CISO Forum Canada 2019 Speakers

Sunny is currently the Cyber Security Officer at British Columbia Institute of Technology (BCIT), BC's largest post-secondary institution. As a Cyber Security Officer, he provides leadership and oversight over all aspects of enterprise cyber security, including IT GRC, policy formation and application. Prior to joining BCIT, Sunny severed as a Director of IT for British Columbia Medical Association providing leadership and oversight over all aspects of IT (Enterprise Architecture, Network, Cyber, Software Development and Service Delivery).

Sunny is dedicated to the profession and thrives on challenges in both professional and personal life. He is also an active member of, and participates in, various local, national and international Information Technology, Cybersecurity, IT governance, and Risk management communities. He also serves as a Director to the board of ISACA Vancouver Chapter where he provides strategic leadership and direction to the chapter’s Cybersecurity certification program.

Sunny holds a Bachelors of Technology (B.Tech with distinction) in Technology Management from British Columbia Institute of Technology (BCIT), and various top industry certifications: Certified Chief Information Security Officer (CCISO), Certified Information Security Manager (CISM), Systems Security Certified Practitioner (SSCP), Microsoft Certified Systems Administrator (MCSA) and Microsoft Certified Technology Specialist (MCTS).

Bashir Fancy is the Managing Director, Corporation Solutions & Services Inc., providing Risk Management, Governance, Security, Operations, IT consulting services globally. Mr. Fancy is former Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Canadian Information Processing Society National Board (CIPS). Former President of Canadian Information Processing Society – Ontario (CIPS Ontario). Mr. Fancy continues to worked very closely with Colleges, Universities and Corporations across Ontario, Canada and globally. He is helping develop programs for Students and is on PAC Advisory Board of Universities and Colleges. Mr. Fancy is heading the cyber security task force and has started a cyber security meetup that has attracted a lot of members, including students, where sharing of the current trends, challenges and how to deal with these evolving threats is paramount. He is a thought leader in the fast-paced changing environment of Technology landscape. He has been the Senior Executive Advisor, with Deloitte & Touché and held similar position at Grant Thornton. Bashir Fancy also headed operations at Citibank, headed the Payments business at SNS (3rd party processor that later became known as Emergis when acquired by Bell Canada), and managed operations in Air Canada, including Product Management, IT and Customer Service. As an Auditor he was exposed to many different businesses globally to review their end to end operations, including IT, Risk Management & Security, Marketing & Sales, Finance & Customer Service. Mr. Fancy mentors many executives as well as many students.

Mr. Fancy served as the Executive Vice President for Risk Management & Security at Visa International Head Office and was also their Global Head of Internal Audit for Visa in San Francisco. He led original team that developed the “Account Information Security” –Data Security Standards (now known as PCI- DSS), impacting any Organization that stores, processes or transmits Credit or Debit card information. Bashir Fancy, in his previous role as the Head of Risk Management & Security for Visa Canada, developed & implemented a strategy of Fraud Prevention Program that led to 50% reduction in fraud losses, after a growth of 40% per year for 5 previous years. This strategy was adopted globally. Mr. Fancy continues to assist financial institutions globally including the World Bank, Telecoms, Retail businesses and others to deal with the root causes and become efficient, secure and compliant. Mr. Fancy is amongst the very few who understand the Payment business inside out and has extensive experience in Retail, Airline, 3rd party processing and the Banking world that spans many countries. Mr. Fancy’s experience includes Operations, Systems, Finance, Risk Management & Security, Audit, IT, Marketing & Sales and Strategy at organizations that included Citibank, SNS ( initially acquired by BCE and became Emergis, now absorbed into TELUS) –a 3rd party processor that did all the backend processing & point of sale for Canadian Banks and major retailers. Mr. Fancy also held senior management role in Air Canada and the “Supermarket Group”, after starting his career at West, Wake & Price (Auditors) –became part of Price Waterhouse to do his accountancy and then move to the Corporate world to take on Technology certification. Mr. Fancy is frequently asked to speak at Conferences globally and provide advice on Governance, Risk Management & Security, PCI-DSS, Big Data, Analytics, IoT, Operational efficiency and forensic work. Mr. Fancy Chairs Conferences on Smart Utilities of the Future as well as the Global Mining Conference and heads/manages Round Tables for senior executives on Technology/Governance/Risk Management/Security and businesses of the future. He has excelled at change management and does a lot of mentoring to ensure succession planning. Mr. Fancy continues to be involved in Mobile Payments, Mobile Wallets combined with changing landscape of Payment Industry & Technology/Security in general.

Over the past 30 years, Michael has had opportunity to work as Information Security Advisor with and for many of Canada's largest financial and Insurance brands. From Security Architect to IT Audit Mediator, to CISO in several distinguished organizations, Michael has championed governance, compliance and risk from a business values perspective. Currently, Michael is working to provide an enterprise Information Security program as Virtual CISO to several smaller brands that individually could not justify a full time CISO.

