Jim Balsillie’s career is unique in Canadian business. He is the retired Chairman and co-CEO of Research In Motion (BlackBerry), a technology company he scaled from an idea to $20 billion in sales globally. Mr. Balsillie’s private investment office includes global and domestic technology investments such as cybersecurity leader Magnet Forensics and space technology leader MDA.

He is the co-founder of the Institute for New Economic Thinking in New York, the Council of Canadian Innovators based in Toronto, and CIO Strategy Council, as well as founder of the Centre for International Governance Innovation in Waterloo, the Centre for Digital Rights, the Balsillie School of International Affairs, and the Arctic Research Foundation. He currently chairs the boards of CCI, CIGI, Innovation Asset Collective (Canada’s IP Collective) and co-Chairs CIOSC. He is also a member of the Board of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and the Advisory Board of the Stockholm Resilience Centre; an Honorary Captain (Navy) of the Royal Canadian Navy and an Advisor to Canada School of Public Service.

Mr. Balsillie was the only Canadian ever appointed to US Business Council and was the private sector representative on the UN Secretary General’s High Panel for Sustainability. His awards include: several honorary degrees, Mobile World Congress Lifetime Achievement Award, India’s Priyadarshni Academy Global Award, Canadian Business Hall of Fame, Time Magazine’s World’s 100 Most Influential People and three times Barron’s list of “World’s Top CEOs.”

Martin Belanger has over 20 years of experience in telecom and IT, in addition to specializing in cybersecurity in recent years. In his role at TELUS, Martin leads the national cybersecurity consulting team and the cybersecurity business development activities, which includes managed and professional services. His knowledge of the telecommunications industry and the various business markets allow him to have a holistic view of the challenges and opportunities in terms of cybersecurity.

Martin studied at HEC in administration and holds a practicing executive MBA from the University of Sherbrooke. Very involved in his community, Martin has been Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Fondation du Center Jeunesse de la Montérégie since 2017.

Steve Eccles is the Regional CEO and Dean of Northeastern University’s campus in Vancouver, BC. He brings a unique background to his role at Northeastern, combining corporate C-suite executive experience with postsecondary education innovation and leadership. With a shared values-based approach to building teams and supporting student success, he focuses on education and workforce development strategies that secure positive economic and social outcomes for British Columbia.

Prior to joining Northeastern, Steve was the Dean of the School of Computing at BCIT. He’s also previously led the Centre for CEO Leadership at the Sauder School of Business at UBC. Additionally, Steve has over a decade of experience in the financial sector including his role as VP, Investments at HSBC Global Asset Management.

Sami Khoury is the Head of the Canadian Centre for Cyber Security (the Cyber Centre). The Cyber Centre is the single unified source of expert advice, guidance, services and support on cyber security for government, critical infrastructure owners and operations, the private sector and the Canadian public. Sami began his career at the Communications Security Establishment (CSE) in 1992 as a research engineer exploring the impact of emerging multimedia communications technologies. He held various management positions and leadership roles at CSE, including Director General Capabilities Development and more recently as Deputy Chief (ADM) for Enterprise Technologies and Solutions. In this role, he was CSE’s Chief Information Officer (CIO) and responsible for IT and Information Security, as well as leading CSE’s overall Research program and 24/7 Operations Centre.

Sami holds a Bachelor of Computer Engineering (1988) and a Masters of Applied Science (1991) from Concordia University in Montreal. He completed a certificate program in Public Sector Leadership at the University of Ottawa in 2016. Sami received the Queen Elizabeth Diamond Jubilee Medal in 2012 and the APEX Award of Excellence for Innovation in 2020

With twenty-two years of experience in all areas of cybersecurity, Andrew Lemke is currently IBM's cyber resilience leader for North America. He leads consulting engagements with multinational accounts in multiple sectors and the resulting work products have become the foundation for budgetary planning and have been re-used to respond to customer compliance needs. Specific to the banking industry, he advises clients on meeting those specifications for Sheltered Harbor. As an application architect, he led a team of thirty contributors to build IBM's platform for security non-compliance tracking and as a program manager he subsequently deployed that product to all countries in which IBM GTS operates. As a security architect, has been responsible for the architecture work products for many IBM internal projects with global scope as well as client proposals. He is an active innovator with four patents issued in various areas of cybersecurity, and he has been a reviewer for IBM’s security invention disclosure team. He is currently driving the transformation of the DR, backup and business continuity fields to incorporate the latest cyber threats such as ransomware and he represents IBM by sharing IBM's point of view on cyber resiliency as well and the intersection of cybersecurity and finance. He has authored several external publications and has been sought out to speak by organizations such as Finance Executives International, Evanta/Gartner, DAI, Disaster Recovery Journal and Chief Nation.

Tom began his career as a logistics coordinator with the air force in Portugal and moved to Canada in 1993.

With a degree in physics, he developed production control systems and database solutions for industry in Washington and BC. In 2000 he was tasked with designing and chairing an engineering technology program around the emerging internet for Okanagan University College, and somehow got stuck in post-secondary education. During subsequent appointments as Dean of Trades & Technology and Vice-President Strategic Development at Victoria’s Camosun College, he worked tightly with provincial businesses and incubators on innovation and workforce issues.

