Programs

Get involved, learn and contribute

CIOCAN programs are multifaceted and present opportunities to learn, get involved and give back to the profession. Here is a summary of our current programs:

Impact Awards

CIOCAN’s Impact Awards recognize excellence in our technology leaders across Canada. It is together that we tackle the complex issues of our profession and we’re proud of our members who are leading the way.

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Innovation Drivers Podcast Episodes

We are pleased to present CIOCAN’s Innovation Drivers Podcast. CIOCAN in partnership with the Business Leadership Podcast we speak with Canada’s top technology leaders to discuss ideas, successes, and challenges that are creating a better future.

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Mentorship Program

CIOCAN’s Mentorship program, free to all CIOCAN members and their direct reports, demonstrates our dedication to growing and supporting current and emerging IT leaders.

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Thought Leadership Councils

Our Thought Leadership Councils bring together members from coast to coast in a virtual thought leadership “brain trust” to problem-solve the challenges we all share in our roles every day.

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Technology Leadership Program

The CIOCAN Leadership Development Program is offered by Simon Fraser University’s Beedie School of Business, in partnership with the CIO Association of Canada.

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DX / Blockchain Certification

Brought to you by TransformationWorx is a learning opportunity to get certified in one of the most promising technologies, Blockchain. Discover a technology that can revolutionize the world economy.

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Anders Indset
Keynote Speaker

Business Philosopher

Anders Indset is one of the world's leading business philosophers and a trusted sparring partner to international CEOs and political leaders. Dubbed "Rock'n'Roll Plato" by European media, he is currently one of the most sought-after intellectuals with his approach to practical philosophy.

Thinkers50, the premier ranking of global business thinkers, regarded as the “Oscars of Management Thinking" by many, has recognised Anders on the Radar as one of 30 Global Thinkers" most likely to shape the future of how organizations are managed and led”. For the 2019 Thinkers50 Gala his work on “The Quantum Economy” was a finalist for the Breakthrough Idea Award.

The native Norwegian, based out of Frankfurt, is a guest lecturer at leading international business schools, a founding partner of the Global Institute of Leadership and Technology and advisory board member of the Swiss-based deep tech pioneer Terra Quantum. He is known for his unconventional way of thinking, his provocative theses, and his rock star attitude.

His latest international book ‘The Quantum Economy - Saving the Mensch with Humanistic Capitalism’ entered the Spiegel-Bestseller list and was #1 in Manager Magazin and Handelsblatt for the most sold business books in the German-speaking region. The Quantum Economy has already been translated and sold to 11 countries around the world. His international bestseller ‘WILD KNOWLEDGE - Outthink the Revolution’ was released in Europe in 2017 and has been translated into further languages in 2018 and was also a Spiegel-Bestseller in 2019.

In September ‘The Infected Mind’ (Das infizierte Denken) was released in Germany and entered the Spiegel-Bestseller List in its first week. Philosophy@Work, a collection of philosophical concepts on how to cope with today’s technological fast-paced and complex society will be published Q3/2022.

Catherine Luelo
Speaker

CIO of Canada
Government of Canada

Catherine Luelo is a Deputy Minister at the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat and the Chief Information Officer of Canada. Prior to her appointment as CIO in July 2021, Catherine was the Senior Vice President and Chief Information Officer at Air Canada, where she was responsible for the Information Technology systems that support and enable Air Canada’s global business. In this role, she additionally led innovation in the artificial intelligence space while managing the security and reliability of Air Canada’s worldwide systems in an operational landscape that substantially shifted during the global pandemic.

From 2001-2017, Catherine held senior management and executive roles at major Canadian companies, including Enbridge Inc., WestJet Airlines Ltd., and TELUS Communications. Catherine holds an MBA from Athabasca University in Alberta and a BSc from the University of Alberta. From 2018-2021, she served on the Board of Directors for scale ai, the Montreal-based Artificial Intelligence (AI) supercluster that aspires to increase competitive advantage for Canada globally in AI . She has also served as a Board Member for Creative Destruction Labs, as well as serving as Chair for Health Canada’s Industry Advisory Roundtable on COVID-19 Testing, Screening, Tracing and Data Management. Catherine is a proud mother of two children and is a fierce advocate for mental health. In March 2020, she was appointed to the Board of Directors for the Center for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) Foundation and participates regularly as a panelist and speaker on Mental Health in the workplace.