Matt Broda is a Technical Fellow in Security at Bell Canada. As the security CTO focused on Bell’s enterprise customers, Matt is responsible for Bell’s strategic security technology direction helping Canadian businesses to securely navigate digital transformation. Matt has devoted the last 20 years of his career to make cyberspace a safer place. In his work with international government and private sector organizations, Matt has helped to advance the state of security and privacy in key areas, including cloud and mobile computing, VoIP and multimedia communication, and critical information infrastructure protection. Before joining Bell Canada, Matt held leadership positions focused on security with Nortel’s Chief Technology Office, Microsoft’s Trustworthy Computing and as an entrepreneur and advisor. Matt holds an MBA from Ottawa University and a B.Sc. in Computer Science and Psychology from University of Toronto.

Eugene Ng, CISSP, PCI QSA, BCOMM, is MNP’s Cyber Security Leader for Eastern Canada. A member of the firm’s Enterprise Risk Services team, Eugene identifies security technology, products and services that give clients a competitive advantage.

Eugene oversees research and development activities and formulates long- term vision and strategies at the executive management level to help the firm better serve clients. He provides a full range of cyber security services and solutions to medium-sized and large enterprises, delivering strong advice to help clients make business decisions relating to technology.

Prior to joining MNP, Eugene co-founded a successful cyber security company that won many industry awards. There, he held the position of Chief Innovation Officer and was involved in the design and high-level strategic.

Bonnie is Co-Founder and Executive Director of the Security Partners’ Forum (SPF), the first-of-its-kind agile international network of security professionals, bridging all domains and disciplines of security. Under the SPF banner Bonnie created the Women in Security and Resilience Alliance (WISECRA - which engages a growing network of women in security and resilience associations/groups globally), and the Canadian Cybersecurity Alliance (CCA), which has since become the largest inter-association cyber initiative in history.

Bonnie also serves as part of the Expert Network in Cybersecurity with the World Economic Forum.  In 2019, Bonnie was invited to be a member of the Advisory Council (and named a Fellow) for the newly created Institute for Strategic Risk Management.

Since 2013 Bonnie has received 20 international and national-level awards and accolades related to security and resilience including the prestigious “Women of the Decade” Award presented at the Women Economic Forum in 2018.  Some of Bonnie’s other more recent awards and accolades include:

Bonnie is regularly sought after as an international speaker based on her expertise on topics including leadership, security, resilience and other related fields,.  Bonnie has spoken at numerous venues across Canada and globally including the Economic Club of Canada, the National Security College in Canberra, Australia, and the Parliament of Canada and the Senate.  In 2017 and 2018 Bonnie was invited to participate in the invitation-only Halifax International Security Forum.

Bonnie also currently sits on a variety of committees, working groups and editorial boards, such as the Cybersecurity Journal (Henry Stuart Publications) which she was recently published in as part of their Women in Cybersecurity Special Edition (Summer 2018).
 
Bonnie’s educational achievements are numerous including the following a Master’s Degree in International Affairs from Carleton University; a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science from the University of Calgary; a Graduate Certificate in Corporate Security Executive Leadership from the Burrill Green Business School (UK); and most recently an Advanced certificate in Strategic Planning & Leadership for security at the University of Georgetown (in partnership with the International Security Management Association (ISMA).

As an IT leader with over two decades of experience building and leading information security, cyber risk and compliancy programs at the enterprise level, Michael is a veteran vanguard for protecting sensitive data. Michael’s multi-faceted portfolio includes a rich mosaic of work ranging from security strategy to architectural development to cybersecurity training. Michael’s previous work includes serving as Head of Information Security and Risk Management at Loblaw Companies Limited and numerous Senior Info and Cyber Security roles in the areas of Oil & Gas, Finance, Health Care and Retail.

Today, Michael provides controls guidance and consulting to numerous companies, and acts as a Risk Executive Advisor to various Boards.

Michael Holds a Bachelor’s degree from McMaster University and a Masters in Business Administration and IT Management from Athabasca University. He also carries designations for CISSP, CISA, C|CISO and Chartered Director.

Olivera Zatezalo is the Chief Security Officer at Huawei Canada, and her responsibility is to ensure Huawei Canada’s operations is compliant with Canadian cyber security laws and regulations. With over 20 years of experience in the telecommunication industry, Olivera is best known for creating value through collaborative leadership style, agile execution, and for her global cyber security expertise. Up until joining Huawei Canada, Olivera was responsible for cyber security governance, management and operations within an international communication provider operating in Canada, US, UK and France, and was a member of Canadian Security Telecommunication Advisory Committee. Olivera holds Masters in Electrical Engineering from University of Belgrade, is a Certified Information Security Manager, and a PMP.

