CISO Forum Canada – Committee Members

Ali Hirji web - Committee Members

Ali Hirji

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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.

Andrew Faber web - Committee Members

Andrew-Faber

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Andrew Vezina web - Committee Members

Andrew Vezina

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Aniket Bhardwaj web - Committee Members

Aniket Bhardwaj

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Bobby Singh web - Committee Members

Bobby Singh

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Driven CTO & CISO with proven track record for designing and implementing highly available and secure services. Experience in large transformation program delivering technology and security roadmaps, improving stability, reducing cost while promoting innovation and automation.

Brenda McCulloch web - Committee Members

Brenda McCulloch

CISO, Teranet

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Brenda has 20 years of experience in information security and is the CISO at Teranet. Prior to her role at Teranet, Brenda was the Director of Information Security at IIROC and had reporting responsibilities on the security program at the Board level. Her leadership in delivering the security program achieved significant security posture growth enterprise-wide as independently validated by third parties.

Prior to IIROC, she was a Senior Manager at the professional services firm Deloitte and served more than a hundred North and South American clients providing management consulting in security such as security strategy advisory, vulnerability and penetration assessments, and Payment Card Industry advisory.

Brenda is an alumni of the University of Toronto with a background in Computer Science and holds various certifications including CCISO, CISSP, GSLC, CISM, and CISA. She has been a guest speaker/panelist on a number of security topics for many associations and organizations.

Daniel Pinsky web - Committee Members

Daniel Pinsky

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Danny Sutantyo web - Committee Members

Danny Sutantyo

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Farooq Naiyer web - Committee Members

Farooq Naiyer

CISO, ORION

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Farooq is the CISO of the largest research and education network in Canada, The CISO role at ORION has been born out of a collaborative initiative supported by ORION and five of their client Universities and three Colleges in Ontario. The role provides this community with strategic security thought leadership, while bringing them tangible working programs and tools for compliance, risk management, a governance framework as well as delivery of broader shared security services.

Farooq brings rich experience of more than 15 years in the area of cybersecurity, privacy, technology compliance and assurance.

Prior to joining ORION Farooq was part of the Cybersecurity and Privacy team at PwC in Canada where he led several cyber security engagements. Prior to that Farooq had led IT Assurance teams for a leading retail giant in Canada. He has also held leadership roles in leading financial institutions in the Middle East and south Asia. And has prior had association Big 4 consulting firms in south Asia.

He has strong academic background with BSc (Hons) (Computer Sciences) He holds various leading certifications in the area of Information Security and IT assurance which include CISA , CRISC , ISO 27001 Lead Auditor , COBIT , PCI – QSA ( Quality Security Assessor) , PCIP and have attended numerous international and local training with regards to Information Security Management and IT audit & Compliance.

In recognition of the IS initiatives undertaken as the CISO of DIB Bank he was awarded the CSO Compass Award in 2010.

He has delivered lectures at some of the leading universities in South Asia on IT Audit, Information Security Management and IT Compliance. And conducted several workshops in the same area.

He was selected as the Community Leader for “Information Security Management” at the cybersecurity conference at Las Vegas – USA organized by the Information Systems Audit and Control Association. He has served on the Board of Directors of the local chapters of Information Systems Audit and Control Association – in the past.

Heather MacLean web - Committee Members

Heather MacLean

Executive Director, Canadian Operations (Country Manager), EC-Council

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Heather MacLean is the Executive Director, Canadian Operations (Country Manager), EC-Council. Her experience spans six industries in more than 20 countries. She has worked in both public and private sectors, including a publicly-traded company.

Before EC-Council, Heather was a co-founder of CyberNB, Canada’s first comprehensive cybersecurity strategy. She led their Skills and Workforce Development Programme. She has been invited to speak internationally about New Brunswick’s unique approach. She also led the academic programs for two different organizations. She was a member of the Global Forum on Cyber Expertise working group and the CATA Alliance eCrime Cyber Council. She currently is a member of ICTC’s Cybersecurity Leadership Council on Youth & Education and the Smart City Labour Demand Task Force.

Heather has extensive experience in curricula development and is a part-time professor in Communications and Public Policy at Saint Thomas University.