Dr. Garrett Reisman
Keynote Speaker

Professor of Astronautical Engineering
at University of Southern California

Dr. Reisman was selected by NASA as a mission specialist Astronaut in 1998. His first mission was aboard the Space Shuttle Endeavour, in 2008, which dropped him off for a 95 day mission aboard the International Space Station after which he returned to Earth aboard the Space Shuttle Discovery. His second mission was aboard the Space Shuttle Atlantis, in 2010, and returned Dr. Reisman to the Space Station.

During these missions, Dr. Reisman performed 3 spacewalks, operated the Space Station Robot Arm and was a flight engineer aboard the Space Shuttle. After leaving NASA in 2011, Dr. Reisman joined SpaceX where he worked for Elon Musk and prepared SpaceX for human spaceflight as the Director of Space Operations. He was a lead consultant for the film AdAstra, and an active advisor for the Apple+ Show For All Mankind. Currently he is a Professor of Astronautical Engineering at USC and a Senior Advisor at SpaceX.

Check out Dr. Reisman's website

Speaking April 26th:

Lessons Learned from the Recent Past and Near Future of Human Spaceflight.

Drawing upon his multiple Space Shuttle and Space Station missions as a NASA astronaut and his over seven years working for Elon Musk as an executive at SpaceX, Dr. Garrett Reisman will share his lessons learned regarding inspiration, determination, vision, and innovation. The freedom to fail is an essential requirement for breakthrough innovation, but how do you fail safely when your goal is to fly people in space? Astronaut Reisman has the distinction of being a key player in both the traditional NASA space program and the rapidly expanding commercial space flight industry. Using illuminating and humorous personal stories and an engaging multimedia presentation about both spaceflight past and future, Dr. Reisman will leave you with useful gems of wisdom while keeping you thoroughly entertained.

David Wong
Keynote Speaker

Executive Vice-President, Finance, Technology, Supply Chain & Chief Financial Officer at BC Hydro

David Wong is BC Hydro's Executive Vice-President, Finance, Technology, Supply Chain & Chief Financial Officer. Between 1995 and 2008, David held several roles at BC Hydro, including Chief Financial Officer at Powerex and Chief Accounting Officer at BC Hydro. As Chief Financial Officer, David is responsible for the financial oversight of BC Hydro. This includes financial reporting and policy, treasury, budgeting, forecasting, and internal audit. He's also accountable for our Technology and Supply Chain groups that provide IT services and solutions, company-wide procurement, materials management, and fleet services. These groups are valued business partners and provide critical support to the business.

Before returning to BC Hydro in 2018, David held senior financial roles at Teekay Corporation, including CFO of Teekay Offshore Partners Ltd. He's also served on the Board of Directors at Vancity Credit Union where he was the chair of the audit committee. David holds a Bachelor of Business Administration from SFU and is a Chartered Professional Accountant. David is also on the Board of Directors at BCAA.

Check out David's LinkedIn

Speaking May 3

Wading through the pandemic towards a more inclusive future

Technology has made it so we’ve never been more connected, and yet, the pandemic, in many ways, has made it feel as though we’ve never been so far apart. As workplaces around the globe re-examine how they’re organized and consider news ways of working, inclusion has risen to the forefront of discussions. How do employers ensure that every employee can equally contribute to the best of their ability, no matter where they’re working? And how do organizations translate their equity, diversity and inclusion aspirations into objectives and measures that actually make a difference?

As British Columbia’s primary electricity provider, BC Hydro employs more than 6,500 field and office-based employees spread across diverse regions around the province. Recognized as one of B.C.’s top employers and Canada’s best diversity employers, BC Hydro recognizes that fostering an inclusive organizational culture and leveraging diverse, dynamic talent are imperatives in today’s business environment. But creating a more diverse and inclusive workplace doesn’t just happen – it takes action.