Steve’s team is responsible for all IT Operations in the City, including Helpdesk and Client support, Networking (wired/wireless/M.A.N./Internet), Telecom, IT Security, IT infrastructure implementation and support, Mail, Storage, Print and Backups. With over 25 years of IT experience he started in infrastructure and security consulting and support for Corporate and Government accounts before joining City of Oshawa in 2004.

Michael Bushong is Vice President of Enterprise and Cloud Marketing at Juniper Networks. Mike spent 12 years at Juniper in a previous tour of duty, running product management, strategy and marketing for Junos Software. In that role, he was responsible for driving Juniper's automation ambitions and incubating efforts across emerging technology spaces, notably SDN, NFV, virtualization, portable network OS and DevOps. After his first Juniper stint, Mike joined data center switching startup Plexxi as the head of marketing. In that role, he was named a top social media personality for SDN. Most recently, Mike was responsible for Brocade's data center and software businesses.

With more than 18 years experience in the cybersecurity industry, Danny is a bestselling author and uses his own Executive Security Storytelling formula to successfully educate organizations on the fascinating world of cybersecurity through the development of educational programs. He's also built an engaged television audience through his regular appearances on the Global Morning Show.

Danny has spoken on the topic of cyber security in multiple markets and industries throughout North America and Europe. Whether educating CEO’s from fortune 500 companies, new employees, or even elementary school students, Danny uses his past experience as a comedian and motivational speaker, combined with lengthy cybersecurity background and obsession to engage, empower and educate employees towards a behaviour change resulting in safer security practises, both at work and at home.

Danny is the co-founder and lead instructor of Cyber Insurance Education Inc. as well as an accredited RIBO cyber risk instructor. Danny sits on the board of directors of InfoSecTO and works very closely with the Toronto Police Cyber task force as well as the FBI cyber task force. Danny is a monthly cybersecurity content contributor to Forbes magazine and is currently the managing director of security awareness at Cytelligence.

Peter founded Authentic Web with a vision to empower enterprise teams to outcompete with new technologies including automation and change control processes lacking with legacy systems. Client organizations including The CBC, Government of Canada, Corporate Executive Board (now Gartner), Domtar and several others. These Clients rely on Authentic Web’s modern digital control systems and guidance to improve security, regulatory compliance and operational excellence on their mission-critical Domain Name Systems.

Peter is a trusted advisor to senior IT security and digital marketing executives on domain/DNS-related security, compliance, and brand strategy. He is a speaker at numerous industry events and an advisor with the Brand Registry Group’s best practices committee. The Brand Registry Group’s mandate is to provide a single policy voice to ICANN and to support large enterprises on best practice use of their own Brand Top Level Domain.

Adriana is a leader in Cyber Security & Privacy practice at PwC and leads the Payment Security Practice in Canada. She brings more than 20 years of consulting experience in the areas of information security, privacy and payments security in Canada, the US and internationally. Her focus in the last couple of years was in helping organizations build trust with customers in payments solutions while enhancing data security and privacy.

She advises executives both in public and private clients in Canada and internationally understand their cyber security threats and risks and build strategies to strengthen their security posture while enabling business results. She advises board members and senior executives across industries and geographies to help them acquire the necessary skills to successfully compete in an increasingly digital, complex business ecosystem, finding the right balance between business priorities and maintaining client digital trust.

She is passionate about security and privacy and actively involved in the development of the profession and the next generation of security professionals as the sponsor of PwC Women in cyber and privacy network “SheProtects”. She is a frequent speaker at security and privacy conferences and actively involved with industry groups such as Payment Card Industry (PCI) and Information Security Forum (ISF) in the development of security & privacy thought leadership.

Neil Hopkins is the IT Security Analyst at Durham College and Ontario Tech University in Oshawa. Neil entered the world of IT in 2008 when he hung up his work boots for higher education. He quickly discovered his true passion for cybersecurity and within two years he transitioned from a Level 2 Tech Support into information security.

In his current role, Neil is responsible for ensuring the security of IT systems through vulnerability scanning and network monitoring (and a million other things!); on-campus IT Security Awareness programs; and regular in-person training of the user community.

In addition, Neil has a passion for continuing education and regularly seeks out professional development and is currently developing a course on the Principles of Information Security. Neil also has a keen interest in the intersection of information security and autonomous vehicles, as a driver and lover of his own semi-autonomous vehicle.

Christopher Sicard, CISSP is currently serving as the Security Consulting & Systems Integration Leader for IBM Canada. In this role, Chris has responsibility for the strategic direction and professional services management for IBM’s Enterprise Clients. For nearly twenty-five years, Chris has been working at the centre of large transformational programs in both public and private sectors helping clients develop and deliver effective security strategies, solutions and measured outcomes. As a strong advocate and change agent for cyber resiliency, Chris brings a wholistic view of the challenges and solutions that are key to ensuring critical Canadian infrastructure is protected. With nearly a decade at IBM and fifteen years at Bell Canada, Chris’ experience with cryptography, identity management, and enterprise security as a whole serve his clients well as they embark on their digital transformation and cloud adoption journey.