Hugh Burley web - Committee Members

Hugh Burley

Director of Information Security, Thompson Rivers University

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Hugh is the Director of Information Security for Thompson Rivers University in Kamloops, British Columbia and the ISO for BCNET, BC’s regional post-secondary research network. He has been leading TRU’s information security program since 2007. Hugh has served in a variety of capacities in regional and national working groups and boards and holds current Information Security, Risk, Audit, and Privacy professional certifications.

Prior to working in the post-secondary environment Hugh worked in the private sector in various technical and project management roles.

Jamie Rees web - Committee Members

Jamie Rees

CISO, Energie NB Power

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Jamie Rees believes in cybersecurity as a provider of value and enabler of innovation in organizations. He has spent the past 18 years in senior roles, cultivating security cultures, creating new positions and developing award winning programs in telecommunications, financial services, government, and utility verticals. Jamie shares, with the teams he has directed, the North American CSO 50 Award, the IT Association of Canada Ingenious Award for technology projects demonstrating outstanding business value, and was presented with the CyberSmart Award for his work demonstrating to students the importance of developing cybersecurity skills. He holds an MSc in Information Security from Royal Holloway and is certified in cyber-risk oversight by the National Association of Corporate Directors and Carnegie Mellon SEI. Jamie works for a NB Power as the Chief Information Security Officer. He is also a member of the editorial advisory board for the UK based Cyber Security: A Peer-Reviewed Journal, a co-founder of B-Sides Fredericton, and serves as chair on ICTC’s National Cyber Security Leadership Council on Youth and Education.

Jeff Stark web - Committee Members

Jeff Stark

Vice President Technology Risk and Chief Information Security Officer,IGM

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As Vice President Technology Risk and Chief Information Security Officer, Jeff is responsible for all aspects of IGM Financials Cyber Security and Risk controls. Before joining IGM, Jeff’s positions included CISO of Ontario Pension Board, Director of Cyber Security for Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC), Vice President of IT and Information Security Officer at Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi Canada, and Head of Network and Internet Security with Tangerine Bank (formerly ING DIRECT Canada).

Jeff is a trusted leader in the IT community, known for finding innovative solutions to complex challenges that safeguard the organization while bringing the corporate strategic vision to fruition. Jeff has over 25 years of experience delivering results through building  teams responsive to the organization and utilizing technology as a strategic lever in achieving growth. Jeff has accumulated a wide range of experience through his long-term affiliations with the Canadian Financial Institutes Computer Incident Response Team and top global financial companies.

Jeff’s individual strengths include strong business acumen, setting and achieving strategic goals, being a motivating leader and mentor, and talented key note speaker. Jeff thrives on change by staying on top of leading-edge technology.

John Pinard web - Committee Members

John Pinard

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Juan Valbuena web - Committee Members

Juan Valbuena

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Kalyan Chakravarthy web - Committee Members

Kalyan Chakravarthy

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Kashif Parvaiz web - Committee Members

Kashif Parvaiz

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Kush Sharma web - Committee Members

Kush Sharma

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Maggie Calle web - Committee Members

Maggie Calle

Assistant Vice-President, Security Governance, and Risk Management, Sun Life

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Mary Siklis web - Committee Members

Mary Siklis

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A dedicated information security professional with a demonstrated record of leading cross-functional teams within fast-paced, ever-changing environments. Demonstrated track record in IT, information security and risk management. Mary is a result-oriented professional, recognized for taking on major initiatives, adapting to rapidly changing environments and resolving mission critical issues to ensure bottom line success.

With over 10 years of experience, Mary is an aggressive strategist and an implementer; she excels at providing execution strategies to transform corporate directives into revenue generating operations while successfully integrating security and privacy strategies with business goals and objectives.

Key strength lies in understanding of business requirements and enterprise security/privacy related risks while focusing on the protection of intellectual assets in line with local and international legislation’s. Mary understands that the success of IT and Information Security in any organizations is only possible if it is focused on the enablement of the core business.

Michael Ball web - Committee Members

Michael Ball

Information Security Adviser & vCISO, TeamCISO

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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.

Michael Castro web - Committee Members

Michael Castro

CISSP, CISA, C|CISO & Chartered Director, Risk Executive Advisor

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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.