BC Hydro underwent a full review of diversity and inclusion initiatives in 2019 and created a roadmap that is guiding actions and to stay on track to building a more inclusive and diverse workforce. David Wong, Executive Vice President of Finance, Technology and Supply Chain and Chief Financial Officer, is a people leader, finance professional, and passionate when it comes to inclusion and diversity. David will share how the pandemic and technology has plunged BC Hydro’s workforce into a new way of working, the tangible actions they’re taking to build a more inclusive environment and how the power of inclusion supports business objectives and employee engagement alike.

Jacqui Guichelaar
Speaker

Group Chief Information Officer and senior vice president at Cisco

Jacqui Guichelaar is the Group Chief Information Officer and senior vice president at Cisco. She is responsible for the company’s global technology infrastructure and application development and is passionate about driving the Digital Strategy for Cisco and its customers.

Throughout a career characterised by focused self-determination and a refusal to rest on laurels, Jacqui has gained extensive commercial, management and leadership experience in the Technology industry. Previously, she was the Group Chief Information Officer at Thomson Reuter’s where she built and led a Technology Transformation program in support of the companies Digital Strategy. She has also held roles in Lloyds Bank, Deutsche Bank, National Australia Bank, IBM and CSC gaining experience across industries such as Financial Services, Utilities, Telecommunications, Media and Retail.

Informed by 28 years of IT experience that has allowed her to witness developments in the sector from every angle and to spearhead the introduction of significant new technologies, Jacqui has a sustained track record of delivering large scale transformation programmes through a structured framework of plans and strict governance. She is passionate about developing talent and supporting individuals to realise their potential.

Jacqui was born in Uruguay, South America. She has worked in many countries around the world including Sydney, Frankfurt, London and New York, which plays into her passion for exploring new cultures and fostering diversity of thought. She is actively involved in many non-profit organizations and is currently a Board member of the Center for Anti-Violence Education (CAE). She was the Chair of 2012 Women on Wall Street Conference.

Jonathan Bowness
Speaker

Solutions Consultant, Enterprise Workflow at Ricoh Canada

As a Solution Consultant with a specialty in content management and workflow, Jonathan thrives on having unique business challenges to tackle each day. Jonathan uses his 10+ years’ experience to consult and design solutions alongside his clients to drive organizational efficiency, accuracy, accountability, and cost-savings.

Having worked with IT leaders from organizations of all sizes and industries to digitally transform their business, Jonathan’s unwavering commitment to his clients ensures the success of each project.

When he isn’t helping clients, Jonathan can be found on the links or in his backyard, spending time with his wife, their son and the dogs.

Brian Robison
Speaker

Senior Director, Product Marketing and Chief Evangelist at BlackBerry

Brian Robison is the Senior Director, Product Marketing and Chief Evangelist at BlackBerry, where he educates the world that preventing cybersecurity threats is actually possible and a much better approach than detecting and responding after the attack. Prior to joining Cylance, Robison spent five years helping secure corporate data on mobile devices—three years at Citrix as Director of Technical Marketing and two years driving enterprise product strategy at Good Technology. Before moving into the mobile security space, Robison’s career focused on endpoint security and risk and compliance. At McAfee, he led the effort to bring ePolicy Orchestrator into the modern age as well as managing the vulnerability management and policy compliance solutions. Prior to McAfee, Robison held many roles over his seven-year career at Tripwire, Inc.

Brian on LinkedIn

Jason Lang
Speaker

Senior Solutions Engineer at Shape Security (part of F5)

Jason Lang is a Senior Solutions Engineer for Shape Security (part of F5) in Canada. In his role, he has worked as a trusted advisor to numerous large Financial Institutions, Service Providers, large retailers and travel/hospitality organizations throughout Canada. Prior to joining Shape in 2019, Jason spent 10 years at Arbor Networks, and 8 years at Bell Canada.

Jason on LinkedIn

Gary Miller
Speaker

Vice President, Cybersecurity at CGI

Gary Miller is Vice President, Canada Cybersecurity for CGI, accountable for strategy, service innovation and evolution, and revenue growth. For more than 20 years Gary has been assisting governments and industry organizations around the world shape appropriate and practical cyber security strategies and programs to support their changing business. Gary has held senior executive positions within international businesses leading corporate security functions and cyber security business units.