With his deep background in national security, as well as his varied experiences in consulting within the realm of corporate risk, Ray has been recently appointed Associate Partner, Industrial Sector, for IBM Canada.

At the outset of his career, and after five years in federal policing with the RCMP, Ray joined the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) in 1984and retired in 2012 as the Assistant Director. During his tenure, Ray was involved in all aspects of security intelligence operations, such as leadership of the Intelligence assessment directorate, counter terrorism, as well as driving national security priorities pertaining to operational risk, data exploitation and covert operations.

Previously, and in the private consulting realm, Ray worked with a variety of clients to help them acquire a deeper understanding of geo-strategic threats to business integrity and viability. He delivered business intelligence solutions affecting core challenges such as cyber and insider threats, while guiding resilience building. He also consulted on global business strategies such as M+A opportunities.

More recently, Ray was appointed as the first Security Advisor for Province of Ontario. In this role, Ray provided advice and intelligence on areas of public safety and national security that fall within provincial responsibility. While reporting to the Secretary of Cabinet, Ray supported efforts to protect provincial assets from events that could affect services, networks and facilities that are critical to Ontario’s economy, public safety and security.

Bil has been in the IT industry for 30 years. He has been at the forefront of the Internet since 1995 and his work in security began in 1998. He has led security for startups, Government and well established Financial Institutions. In 2007 he pioneered the use of the SAS70 coupled with ISO to create a trusted security audit methodology used by the SaaS industry until the introduction of the SOC2. He has presented on Security and Privacy in Canada, Europe and the US at conferences such as RSA, ISSA, GrrCon and the Cloud Security Alliance. He has been interviewed by and has written for various publications such as Dark Reading, Data Informed, SecureWorld and Security Intelligence. His vision and technical abilities have been used on advisory boards for Adallom, Trust Science, ShieldX, Resolve and Integris. He has served as Chief Security Officer for GoodData, VP Security & Global Privacy Officer for the Cloud Division of SAP and now serves as the Americas CISO for Zscaler.

Ferris is an experienced professional with over 20 years of experience. I specialize in information security governance, IT risk management, project management, compliance, operational risk and enterprise infrastructure and operations for clients in the Telecom, financial services, construction, engineering, and retail industries. I have also performed information security functions for significant public and private companies in Canada: Aecon, Symcor, and TD bank.

Ferris holds a Master of Business Administration in Project Management. I am an Accredited Trainer for ISACA'S Certification Exams, CISM, CISA, and CRISC. Ferris is a Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP), CISM, CRISC, CIA, and CFE. Ferris has developed an in-depth experience of security in Telecoms, as well as experience in 5G, IoT products, and Data risk management. Ferris has participated in workshops and case studies related to IoT products and 5G use cases.

Ferris is an Instructor at the School of Continuing Studies at the University of Toronto, where he teaches a course on Cybersecurity Program Design. I have presented at different conferences for ISACA Canada and the CIFI Toronto Conference.

Michael South is a 25-year U.S. Navy veteran with a diverse career in technology. He served in key military leadership positions such as the Operations Officer for U.S. Navy networks in Europe, U.S. Navy regional Information Assurance Manager (IAM) for Asia, and the U.S. Navy Chief Information Officer (CIO) for Japan. In his first civilian role, Michael served as the Deputy Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) for the city of Washington, DC with a strategic focus on Governance, Risk, and Compliance and where he led cloud strategy development with security as an enabler. He now leads the Americas public sector security and compliance business development for Amazon Web Services (AWS), where he assists CISOs, other executives, and governments achieve their security and compliance objectives in AWS.

Craig has worked in the technology industry since 1988. Craig first entered the managed services industry in 2000 as part of the leadership team that founded Managed Storage International (“MSI”) as a spin off from StorageTek. After MSI Craig accepted the role of Canadian general manager for Inflow. Craig helped steer the company through the economic “reset” of the early 2000s culminating in the successful sale of the Company to SunGard Data Systems. At SunGard Craig lead the effort to establish a colocation business in Canada, which for 2005 to 2008 grew from startup to over $ 1.5M in monthly revenues. In 2009 Craig accepted the role of CTO of Hosting.com in Denver Colorado where he was responsible for product management, product engineering as well as the technical due diligence of four acquisitions. In 2013 Craig founded ThinkOn as Canada’s first wholesale Infrastructure as a Service provider and has emerged as a thought leader in the Cloud based Data Protection and Analytics marketplaces. ThinkOn offers a unique combination of infrastructure oriented solutions that nowencompasses a robust data archiving analytics portfolio. ThinkOn services over 650 unique subscribers across North America through a global channel network of over 140 channel partners. Craig has an MBA from University of Toronto’s Rotman School of Business.

