Professional Development / CIO.D®
One Pathway, Two Programs
The CIO Association of Canada (CIOCAN) partners with two of Canada’s leading business schools to develop technology leaders at different stages of the journey to the executive table.
About the pathway
The Technology Leadership Program, delivered with the Beedie School of Business at Simon Fraser University, builds the strategic and communication capabilities to lead beyond your technical expertise. The CIO Executive Leadership Program, delivered with the Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto, prepares you for the accountabilities that come with the CIO role or the most senior technology leadership role within an organization and is the required step toward CIOCAN’s CIO.D® designation.
Each program stands on its own. Taken in sequence, they form a complementary progression.
From Technology Leader to Certified CIO
Becoming a CIO asks two different things of you.
The first is a change in how you think, communicate and lead — moving from running a function well to shaping where the enterprise goes. The second is command of what the seat actually carries: finance, governance, risk, cyber security, vendor relationships and the board. CIOCAN partners with two Canadian business schools to address each in turn. For leaders who choose to complete both programs, the progression can be understood in two stages.
Stage One — Build the Leadership Foundation
Technology Leadership Program
Beedie School of Business, Simon Fraser University · 8 weeks, online
Running since 2008, the Technology Leadership Program is for IT leaders ready to lead beyond their technical expertise. Over eight weeks you work through a real change initiative in your own organization, strengthening your strategic thinking, stakeholder influence and executive communication that the CIO role assumes you already have. You finish with an actionable change plan, a certificate from SFU’s Beedie School of Business, a peer network spanning industries and provinces, and a year of membership in CIOCAN.
Stage Two — Prepare for the Role, and Certify
CIO Executive Leadership Program
Rotman School of Management, University of Toronto · 5 weeks, live online
Delivered with the University of Toronto’s Rotman School of Management, this program covers the CIO’s functional portfolio across ten sessions: leadership, delivery excellence, finance, governance, risk and compliance, board and relationship management, digital transformation, diversity, equity and inclusion, vendor and contract management, IT strategy, talent, cyber security and executive presence.
Click here to learn more about the Rotman – CIOCAN CIO Executive Leadership Program
Completion & the CIO.D® Designation
Completion earns a Rotman Certificate of Achievement and makes you eligible to apply for the CIO.D® — CIOCAN’s professional designation for Canadian technology executives. The designation is awarded on completion of the program, a proctored examination, verified leadership experience, and agreement to the CIO.D Code of Conduct, and is maintained through continuing professional education and CIOCAN membership in good standing.
Click here to learn more about the CIO.D®
Choosing where to start
The two programs are independent. Neither is a prerequisite for the other, and neither confers credit toward the other.
Earlier in Your Career
If you are building toward the CIO role and want to strengthen how you lead, influence and communicate, start with the
Technology Leadership Program.
Stepping Into / In the Seat
If you are stepping into the most senior technology leadership, the CIO role or already hold it, and you want the designation, go directly to the CIO Executive Leadership Program.
DOING BOTH
If you intend to do both, taking them in that order gives you the leadership foundation first and the functional depth second.
About CIOCAN and this pathway
The CIO Association of Canada works with Canadian business schools to develop technology leaders at every stage of their careers. The Technology Leadership Program is delivered in partnership with the Beedie School of Business at Simon Fraser University. The CIO Executive Leadership Program is delivered in partnership with the Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto and is the required step toward CIOCAN’s CIO.D® designation. Each program is offered independently and confers its own credential; participation in one is not a prerequisite for, and confers no academic credit toward, the other. Together they offer technology leaders a progression from building leadership capability to certifying executive readiness.