As BCIT’s Vice-President Academic, he is responsible for the educational, international, and applied research portfolios since 2016, comprising about 2000 people and the lion’s share of the Institute’s $400 million budget. He functions as BCIT’s chief strategy officer, determines educational priorities and seeks out corresponding partnerships around the globe.

Tom holds a Master’s degree in astrophysics (LMU), and a Doctorate in Educational Leadership (SFU), and he specializes in questions of practitioner training and global workforce development.

He serves on numerous governance Boards such as Innovate BC and PanGlobal Systems.

Sean Weiss is a Systems Engineering Manager with Fortinet Canada, where he manages a group of Systems Engineers responsible for advising and consulting with solutions partners and customers on mission critical security issues such as satisfying compliance, mitigating risk, protecting digital assets, keeping critical infrastructure safe and advanced threat protection for the government and public sector. After serving in the military, Sean graduated from Mount Royal in 1994 in Criminology and has over 20 years of experience in the cybersecurity and networking industry. Sean’s experience also includes having worked for other technology organizations such as MRV, Hewlett-Packard and McAfee. When not playing or coaching soccer, ATV’ing in the Rockies or hiking with his two young daughters, Sean can be found buried in books where he spends far too much time pursuing his love of teaching and learning all things security and networking.

Danny has 20 years of cyber security experience split between offensive computing as an ethical hacker and defending some of our most important networks used in COVID response. As a highly regarded thought leader and trusted cyber security advisor, Danny provided guidance and formulated strategies to combat emerging threats for various agencies across the federal government.

Prior to joining Zscaler, Danny was the Associate CISO, Operations Branch Chief for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). During his 11-year tenure at CDC, Danny was responsible for implementing operational capabilities to support Incident Response, Forensics, Cyber Threat Intel and Insider Threat functions. He has designed, implemented and optimized enterprise cyber security capabilities to effectively detect, prevent and respond to emerging cyber security threats. He is proud to have led CDC defenders on the front lines to survive some of the most sophisticated threats over the last decade.

Mr. DeAnda is focused on making the Tanium Partner Community successful in building massively scalable endpoint operations and security practices. He has provided security and operations support for all four DoD service branches, including the DOD CIO’s current deployment of Tanium across the Department of Defense. Mr. DeAnda has spoken at the US State Department, NATO, DoD, and UK MoD on the topics of security, automation, and operational scale, and has authored and edited technical books on Microsoft Web Servers

Dr. Khaled El Emam is the Senior Vice-President and General Manager of Replica Analytics, an Aetion company. He is a Canada Research Chair in Medical AI and a Professor in the School of Epidemiology and Public Health at the University of Ottawa. He is also a senior scientist at the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario (CHEO) Research Institute and Director of the multi-disciplinary Electronic Health Information Laboratory, conducting applied research on data synthesis, and the identifiability of health information and how to measure it. Khaled founded or co-founded several companies involved with data management, data analytics, and privacy enhancing technologies, and most recently Replica Analytics.

Dean Eurich is a Professor in the first Canadian accredited School of Public Health at the University of Alberta. He is the Program Director for the Clinical Epidemiology program and a Research Associate with the Alliance for Canadian Health Outcomes Research in Diabetes, a member of the Alberta Diabetes Institute Research & Trainee Steering Committee at the University. Provincially, Dean is a Joint Lead, Career Development in Methods & Health Services Research platform for Alberta’s Strategy for Patient Oriented Research Support for People and Patient-Oriented Research and Trials Unit. Nationally, he is an elected Member Royal Society of Canada College of New Scholars, Artists and Scientists. He also serves as the Chair for the Personal Awards Committee and Board Member of the Diabetes Canada’s National Research Council. Dean’s research has focused largely in the areas of clinical epidemiology and health services research. Within those core areas, his research program has targeted three of the most common diseases – diabetes, heart failure, and community acquired pneumonia. Collectively, these diseases affect a large number of patients, are rapidly increasing due to our aging population, and result in significant morbidity and mortality, particularly in the elderly. Moreover, these disease states often co-exist within individual patients, placing tremendous strain on our health care system due to the high degree of health services utilization associated with their management. Within these three disease areas, Dean’s research aims to evaluate health outcomes and health services use in general using traditional epidemiological techniques and newer machine learning approaches. Given his training as a clinical pharmacist, he is particularly interested in knowledge synthesis and evaluation of the safety and effectiveness of drug therapies in real-world settings.

Robert Falzon is currently the Head of Engineering within the office of the CTO for Check Point Software Technologies Inc., the worldwide leader in securing the Internet.

His background includes over 25 years of experience in large scale network security architecture, design, and deployment projects for government and business organizations spanning the globe.

Currently leading a large team of the most talented cyber security engineers in the industry, Robert and his team are responsible for educating the market and media on the latest cyber security trends, while architecting solutions for their existing and future customers. Robert has been featured on several CBC, CTV and other international media, speaking on security events and safety concerns within a range of technologies.

Past responsibilities have included operational, management, developmental & executive duties with international firms spanning the globe.