Mike Melo web - Committee Members

Mike Melo

CISO, LifeLabs Medical Laboratory Services

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Mike Melo is an experienced cybersecurity leader and technology advisor who is the current CISO of LifeLabs Medical Laboratory Services. Melo is well respected for his security thought leadership, risk analysis/management abilities, technical knowledge, problem-solving skills, and sound decision-making capabilities. Melo enjoys mentoring CISOs, CIOs, and senior executives to further develop the alignment of security programs and business outcomes. Melo is part of the Toronto Evanta CISO governing body and contributes in a leadership capacity at quarterly gatherings including; talking panels and individual presentations. Melo presents talks and participates at other various security industry meetups and conferences such as C3X, Sheridan College Information Security forum, TASK, Various CISO advisory boards, SecureCISO, SecTor, Blackhat, and RSAC. Melo will also be published in 2 cybersecurity magazines in (2020) recognizing his leadership and capabilities in the cybersecurity industry.

Mohsen Azari web - Committee Members

Mohsen Azari

Senior Cyber Security Manager, Walmart Canada.

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Mohsen Azari is a Senior Cyber Security Manager for Walmart Canada. He is an advocate of Agile security, and a public speaker at various DevOps and AI conferences. He has been with Walmart for past 8 years. Mohsen’s responsibility is to ensure Confidentiality, Integrity and Availability of Walmart assets, as well as protecting customer and associates information. He graduated from McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario in 1995, and obtained his CISSP in 2006. He is currently a Gartner Evanta governing body member, and a lean Belt certified.

During the past 20 years, he has worked in technology field helping people and organizations find better and safer solutions to their business problems. He has led multiple teams of infrastructure and security professionals, and collaborated extensively with clients, business stakeholders, and leaders to achieve individual and organizational goals.

Some highlights of his career include co-authoring first MPAA Anti-Piracy and Security Standard, otherwise, known as CDSA APCP, Implementing Walmart Canada bank Security posture, as well as the new Walmart Photo Centre. He is a firm believer that, dealing with modern security threats would require fresh thinking and innovation in all facets of technology. His recent work on GRC and Incident response has allowed him to build a framework for continuous risk evaluation and mitigation.

Olivera Zatezalo web - Committee Members

Olivera Zatezalo

Chief Security Officer, Huawei Canada,

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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.

Priya Sirwani web - Committee Members

Priya Sirwani

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Rob Davidson web - Committee Members

Rob Davidson

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Salman Ashraf web - Committee Members

Salman Ashraf

Director of IT Risk, Travelers Insurance

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Salman is the Director of IT Risk at Travelers Insurance where he leads the IT Risk, Security, and Compliance activities. In this role, he is the primary point of contact spanning diverse activities including: Risk Management practices (utilizing ISO 27005/31000, NIST, COBIT, ITIL, and TRA); Threat and Vulnerability Management; IT Audit/Compliance (SOX, PCI, OSFI); and Business Continuity.

Previously, Salman has motivated and led high-performing teams in consulting environments to develop IT security programs and create enterprise-wide risk aware cultures for his clients in North America and The Middle East. As a consultant, Salman managed and delivered over 50 successful information security and risk projects in Information Security, Cyber Security, IT Audit, IT Risk Management, and Business Continuity for large financial and telecommunication organizations. The projects included ISO 27001 implementation and certification, PCI Compliance implementation and attestation, and establishing Security Operation Centers.

Salman holds an MBA in Technology Management in addition to numerous security and risk certifications including PMP, CISSP, CISA, and ISO 27001. Salman enthusiastically pursues continuous professional development opportunities; he has completed Harvard University’s Cybersecurity Managing Risk in the Information Age Certificate.

Sam Vishal web - Committee Members

Sam Vishal

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Samer Adi web - Committee Members

Samer Adi

VP Infrastructure and CISO, Interac

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Before joining Interac, Samer was the Head of Information Security and Internal Controls for a large retail company in Canada. He lead a team of security professionals to provide the best information security protection possible and maintain compliance with regulator’s requirements. Prior, Samer was the CISO for the Canadian office of a global IT consultancy company. He managed a team responsible for providing complete cybersecurity services externally to clients and internally within a global structure. Samer was also the CISO for the largest payment processing company in Canada. He was able to maintain PCI-DSS and PA DSS complaint status for the company over the years. In addition, he served with the largest network provider for white label ATMs with the same capacity. He has more than 30 years’ experience in information security and information technology infrastructure support.
Samer published two books in computer maintenance that are part of the Grade 11 and 12 curriculum. In his spare time, Samer helps grassroots soccer players to advance their skills to become better athletes

Serge Bertini web - Committee Members

Serge Bertini

Information Technology Managemen, CrowdStrike

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Serge Bertini has an extensive security background, bringing over 25 years of Information Technology Management and sales experience to the teams he has led. In his current role at CrowdStrike, he is tasked with changing the security posture of Canadian organizations and growing the operations for the company in Canada. His mission is to stop breaches!

