008, Darrell was a partner in KPMG’s Advisory Services practice and prior to that he held senior technology management positions at EPCOR Utilities Inc. and TELUS Communications Ltd.
Darrell holds an MBA, a CMA designation as well as a number of technology-related certifications. Darrell’s current industry and community activity includes serving as a director on the national board of the CIO Association of Canada as well as the president of the association’s Edmonton chapter, board director for Alberta Pensions Services Corporation, and chair of Concordia University College of Alberta’s Advisory Committee for its Master of Information Systems Security Management degree program. Darrell has also previously served on the Edmonton boards of the Canadian Information Processing Society (CIPS) and ISACA, which was formally known as the Information Security, Audit and Control Association.
Rita Lazar-Tippe
Information Systems Manager
Rita has over eighteen years of Information Technology experience consisting of contract and full time positions within industries including IT service providers, Federal Government, Engineering, Education and Publishing. She currently holds the senior IT role at the Edmonton Journal, and is responsible for leading the overall IT strategy and operational management. Rita has also led various corporate wide projects that improved efficiencies, reduced cost and provided strategic planning for corporate alignment.
In September 2009 Rita was selected to the Midsize Enterprise Summit CIO 50 group, a group of IT executives selected for their leadership in utilizing technology to help increase corporate efficiencies, decision making ability and drive revenue and achieve other business goals within their midsize organization.
Rita holds a Bachelor of Information Systems Technology degree (with honors) from NAIT, graduate of the University of Alberta School of Business Leadership Development program and holds a number of technology related certifications.
Paul Sorenson
Acting Executive Director of Academic Information and Communications
Paul Sorenson is Professor Emeritus of Computing Science at the University of Alberta. He has previously held positions of Department Head in the Department of Computer Science at the University of Saskatchewan and Department Chair of Computing Science at the University of Alberta. He has been Associate VP (Research) and Vice-Provost and Associate VP (Information Technology) at the University of Alberta. He has previously conducted research in the areas of database systems and software engineering. Recently his research interests have focused service systems delivery, management and quality. In collaboration with Dr. Jim Hoover and Gary Froehlich, he developed O-O framework methods and technologies that led to the creation of two spin-off companies Avra Software Lab and Onware Software Systems. He has a strong interest in and has served as a member of several Boards and Steering Committees related to industrial collaborative research and innovation. He received the 2007 CIPS (Canadian Information Processing Society) Professional Achievement Award. He is currently Co-Chair of the Alberta IBM CAS (Centre for Advanced Studies).
Leslie Sim-Kaiser
Chief Information Officer
Leslie Sim-Kaiser has been the CIO for the Ministry of Alberta Advanced Education and Technology since 2005. With over twenty years of Information and Technology Management experience she has performed a broad range of technical, business transformation and executive roles within the ICT sector. Her last ten years of public sector experience has been recognized through 7 Departmental ministry achievement and recognition awards and 4 Premiers Awards of Excellence. She is an active participant in the Government of Alberta’s CIO Council, Alberta Association for Higher Education in Information Technology (AAHEIT) as well as a member of the University of Alberta’s Department of Computing Science Industrial Advisory Board and N.A.I.T’s External Advisory Committee for Women in Technology. Previous private sector experience included international and national organizations in the banking and manufacturing sectors.