His unique balance of strategy, business and cybersecurity domain expertise combined with his diverse situational experience allows him to work with senior leaders to plot the most effective way forward in today’s complex environment. Gary has successfully launched new cyber security products and businesses, consulted with governments on national cyber security strategy and policy, advised on transformative market opportunities, supported numerous mergers and acquisitions, and speaks often on strategic cyber security issues.

Gary on LinkedIn

Stan Sims
Speaker

Senior Vice-President and Chief Security Officer
at CGI

Stanley Sims joined CGI in January 2016 as Chief Security Officer. He is responsible for overseeing the company’s global enterprise security strategy and establishing global security policies, standards and practices across the full spectrum of security areas, including personnel, information, physical security, and cybersecurity. In addition, Mr. Sims is responsible for the company’s business continuity programs and supporting activities. Mr. Sims also is a member of CGI’s Executive Management Committee, which includes corporate and operations leaders who set enterprise-wide strategy, approve enterprise policies, and provide operations oversight, ensuring tight collaboration and alignment in executing CGI’s strategic goals and priorities across the company’s global footprint. Prior to joining CGI,

Mr. Sims served as Director of the Defense Security Service (DSS), the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) agency responsible for securing the DoD’s technological base and overseeing the protection of classified information residing within the DoD’s ecosystem of industry partners. In this role, he provided oversight of more than 10,000 industry partners’ security programs, providing products and services to more than 31 separate U.S. federal agencies in addition to the DoD. Mr. Sims was credited with transforming the DSS culture and operations, bringing together government and industry partners to operate as a national security team and improving the overall execution of the National Industrial Security Program.

Michael Hartmann
Speaker

Principal of The Directors College and Executive Director, EMBA in Digital Transformation at The Directors College, DeGroote School of Business, McMaster University

Michael Hartmann is a jointly appointed Professor of Medicine and Management at McMaster University, Co-Director of the University’s Health Leadership Academy and Principal of The Directors College - Canada’s founding professional development program for board directors (2003-2019). He also serves as founding Executive Director of an EMBA program in Digital Transformation teaching courses on Corporate Innovation and Digital Entrepreneurship. Dr. Hartmann has held senior leadership roles with universities in the UK and Canada. He previously served as Deputy Dean and CXO, Manchester Business School (2007-2012), and Assistant Dean, Rotman School of Management (1998-2007) where he established a globally ranked executive education business (Top 20 Business Week and Top 50 Financial Times).

Dr. Hartmann has over 25 years experience as an educational consultant, facilitator and trainer to organizations around the world. A sample of his consulting assignments include work for Novartis (Switzerland), Ziraat Bank (Turkey), Thales Group (France), JCB (USA), Omantel (Oman), Al-Futtaim Group (Dubai), Manchester Airport Groups, British Sky Broadcasting, NBCUniversal (UK), Dentsu Aegis Network (Singapore, New York, London), BDO, SOCAN and OMERS (Canada). His current research interests focus on the topics of disruptive innovation and governance. He leads an annual course on innovation for board directors and is a member of Stanford's Digital Cities Consortium and the Australian Institute of Company Directors (AICD) Technology, Governance and Innovation Panel. Dr. Hartmann holds graduate degrees from the University of Toronto and York University and a doctoral degree from the University of St. Gallen, Switzerland. He also holds professional accreditation with The Directors College (C.Dir.) and le Collège des administrateurs de sociétés (ASC). His work on corporate governance and executive and directors education has been published in academic journals as well as the professional press. He also hosts a regular governance and innovation webinar and podcast series called The Collaboratorium.

Michael on LinkedIn

Ryan Beckwith
Speaker

National Manager, Pre-Sales Engineering at Ricoh Canada

An accomplished executive with 15 years at Ricoh, Ryan consults with global clients to identify and remediate inefficient business processes. Ryan has led the Ricoh team from discovery and solution development through implementation for some of Ricoh’s largest business process automation (BPA) engagements.

Ryan also contributes to Ricoh’s own Digital Transformation Strategy and shares his expertise in expanding Ricoh’s BPA offering to continue delivering exceptional value across our clients’ organisations.

With his big heart & fun-loving nature, Ryan is a devoted husband and dad who loves hitting the slopes in Tremblant with his family & strapping on the blades at the rink.

Ryan on LinkedIn