Prior to joining CrowdStrike, he managed the Software Security Sales for HPE, under his leadership revenues tripled over the course of 2.5 years. He has a long history of success due in part to his approaches in fostering teamwork, innovation, and a focus on customer success. Mr. Bertini has also held various leadership roles at organizations such as Intel Security/McAfee, where he was charged with expanding the sales team. He has also managed teams at various Canadian and US IT Security start ups.

Serge has a degree in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science from Fairleigh Dickinson University in Teaneck NJ. He lives in Toronto with his wife and their three children. He is an avid cyclist and amateur cook and enjoys hosting his family and friends for large dinner parties!

Shahid Saya web - Committee Members

Shahid Saya

Head of Cybersecurity, MLSE

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More than 15 years’ experience as an Information Technology (IT) professional with strong expertise in IT management and IT security management. Demonstrated expertise in establishing and implementing information security programs and IT programs, with the people, processes and tools capable of meeting current and future state requirements. Strong knowledge of business and technology risks and associated challenges faced by business stakeholders. Currently Shahid is the Head of Cybersecurity at MLSE and in his current role responsible for all aspects of cybersecurity for MLSE and its brands.

Sherry Rumbolt web - Committee Members

Sherry Rumbolt

Senior Information Security Officer, Western Region of the Department of National Defence

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Sherry Rumbolt is the Senior Information Security Officer at Western Region of the Department of National Defence and Current President of ISACA Victoria Chapter. In her current role Sherry leads the Security Department for the Regional Service Management Center, providing Security Advisory Services, Security Incident Management, Technical Security Oversight, Education and Awareness and support to more than 113 military units.

Sherry served in the Canadian Armed Forces in Information Management and Information Technology as well as Cybersecurity for 22 years. Since 2011 Sherry has held several Security positions within the Government of British Columbia before moving back to the Federal Government last year.

Sherry is very passionate about educating future generations of Cybersecurity experts and spreading the word about the importance of Cybersecurity. She holds several certifications in Security including Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP) and Certified Information Security Manager (CISM).

Shlomo Bielak web - Committee Members

Serge Bertini

CTO, Benchmark Corp Canada

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Shlomo is the CTO at Benchmark Corp in Canada. He is keenly interested in making Canada’s enterprise sector a benchmark for how digital technologies should be adopted. He has taken on many roles to influence that space with his practical knowledge:

  • DevOps Institute Ambassador – Creating DevSecOps courseware and educating their 35k members
  • Continuous Delivery Foundation Ambassador – Creating content for the wider CI/CD community
  • Forbes Technology Council – Publishing leadership content on Forbes
  • CIO Association of Canada – Chair Leadership and Technology Council
  • CIO Strategy Council – Cyber Security Technology Council member developing security standards and a new standard for digital transformation

His mantra to live by is: “I am here to help.” He is focused on supporting the practical side of DevSecOps which stems from his engineering and enterprise architecture background. He was previously a global head of Site Reliability Engineering and Application Security as a CISO for a Fortune 500. He is also the creator of Governance Engineering which is published in one of his whitepapers on DevGovOps. He has worked with niche companies in the container space to publish two case studies showing how a large corporation can modernize its applications using containers and microservices in the cloud, while supporting PCI compliance using CD pipelines. Ask him anything on the spot. He loves it.

Sunil Chand web - Committee Members

Sunil Chand

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Sunny Jassal web - Committee Members

Sunny Jassal

CSO, British Columbia Institute of Technology (BCIT)

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Sunny Jassal is a transformational leader who is highly skilled at aligning vision with business strategic goals. He brings with him nearly two decades of progressive experience in leading Enterprise IT, Cybersecurity and Risk Management across various sectors, including higher-education, health, policing, compliance and telecom. Sunny has a keen interest in transforming IT and organizations toward digital optimization and transformation. With special interests in Cyber Security he leads by the principle of ‘security by design’.

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).

Vivek Khindria web - Committee Members

Vivek Khindria

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Yaron Spectorman web - Committee Members

Yaron Spectorman

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Zaki Abbas web - Committee Members

Zaki Abbas

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