ICTC s Tech Talent Summit November 2, 2011 Westin Harbour Castle, Pier 4 & 5

Transcription

1 ICTC s Tech Talent Summit November 2, 2011 Westin Harbour Castle, Pier 4 & 5 Keynote Speaker Wendy Mesley is a regular contributor to CBC News: The National, CBC Television s flagship news program, appearing throughout the week in a regular segment that asks provocative questions about the news stories Canadians are talking about. She also contributes to CBC News: Marketplace, CBC Television's award-winning prime-time investigative consumer show Mesley began her broadcast journalism career in 1976 as a radio reporter in Toronto. Mesley moved to television in 1979, first with CTV's CFCF in Montreal, then moving to CBC-TV as a legislative reporter for local news and CBC News: The National, based in Quebec City. During this six-year period she covered the first referendum on sovereignty and some of the most fascinating politicians of our times, such as Jean Drapeau, Robert Bourassa, Jacques Parizeau, Rene Levesque and Pierre Trudeau. In 1985, Mesley moved to Ottawa as a parliamentary correspondent for CBC-TV's The National. During this intensely political time, Mesley reported on such stories as the battles over free trade, the GST and Meech Lake. In addition, she was a frequent contributor to CBC Television's Sunday Report panel, and soon after became Sunday National news anchor. She continues to be a frequent back-up anchor for CBC-TV's national news programs. In 1994, Mesley helped create and hosted CBC Television's Gemini Award-winning Undercurrents, a program that examined the media/marketing world. Mesley has won three Gemini Awards for her work on Marketplace and Undercurrents. Mesley was honoured in 2006 with the John Drainie Award, for her contribution to Canadian broadcasting.

2 Panel Speakers Philip Giles, Vice President, Modern Earth Designs Philips Giles brings a wealth of international business experience to his role as Vice President of Modern Earth Web Design, where he leads the sales team and oversees Production. He has worked for as well as managed small, medium and large sized businesses in England, the US and now here in Canada. His business acumen and understanding of the role of online marketing as a business development tool give him keen insights into the ways every business can expand their reach via the world wide web into the global marketplace online. Shebina Kanani, Vice President, IT Outsourcing and Supplier Management, Scotiabank Shebina Kanani is an information technology leader with extensive experience in financial service. She has worked in wealth management, domestic retail, international, commercial, wholesale and electronic banking product and service system groups. Currently Ms. Kanani has global responsibilities with Scotiabank in her capacity as Vice President, Information Technology Outsourcing and Supplier Management. Over her extensive career, Ms. Kanani has developed expertise in outsourcing, management, application development management, vendor management, strategic planning and project management for mission critical systems. In addition to her impressive career accomplishments, Shebina is also active on a number of volunteer organizations. Ms. Kanani is a member of the HDIRS (Hospital Diagnostic Imaging Repository Services Incorporated (HDIRS) board as an independent director. Lynda Leonard, Senior Vice President, Information Technology Association of Canada (ITAC) Lynda Leonard has over twenty years of experience in organizational communications and public policy advocacy in the information technology sector. She began her career in telecommunications working for the TransCanada Telephone System, Bell Canada and Stentor. At Stentor, she was accountable for marketing communications for the company's international operations and subsequently was responsible for executive public relations support. In 1996, she and a partner established an independent public relations practice specializing in providing a full range of communications programs to companies in the IT sector. The company was subsequently acquired by GPC Communications. In 1998, Lynda joined the team at ITAC as Vice- President of Communications and was named Senior Vice-President in 2004.

