Erik joined the Bank of Canada in 2007, and has held various roles within the organization.  From 2014 – 2018, he was the Director of Product Development for the Currency department, and was accountable for a broad portfolio that included product lifecycle analytics for currency.  In 2018, he was selected to join the COO’s office, where he supported a wide range of initiatives and had a leading hand in drafting the Bank’s Enterprise Data and Analytics Strategy. In early 2020, Erik took on the role of Program Director – Enterprise Data and Analytics Strategy, and has been leading the implementation of the strategy for the organization.  His team focuses primarily on progressing the Bank’s data maturity within the corporate administration and operations areas. Erik holds an M.Sc. in physical chemistry and an M.B.A.  He is passionate about bringing a scientific approach to business decision-making, and has advocated strongly for the democratization of data and data tools to put fundamental BI into the hands of all staff.

An innovative academic, entrepreneur, and technology executive, CIO of the Canada Space Society and co-founder of biotech manufacturing company Infogenetica Solutions Ltd., Alma has made sustained and significant contributions to technology development, implementation and research in a wide range of industries in Canada and internationally, including higher ed., biomedical, telecomm, legal, chemical, and aerospace. She has consistently envisioned the applications of technology well ahead of her peers and has developed three first-in-class commercial software systems. Her research on diabetes assessment systems and assistive learning technology for Autism won several grants and awards, and attracted international media attention. She has held top information technology positions at NerdForce Canada -a global technology and cloud solutions provider-, Trinity Western University, and the Canadian Space Society.

Alma has received many accolades and awards, including the Frost & Sullivan International CIO Impact Award and was a finalist for the YWCA Women of Distinction Award in Technology, Science and Research. She has numerous publications and is a sought-after speaker. She teaches and mentors youth and future technology professionals at SFU, UBC, UFV, and TWU and through volunteer programs such as The Hour of Code and Canadian Women in Technology.  She holds a B.Sc.Hons. and M.Sc. in Computer Sc. and Mathematics from Trent University, in Ontario, and a Ph.D. in Artificial Intelligence, from Simon Fraser University. She is happily married and the proud mother of a pair of teenage twin boys.

Mandeep Flora is leading work at the Ontario Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services to rethink and better deliver user-centric data analytics services across the ministry and public services. Since 2015, Mandeep has been leading the design and implementation of more effective and efficient analytics operations to provide users with the insights and decision-support tools they need on demand. His team’s mission is to transform the way the ministry uses data – from creating new data governance and a new organizational model, modernizing data infrastructure, implementing new agile ways of delivering analytics, creating self-service platforms and expanding data sharing partnerships. Mandeep has been working across government and with partner organizations for 15 years to implement large-scale, progressive initiatives, and is experienced in strategic policy design and planning, strategic information management and data analytics.

Paul is a recognized leader known for his ability to transform IMIT organizations into highly effective and efficient delivery partners. He joined the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat as the Executive Director and Chief Information Officer in 2010. Since then he has built a highly responsive IT IM organization that consistently delivers results by ensuring the strategies of his organization align with those of business. Paul is known for challenging the norm and constantly looking to improve the operations and delivery capabilities of any organization he leads. Prior to joining the Treasury Board, Paul was the CIO at General Dynamics Canada, the largest Defence contractor in Canada where he led a large IT organization. His major contributions included the implementation of an organization-wide implementation of an Enterprise Resource Planning system that drastically transformed and integrated many of the business processes across the organization.

Paul’s career also included 19 years at Nortel Networks in various capacities, with his final position as the Director of the eSelling organization where he led the implementation of a product ordering system for all of the large Nortel customers that enabled them to configure, price and order complex networking gear over the internet. Paul has a proven track record that takes any organization and reinvents it into a high performing customer focused delivery business.

Carlos is a Senior Data Scientist within the Risk Assessment Directorate of the Enforcement Branch at Environment and Climate Change Canada. He leads the data science effort to develop Machine Learning and AI tools for data-driven inspection targeting, aiming to reduce activities harmful to environment, animal and human health. His background includes professional experience and formal education within the fields of Quantitative Finance and Computational Economics.

