5 lessons from new technology leaders ITWC

At a time when the federal government is investing $40 billion into a housing strategy for Canada, Paul Mason is taking on the role of the first-ever CIO to help lead the crown corporation in delivering on that vision. Learn how Mason has transformed the corporation over the past two years by working with key technology partners and reimagining the way it can deliver customer service.

Jessie Adcock came to the City of Vancouver as the chief digital officer in 2013 and soon was tasked with taking on the municipality's entire technology portfolio. She executed on a four-year smart city strategy that is admired around the world, created a city-wide free Wi-Fi network, and is in the running for a $50 million federal grant. We spoke with Adcock at our Digital Transformation Awards event. 

Tara Mulrooney is the 2018 CanadianCIO of the Year in the public sector. As the technology leader of the Energy Resources Conservation Board in 2011 and 2012, she faced a legacy environment of myriad custom-built systems, a dependency on expensive consultants and a broken relationship between the business and the IT department. Mulrooney led bold initiatives that included retiring the mainframe, which had been viewed as a core piece of infrastructure previously, building out the in-house talent, and regaining the trust of the business. With the important responsibility of regulating the development of Alberta’s energy sector, Mulrooney recognized the need to have the IT department respond to business needs in an agile manner.

Mark Saunders joined Sun Life in the depths of the 2008-9 recession and reinvented the firm's IT department, fostered a healthy new culture of engaged employees, and introduced agile work styles that have lead to innovative ways to serve customers. He's the 2018 CanadianCIO of the Year in the private sector.

Alex Benay was appointed as the federal government CIO in 2017 and has been winning attention for his new approach to IT operations and outward public speaking. He's also released a new book, 'Government Digital', which takes a global perspective on delivering innovation public policy. Alex's five lessons for us range from the value of open source data to recognizing loss aversion.

We're back for 2018 with a new set of technology leaders from across Canada that have transformed their organizations and achieved impressive feats of innovation. Marking the CanadianCIO of the Year Awards that will be announced Nov. 6.