3 Lynda's accomplishments in communications have been recognized by the International Association of Business Communicators (Gold Quill). Throughout her career, Lynda has been an advocate for the broader engagement of women in the technology sector. She helped to establish the first Ottawa chapter of the Wired Woman Society, and she is a member of the Board of Directors of Canadian Women in Communications. In 2010, she was honoured with a World of Difference 100 Award from the International Alliance for Women. Michael Low, President, Symbiotic Group Inc. Michael Low is the President of Symbiotic Group Inc., a consulting company with a focus on providing businesses with new sources of talent and providing SME Businesses the answers that enable growth. Michael resides in Oakville Ontario, however, his family roots are from Northern Ontario and he is a community member of Wikwemikong Unceded Indian Reserve. Michael has an Honours Bachelor of Arts degree in Geography from Wilfrid Laurier University. He has also completed the Master s Level in The Strategic Coach a 5 year entrepreneurial coaching program designed for self employed business people. Michael has been a lifelong entrepreneur having been involved with several young and growing organizations throughout his career. Michael volunteers with the M&M Barbeque for Crohns & Colitis and also the Halton Board of Education Aboriginal Education Advisory Committee. Michael and his family are also active supporting several charity groups that have impacted their lives including McMaster Children s Hospital, Crohn s & Colitis Foundation of Canada, Heart & Stroke Foundation, Wilfrid Laurier University, and the University of Guelph. Cliff Martz, Vice President, North America Customer Support, Pitney Bowes Cliff Martz is Vice President, North America Customer Support for Pitney Bowes Inc. His mandate is to create a competitive advantage by delivering a consistent and exceptional customer experience focusing on increasing loyalty and maximizing revenue. He has progressively advanced in the organization and has been in leadership roles in Customer Support, Risk Management, Order Management, Credit, Collections, Retention and Cash Application. He has a passion for building high performance teams that consistently over achieve. Cliff has a track record of transforming business operations with a strong focus on talent management and employee engagement. Cliff holds a professional designation in Operational Risk Management. Cliff has been married 10 years, and has two young boys.

4 Elizabeth McIsaac, Executive Director, Toronto Region Immigrant Employment Council (TRIEC) Elizabeth McIsaac is the executive director of the Toronto Region Immigrant Employment Council (TRIEC), a multi-stakeholder collaboration that identifies and implements local and practical solutions that lead to meaningful employment for skilled immigrants. Elizabeth has worked with TRIEC since it was launched in 2003 as a project of The Maytree Foundation. She has also held various positions at the Maytree Foundation, most recently as the Director of Policy. Before joining the Foundation, Elizabeth was the Executive Director of the Association of International Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario, and previous to this worked in direct service with immigrant and refugee communities, as well as holding various roles in research and teaching. On the issue of immigrant labour market integration, Elizabeth co-authored the IRPP policy paper, Making the Connections: Ottawa s Role in Immigrant Employment (2007), and also Integrating Immigrants in Canada: Addressing Skills Diversity in the OECD publication From Immigration to Integration: Local Solutions to a Global Challenge (2006). Elizabeth currently serves as the vice-chair of the board of directors of FCJ Refugee Centre in Toronto, and has been on the board since Scott Michaels, Vice President, Client Services, Atimi Software, Inc. At Atimi Software, one of the largest independent Macintosh development houses, Scott Michaels focuses his technology insight on the quickly changing Apple market. Scott has worked with many Fortune 500 companies to bring their products to the mobile space and has assisted in restructuring their marketing plan to include mobile. He is a vital force behind the Atimi team that has developed more than 35 applications currently on the market for some of the leading brands in North America including the New York Times, HBO, and the Vancouver Canucks. Having worked on the front lines of software development and project management for over a decade, Scott champions the need for a cohesive strategy for companies bringing products to the mobile space.