Carl Hayes is a Partner and Vice President of Business Development for Stratejm (www.stratejm.com) – creator of North America’s premier Cloud-based Security-as-a-Service (SECaaS). He is responsible for the overall growth strategy of the organization. Mr. Hayes has over thirteen years of progressive experience in architecting complex IT solutions and selling Managed Security Services (MSS) to enterprise customers. Prior to founding Stratejm, Mr. Hayes spent 6 years with a leading global security integrator. During this time, Mr. Hayes developed a focused practice dedicated to serving the unique needs of the Electricity Sector. Mr. Hayes is a recognized expert on cybersecurity and serves on the Board of the Mackenzie Institute, Canada’s leading think tank on security matters and the Ontario Energy Association, the credible and trusted voice of the energy sector in Ontario.

A professor with Durham College’s (DC) School of Business, IT & Management and researcher with the college’s Office of Research Services, Innovation and Entrepreneurship (ORSIE), Amit is an innovative technologist with a passion for data. He is also an artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning enthusiast with significant expertise in Natural Language Processing (NLP) and Deep Learning who thrives on helping organizations implement these technologies into their business models.

His passion for AI inspired me to take an active role in DC’s new Hub for Applied Research in Artificial Intelligence for Business Systems (AI Hub), which provides small-and medium-sized enterprises with access to the rapidly growing AI field. Offering technical expertise, state-of-the-art facilities and learning platforms, and student talent, the hub enables organizations to better understand how the adaption of AI can result in business insights and intelligent and autonomous solutions that can boost their productivity and growth.

A principal investigator for numerous applied research projects, he is a strong contributor to the college’s research agenda, and have implemented 30 research projects over the past three years. These include the development of practical AI solutions using NLP, speech and image recognition, and smart virus/spam detection systems.

AJ Khan is the CEO and founder of CloudGRC Inc., a full-fledged Cyber Security company and a Cyber Security Innovation Leader at CloudGRC’s Cyber Security Innovation Center. AJ has 20 years of experience in Governance, Risk & Compliance and 13 years of experience in Cyber Security Innovation and Emerging Technologies.  During this time, AJ has worked on Cyber Security & GRC projects for major global entities in Middle East and North America such as Bank of Montreal, Royal Bank of Canada, Bank of Canada, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, Cisco Systems Canada, HP Canada, GTAA Toronto Pearson Airport, Saudi Aramco and Kuwait Petroleum Corporation among others.

AJ is also the Chair of the Cyber Security Committee (CSC) of the Automotive Parts Manufacturing Association (APMA). The CSC was formed at the beginning of 2019 to make Canadian automotive part suppliers more competitive. Through the CSC, APMA has brought together globally recognized world-leaders in cybersecurity and privacy organizations, not just from the auto sector, but also from quantum computing, Artificial Intelligence, blockchain, academia, and the insurance industry. The aim of the CSC is to finalize a CyberKit that addresses the gaps and discrepancies within the automotive supply chain, compromised software and hardware could well find its way through to OEM vehicles.

AJ is also passionate about enabling Innovation & Entrepreneurship in Cyber Security. He is a member of the International Advisory Board (IAB) of IICIE Inc. and his book “The Global Age of Entrepreneurship” attests to his passion with regards to Innovation and entrepreneurship.  The Cyberpreneur would enjoy the exciting journey of the entrepreneurship eco-system presented in the book and find immense value from AJ’s book in developing his Cyber Security Startup into a global business empire.

As the AI Hub’s project manager, Ali Hirji has over 13 years of experience working on a variety of technology implementations in the government, academic and not for profit sectors. With a specific interest in broadband communications, Ali has held senior roles in projects to enable remote connectivity, implement technical trainings, bolster cyber security frameworks and enhance access to mission critical applications. He has also taken a lead role in securing funding for over 15 related projects and established numerous public private partnerships. Ali is completing his PhD in communications and holds multiple research and teaching positions.

David Shipley co-founded Beauceron Security, a New Brunswick-based global cybersecurity firm providing awareness education and behaviour change technology to clients around the world, ranging from small businesses to Fortune 500 firms. Shipley developed the cybersecurity awareness program at the University of New Brunswick from which the Beauceron technology evolved.

Niagara College chief technology officer (CTO), John Levay, is among a team of information technology leaders who have earned provincial recognition for a pioneering pilot project aimed at improving cyber security in higher education.

Levay is part of the founding cohort of colleges and universities participating in a shared chief information security officer (CISO) pilot project for higher education – who received the 2019 Higher Education Leadership Award by ORION at the Advance Ontario conference in Toronto on May 15.

Luc Roy is the Chief Information Officer at Laurentian University in Sudbury, Ontario – a position he has held since 2010.