Anthony Mantione is a senior economist with the Labour Market Information Council (LMIC), where he conducts research and analysis primarily related to the skill needs of the Canadian labour market. Some of his work includes, for example, the identification and measurement of labour and skills shortages in Canada, exploring new technologies for skill classification, writing recommendations on best practices for generating and using LMI, and consulting with stakeholders. In addition to studying labour-related issues, Anthony has previous experience in both the health care and education sectors. Anthony is a member of the Canadian Economic Association. His interests include British comedies, ultimate frisbee, fantasy novels, and crochet.

Received the M.Sc. degree in Data Science from Istanbul Sehir University, Istanbul, Turkey, in 2017. She is currently pursuing the Ph.D. degree in Electrical and Computer Engineering with the University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada. She finished a 1 year internship with Ciena Corp. which produced 1 patent and 2 academic papers. She is currently working in Transport Canada as a part-time student employee and at University of Ottawa as a Research and Teaching Assistant. Her research interests include computer vision, computer networks, multimedia systems, and serious games.

Saad is currently Senior Manager for the Ministry of Health’s data science capacity, and was the Ministry’s  inaugural data scientist. He leads the capacity’s vision to develop AI solutions that inform policy and decision making in the Ministry, improve patient outcomes, and advance health system performance in Ontario. Saad is also an instructor for the Data Science certificate program at University of Toronto’s School of Continuing Studies. He has also worked at Statistics Canada as a survey methodologist.

With over 20 years of real-life, in-the-trenches business experience in the IT security space, Ajay is a seasoned veteran when it comes to introducing disruptive security technology to the Canadian market. He currently serves as the Regional Vice-President at Armis, where he is empowering clients to defend themselves from the pervasive threat presented by unmanaged and embedded devices, such as Industrial Control Systems (ICS), the Internet of Things (IoT) and Operational Technology (OT). A seasoned leader, speaker and author, Ajay has enabled his clients to stay ahead of the curve in architecting and operating their cyber security defenses. You can find him on LinkedIn and Twitter at @akssecure.

Ajay K. Sood has been published and quoted by numerous news sources (CTV, Global News, Financial Post, Reuters, The Hill Times, POLITICO, IT World Canada, etc.) Ajay has spoken and panelled at SecTOR and has sat on panels for Thomson Reuters and others, and is the Editor of Canadian Cybersecurity 2018 and 2020.

Adam is a Senior Account Executive at Armis, where he helps his clients secure their IoT and unmanaged devices. He is responsible for Major Accounts in Toronto, working with customers in public and private sectors, including banking, retail, manufacturing, and healthcare. Adam has a global perspective on cybersecurity as he started his career working for Symantec in Sydney, Australia, serving customers across Australia, New Zealand, and many of the Pacific Islands. Adam holds B.A in Law and is currently working on his MBA. Prior to cybersecurity, he has experience in the Federal Government working for the Department of National Defense and Veterans Affairs Canada.

Sid is passionate about evidence-based decision making based on data analytics, machine learning, artificial intelligence, complexity theory and advanced modeling.  He is also driven by real problems that require urgent, no-fail, evidence-based decisions.  He has mentored several Agile DevOps Teams within the BC Government including BC Wildfire Predictive Services, MyRangeBC, Water and Invasive Species.  He mentors new digital teams with the BCDevExchange and teaches Digital Leadership to executives.  Sid takes decision making seriously and focuses on loving the problem before the solution.

Sid has 25 years with Canadian Armed Forces working with Naval, Joint and Combined Forces.  In his time with the Forces he was a specialist Joint Interface Control Officer, Canadian Joint Tactical Data Link Coordinator, and Chairman of NATO Tactical Data Link.  In 2011 he was awarded the Meritorious Service Medal by the Governor General of Canada for his professionalism, technical expertise and leadership for developing a new integrated data link in support of NORAD and the 2010 Olympics.  He has been formally recognized for his work in evidence-based leadership by NATO, ASIC, Hungary, Poland, Greece and Canada.