5 Angelique Mohring, Senior Director, Open Text Angelique Mohring is a seasoned professional with over 20 years of experience in business, technology, marketing and operations. Working with small start ups, large enterprises and everything in between, Angelique continues to learn new ways to change the dialogue, to seek greater equality, and, in doing so to build a stronger business. Angelique has ventured in several realms including running a few great (and not so great) businesses, digging into Peruvian and Ontario Archaeology for many years, as well as studying business operations in college, and feminist epistemology, women in science, and anthropology in university. She has been published in academic journals and many family and culture magazines. On a personal level, Angelique is an advocate for women, for children's health, and for the environment. She has spent over 20 years and thousands of hours doing volunteer work to support local, national and global community. Currently, as the Chairperson for Women in Technology in Waterloo, her focus is establishing the newly formed Chapter; and, she sits on the National Board as VP of Marketing & Operations for Canadian Women in Technology. Angelique has a beautiful family; two generous children who make her laugh every day and a wonderful husband. Ultimately, life to her is about growing, exploring and living. Tahir Ramzi, General Manager Operations, Sigma Software Solutions Inc. Sigma Software is a leading provider of high-performance customer, order and revenue management software for the telecommunications industry and similar vertical markets in North America, Europe and Africa. Sigma Software is part of Sigma Group that is a global IT products and services family of companies catering to leading organizations in telecommunications, cable, utilities and related industries. Tahir is currently responsible for IT/IS development, product engineering, project management and operations of Sigma Software for telecom markets, including resellers, rebillers, telcos, and service providers. Prior to joining Sigma group, Tahir was software development team lead at ADC and Saville Systems, where he worked on convergent billing applications for telecommunications service providers. His earlier career was spent in a variety of IT capacities, including IT/IS development and project management, in product, airline and banking industries. Tahir is an internationally educated professional (I.E.P.) having Bachelors of Science as well as Masters in Computer Science degrees and he is Certified Project Management Professional (PMP).

6 Vanessa Everett Yuzicappi, Business Development Manager, Manitoba First Nation ICT Training Inc. Vanessa is an Ojibway Member of the Berens River First Nation in Manitoba. She is currently the Business Development Manager for the the Manitoba First Nations Information and Communication Technologies Training Initiative Inc. (MFNICTTII). The MFNICTII is established until March 2012 to train 60 Manitoba First Nation students in the Manitoba First Nations Information & Communications Technology Diploma program (MFNICT Program), offered by the University of Winnipeg. Vanessa has built and developed strong relationships with key stakeholders that have lead to effective and successful training programs. Her programs have won international awards, and industry recognition. Vanessa was formerly the Executive Director of the Regina Trades and Skills Training Centre. Prior to that she spent most of her career in education and training to employment in Alberta with the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology (SAIT). She has successfully graduated more than 1500 aboriginal students in various programs and industries within western Canada. She has a diploma in marketing, a degree in management and her Master s of Business Administration. Vanessa is also a certified program planner.

7 Norman McDevitt, Vice President, Information and Communications Technology Council (ICTC) Norman McDevitt is the Vice President of the Information and Communications Technology Council (ICTC) responsible for strategic leadership, brand management, program development and marketing and communications efforts for the council. He has initiated new programs in the areas of competency definition, labour market information, certification and recognition and the internationally educated professional s integration initiative for the ICT sector in Canada. Prior to ICTC, Norman McDevitt held a number of senior positions in leading Canadian companies where he has demonstrated leadership in organizational design and change management, including large scale project management, implementing IT solutions and e-commerce applications. He has expertise in business process design, organizational structure and large-scale communication and brand management techniques in both private for profit and public not for profit organizations. Dedicated to professional growth and lifelong learning, Norman received his Project Management Professional (PMP) designation in 2007 and holds a Master s of Arts in Leadership at Royal Roads University. Paul D. Swinwood, President Information and Communications Technology Council (ICTC) Paul s leadership with ICTC has allowed the council to evolve into a trusted advisor across the entire ICT sector. Under his leadership, ICTC released some of its most respected industry research and forecasting on the ICT sector, created sector definition of ICT occupations used by industry, education and government, impacted national high school curriculum, university and college programs, enhanced the integration of Internationally Educated Professionals into the ICT sector, and supported hundreds of graduates in finding their first ICT jobs through industry partnerships. Prior to his leadership at ICTC, Paul had been active in all aspects of the IT sector throughout his career. Since graduating from the Eastern Ontario Institute of Technology, his career in ICT has covered roles as diverse as hardware technician, software systems developer, programmer, client manager, software development manager, president or owner of companies in the ICT sector. These include corporations such as Nortel, Univac, Digital Equipment of Canada Ltd., Learning Tree International, Sage Data and AutoSkill International Inc. He has also been president of his own private consulting company since 1988 specializing in assisting startup organizations through the early years of survival.