This is Roy’s first role in the postsecondary space after a career in private industry. Before joining Laurentian, he served as the VP of Product Management and Marketing at BlueCat Networks, and as the Vice President for Wireless Strategy with Enterasys Networks. This followed four years at Siemens, where he spent three years as VP of Wireless Strategy and one year as VP of Market Management.

Steven Graham is the Senior Vice President of EC-Council | Global, a world leader in cyber security education, training, and certification. Steve leads all divisions in North America from Education Technologies, Partnership strategies, Sales, Operations, and R&D. Steve serves as the primary liaison to the US Department of Defense at EC-Council helping shape policies that affect the DoD Information Workforce at large. Steve is also the acting Chief Technology Officer providing strategic oversight to the technical needs of the global organization and expansive partner networks.

Dino Miele is currently the CIO of the largest school board in the Niagara region, serving over 36,000 elementary and secondary students and 115 sites. Having 35 years of experience in Education Technology and Innovation, Dino has been described as both a practical and visionary leader who provides strategic leadership, advisory, and implementation services that Inspire leaders to make informed decisions, empowers educators to be educational innovators and equips students to lead their generation forward.

In addition, Dino is also the CEO and co-founder of Spark Niagara (a community and business-based innovation Centre of excellence), ihub-Niagara (a k12 EdTech Startup and co working space) and the National Connect EdTech Conference held annually in Niagara Falls, Canada.

He is also the co-founder and chair of the Niagara CIO Consortium (NCC) comprised of 7 key CIO’s from the Municipal, University, College, School Boards and Health sectors in the Niagara Region. Dino serves on several Advisory Boards including the ORION Board of Directors, Generator at One Advisory Panel, the OECM Customer Council Committee and the Ministry of Education’s Broadband Modernization Program (BMP) and the Provincial EdTech Broadband Internet Innovation Center (

Ana Andreasian has fourteen years senior management level experience in health care Information Management, and overall twenty four years of extensive work experience in various aspects of Information Technology.

She holds a bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, and diploma in Computer Programming. As the Director of Technology and Development at SickKids, in collaboration with various clinical and business stakeholders, she has led all the strategic technology and development projects and operations in a very large and complex clinical and technology environment. At Dynacare, which is a private sector company, she had managed and has overseen the entire technology stack operating at a national level. Most recently at Women’s College, Ana was assigned the role of interim IM/IT director working with some of the most influential women who have a strategic goal to Revolutionize health for women, pursue equity for all.

Ana’s extensive and hands on experience, as well as her strategic approach in IT architecture, technology infrastructure, and service delivery have enabled her to successfully deliver on large scale, enterprise-wide, mission critical projects.  Cyber Security has always been part of Ana’s portfolio. She has developed and implemented Cyber Security programs in collaboration with various Cyber Security partners and vendors to enhance the security posture of the organization that she has worked for.

Mehdi has over 13 years of experience helping organizations excel in the areas of Information Security, Privacy, Architecture and Risk Management. He has a proven record of successfully delivering privacy and security advisory services to Healthcare, Retail, Finance and Telecomm sectors.

Nizar Ladak is a seasoned executive leader with a passion for finding innovative solutions to strategic and operational challenges.

Mr. Ladak is the President and CEO of Compute Ontario which brings together scientific, technical, and policy-making communities using big data and enabling access to advanced research computing (supercomputers) in Ontario for the prosperity of all Canadians. Prior to this role, Mr. Ladak served as the Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of Health Quality Ontario (HQO), which focusses on enhancing the quality and efficiency of healthcare services. As Vice President and Chief Information Officer at North York General Hospital, Nizar developed the hospital's eHealth Strategy resulting in the hospital being one of three in Canada and 0.001%oof hospitals in North America to achieve this level of electronic medical record integration. As the Director of the Canadian Institute for Health Information(CIHI), Nizar established the first in a series of web-based reports for Canada’s 500 hospitalsand led the adoption of new data sets to solve Canada’s healthcare system’s challenges.

Mr. Ladak contributes to his field by serving on various Boards. He has delivered over 700 presentations and keynote addresses and has a number of publications.

Mr. Ladak was recognized as one of the Top 25 Immigrants of Canada this year by The Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) and Canadian Immigrant Magazine.

Jayson, Partner at Phelps, leads the executive search practice with nearly 20 years of search experience and demonstrated success in placing senior technology officers for clients across Canada. Jayson’s expertise in key business drivers and competencies pertinent to both the public and private sector, together with his consultative approach, has led to hundreds of successful placements across the country. Jayson is known for his agile approach, working with senior leadership and governing bodies in assessing, defining, and evaluating leadership potential within organizations. He is recognized for quickly establishing customized recruitment strategies and ensuring his clients’ complete satisfaction in all stages of the search. Jayson is a champion and advocate for equity, diversity and inclusion, a principle that underlays all Phelps' work in search, consulting, and leadership development.

Danny Aniag has two MSc in Computer Science and Information Security. He has more than 25 years’ experience in Business Intelligence, Systems Security, AI Development, Network and Server Administrations, and Risk Management and Data Recovery in academia and industry. Danny’s research focuses on AI solution, data security and data privacy. Professor Aniag administers and oversees the AI Hub’s machine learning lab, working collaboratively with IBM on high capacity systems in AI applications

Graduated in 1988 from McMaster University with a Degree in Civil Engineering and Business Management.

Professional Engineer with 28 years experience in municipal engineering.

Fellow status with the Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE).

Professional Traffic Operations designation with the ITE

Served from 1999-2011 as one of 6 Canadian ITE appointees on the National Transportation Association of Canada (TAC) Traffic Operations and Standing Committee.

Participated on special ITE Committees for the development of a National Guide for School Site Development, and the recent Update of the Canadian Capacity Guide.

Responsible for leading Whitby’s Public Works Department to a awards at both the National and Provincial level of National Public Works Week among other environmental achievement awards.

Work in the consulting business from 1988 to 2004 prior to joining the Town of Whitby. Ms. Beale has been responsible for the Public Works Department since 2007 which includes Engineering, Transportation, Asset Management, Road and Parks Operations, Waste Management, Fleet Management.

Served as member of the Durham College Board of Governors since 2015 and currently the Chair of the Nominating Committee.

Cat Coode is the founder of Binary Tattoo. Binary, for the language of all things digital. Tattoo, for the permanence of what goes online. Her mission is to help you safeguard your data and protect your digital identity. Backed by two decades of experience in mobile development and software architecture, as well as a certification in data privacy law, Cat helps corporations and individuals better understand cybersecurity and data privacy. She specializes in guiding companies through end-to-end Global Privacy Regulation compliance and delivering privacy education seminars. Cat is an engineer, speaker, consultant, author, and, above all else, a parent. Her motivation to help others was born out of her concern for her kids and our ever-changing digital landscape.

Jeff Reichard is a Field Technical Evangelist at Veeam Software. Jeff has 25 years of experience in data protection/availability, business continuity, and regulatory compliance solutions. Jeff’s previous roles have ranged from building SAN and data backup solutions to systems engineering and engineering leadership serving public sector and enterprise customers. He most recently led Commvault’s federal civilian SE team. At Veeam, Jeff evangelizes Veeam’s vision for intelligent data management with customers and partners around the world.

Bob is the Executive Director of the Canadian Cyber Threat Exchange (CCTX). The CCTX is Canada’s private sector organization for the sharing and analysis of cyber threat information, and enabling collaboration across all sectors. Most recently, Bob was a Director, Global Cyber Security at CGI. Prior to this, he enjoyed a long and successful career in the Federal Government, which included being the architect of Canada’s first Cyber Security Strategy for which he received the Deputy Minister’s Achievement Award.

Bob has had a unique career in a number of Canada’s security, intelligence and law enforcement organizations: Public Safety Canada, Communications Security Establishment, Canadian Security Intelligence Service, and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. He held senior executive positions, including at the Senior Assistant Deputy Minister level. He was responsible for science and technology, information management/information technology, and internal security programs (personnel, physical and information technology). Bob has also provided operational leadership in investigating and analyzing the full range of threats to the security of Canada, which included leading the CSIS Counter Terrorism program.

Bob is also a member of the Board of Directors for Quantum Safe Canada, a member of the Advisory Council on the Modernization of Microdata Access with Statistics Canada, and the Advisory Board for the Master of Cybersecurity and Threat Intelligence program with the University of Guelph.

Rushmi Hasham is a strong advocate for identifying and implementing unique training and employment opportunities to increase the representation of women in Cybersecurity and other technology-related careers.

In her endeavour to increase diversity in cybersecurity, Rushmi recently joined Rogers Cybersecure Catalyst, as Director of Training and Certification. The Catalyst is a not-for-profit owned by Ryerson University. The Catalyst, launched September 2018, will empower Canadians and Canadian businesses to take the opportunities and tackle the challenges of cybersecurity by driving collaboration and excellence in training and certification; commercial incubation and acceleration; applied R&D; and public education and policy development in cybersecurity. Rushmi is also a serial social-entrepreneur, founding 2 businesses in the technology services industry. She firmly follows the doctrine that business has a responsibility in lifting communities, she has weaved that doctrine into her own companies and into her work at the Catalyst. One of Rushmi's ventures has been selected as Canada’s Top 50 Growth Businesses.

Rushmi lives in Mississauga with her husband Jeff and their two daughters, Natalie and Nicole.

Tanmay Bakshi is an AI and Machine Learning Systems Architect. He supports and contributes extensively to the open source community and is known for his passion to share what he learns through his YouTube channel , blogs, and speeches. He is a TED speaker and has keynoted at numerous conferences around the world for the United Nations, IBM, Apple, KPMG, SAP, NASSCOM, The Linux Foundation, and Walmart, just to name a few. His first major keynote address was at IBM Interconnect 2016, where he presented his algorithm “AskTanmay,” which is the world’s first web-based natural language question answering system to be powered by IBM Watson.

His passion lies in developing machine learning and AI-based systems, mainly in the fields of healthcare and education, where he believes that this next generation technology can make the biggest impact.

He has addressed computer science and technology students globally, doing countless workshops in universities, colleges, and schools, and has held seminars for institutions such as Apple Education, HSBC, Citi-group, and Credit Suisse. His YouTube channel, Tanmay Teaches, is where he shares his research and knowledge with audiences of all ages. He loves to interact with, respond to, and help people with their queries and hence, he has had the honor of being the recipient of the Twilio Doer Award, Knowledge Ambassador Award, Global Goodwill Ambassador at LinkedIn, an IBM Champion for Cloud and a Google Developer Expert for Machine Learning.

Bakshi, as a kid, considered computers, laptops, modems, networking, cables, and electronics as his toys for years. This kid coder’s journey began at the early age of five, when he developed with DOS batch files, C, FoxPro, and Visual Basic and then created iOS apps. When he was nine, his first app, tTables, was published to the iOS App Store. This news inspired many kids who always wanted to code but never knew how to take the first step.

Hello Swift! is the outcome of his goal of reaching out to at least 100,000 coders and beginners in their journey of learning how to program. Since Tanmay himself is a 15-year-old coder, he wanted to create a resource for kids and beginners from around the globe, who aspire to learn programming and have waited for someone to communicate with them in their language.

He is a homeschooled tenth grader in Canada, where he lives with his older sister and parents. He likes biking and playing table tennis with his friends. Tanmay also contributes his time being a Computational Thinking Coach at the 4th Industrial Revolution Organization, and an advisor and lead faculty at Grad Valley Data Science.

David joined ORION as Chief Technology Officer in 2018. He is a collaborative technology leader with a strong track record of delivering innovative products and services.

At ORION, Ontario’s only research and education network, David is responsible for network strategy, operations and engineering. He also has responsibility for the cybersecurity team, including their unique Ontario Cybersecurity Higher Education Consortium program.

Prior to joining ORION, David held a variety of senior roles in technology and networking. He has developed telecom infrastructure for data and wireless communications, smartphone technologies, and strategies for connected and autonomous vehicles.

David holds both an MASc and BASc in Electrical Engineering from the University of Waterloo. He also holds the Chartered Director (C.Dir) designation from the Directors College.

Amit Meltzer is a technology strategist and evangelist, providing consulting services to investors, hi-tech companies, enter rises and government offices.

Born, raised and living in Israel, Mr. Meltzer is an experienced traveler. Mr. Meltzer consults VCs and investment groups in the fields on cyber security, open source intelligence, information analytics and other technology areas. He consults utilities, banks and transportation corporations on cyber defense, as well as technology and start-up companies on developing products and solutions (IAI-Elta, Elbit, Cyberbit, AGT, UST Global, Iberdrola and others).

Mr. Meltzer sits on half a dozen advisory boards of companies in the cyber security and intelligence sector. He consults additional corporations on cyber resiliency and defense strategies, conducts risk surveys and oversaw several designs of architectures for corporate and national level cyber defense centers in Israel, the U.S. and Singapore.

Mr. Meltzer served for a long time in the intelligence community of the government of Israel. Mr. Meltzer’s last position was of Technology Strategist. In addition, he created and headed a highly successful cross-agency OSINT initiative and launched a multinational technology cooperation initiative.

Prior to that, Mr. Meltzer held all senior technology positions in the IT division. These positions included: Head of R&D, Chief Architect, Head of IT Infrastructure, CTO, Communications R&D manager, project division manager. Previous experience includes VP of Technology in Sec2Wireless, defining and leading the development and sales of a multi-factor transaction authentication solution, cosigning 7 patents in the process.

Mr. Meltzer studied Law, Computer Science, Political Science and Strategy and Geomorphology. He holds a master’s degree in Philosophy. He is also an accomplished origami expert.

Mark is the Vice President of IT for Waterloo North Hydro, a power distribution company in the Waterloo Region with approximately 57k customers. Over the past ten years Mark has been working with intelligent communities, next generation wireless, fibre networks as well as IoT including utility companies and municipalities.

By playing a role in critical infrastructure from private, public, education and the utility sector Mark has gained a unique perspective of how communications technology, urban planning and artificial intelligence present an opportunity for substantial change.

Mark has been involved in a variety of early adoption projects such as outdoor wireless ISPs, smart metering roll-outs, dark fibre builds, online voting systems as well as the automation of vehicles, wastewater, electric grids and core communications infrastructure. Mark is very passionate about the process of R&D, build it before you buy it, and attempts to stay current in all things security by teaching post-secondary students.