After obtaining his CISSP certification, Robert went on to provide security process and audit/penetration testing and preparedness training to major financial and energy customers within Europe and the Middle East, in addition to providing audit and penetration testing and consulting services to customers worldwide.

An avid fan of technology, Robert also enjoys dabbling in photography, advanced home automation, and sports an unflattering men’s hockey record.

Issam Laradji is a research scientist at ServiceNow who focuses on methods that minimize the number of labels required to efficiently train machine learning models. He completed his postdoc at McGill’s Graphics lab and his PhD at the Machine Learning lab of University of British Columbia. His current topics of interest are natural language processing, computer vision (both 2D and 3D), and optimization. On the side, he continuously works on Haven-AI, a toolkit to help people build end-to-end deep learning methods and manage large-scale experiments.

In her role as Resident CISO, in Asia Pacific and Japan (APJ), Yvette focusses on driving Proofpoint’s people-centric security vision, strategy, and initiatives amongst its customer base. Her hands on experience, knowledge, and perspective in managing risk, privacy and improving cyber security posture across complex enterprises is extensive.

She provides trusted cyber and privacy advice and insight advisory services for our customers. Prior to Proofpoint, Yvette held CISO positions for the Jetstar Group (APJ’s largest low cost airline, and Asciano, an Australian listed top 25 company).

As VMware national security strategist, Eric O’Neill is a thought leader on a wide range of issues, including counterterrorism and national security matters. Eric O’Neill has worked as an FBI counterterrorism and counterintelligence operative, a national security attorney and as a corporate security consultant.

In 2001, Eric O’Neill helped capture the most notorious spy in United States history: Robert Hanssen, a 25-year veteran of the FBI. In the three months preceding Hanssen’s arrest, Eric was selected to work undercover to gain Hanssen’s trust and use that relationship to draw the traitor out of deep cover. Eric O’Neill is also the author of Gray Day: My Undercover Mission to Expose America’s First Cyber Spy.

Eric O’Neill presents keynotes internationally about espionage and national security, cybersecurity, fraud, corporate diligence and defense, and spy hunting.

MK Palmore currently serves as Director, Office of the CISO, for Google Cloud. His responsibilities include support of strategic accounts in the digital transformation journey. Prior to joining Google, MK served as the Field Chief Security Officer (Americas) for Palo Alto Networks. MK spent an extensive career in the U.S. Federal Government prior to entering the private sector. In a 22-year career in the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), MK provided leadership and conducted investigations in a number of areas including Cybersecurity, Crisis Response/Management, Risk Management Advisory, and Counter-Terrorism. MK’s cybersecurity certifications include the CISM, CISSP, GCCC and the Carnegie Mellon University CISO Certification. He earned a B.S. from the United States Naval Academy and an MBA from Pepperdine University, Graziadio Business School. MK began his professional career as a commissioned officer in the U.S. Marine Corps.

Myla Pilao leads security research communications at TrendLabs, Trend Micro’s Research and Development Centre. She heads the division at Trend Micro that monitors the security threat landscape, including high-profile attacks and prevalent Internet security threats. Prior to this role, she was Director Technical Support, where she managed a team of technical experts who handled escalations and enterprise customer cases from across the globe. She holds an MBA from the National University in Singapore.

Nathan Roarty joined ServiceNow in 2019 as a Solution Consultant working with clients in several verticals, including government, retail, telecommunications, utilities, and financial services. With over twenty years of experience in the industry, Nathan has always been fascinated by figuring out how things work, from the complexities of a technology to the business processes that make an enterprise tick. He uses that curiosity to consult with clients to understand their business needs and architecting a technology solution that delivers.

Rocky Savage is a Cyber Security Evangelist with over 17 years of IT experience ranging from networking, infrastructure, and security. In his current role as a Sales Enablement Manager at Varonis, he focuses on data protection that allows his team and customers to drive a data centric approach to their security program.

When not at work, you will likely find Rocky with his family, playing guitar or with his friends playing board games.

Prior to joining Cloudflare as its Chief Security Officer (CSO) in 2018, Joe Sullivan spent 5+ years as CSO for Facebook and 2.5 years as CSO for Uber. He also previously held security and legal roles at PayPal and eBay and served in the Obama Administration as a member of the Commission on Enhancing National Cybersecurity. He started his career as an attorney for the US Department of Justice, including serving as a federal prosecutor in Silicon Valley dedicated full time to prosecuting high tech crime.

Nikolas is a renowned Futurist that drives world leaders to take action in creating a better world for humanity. He provides expertise in new technologies and promotes exponential thinking with a critical, honest, and optimistic view that empowers you to plan for today, tomorrow, and for the future.

As President of the Digital ID & Authentication Council of Canada (DIACC), Joni builds on 15 plus years of experience in Digital Identity innovations and standards development. She helps DIACC to fulfill its vision of unlocking interoperability of public and private sector capabilities through the establishment of an identity trust framework that will grow Canada’s economy. Joni builds impactful relationships and formalizes strategic partnerships between organizations. She has participated in committees and initiatives around the world including: OECD-ITAC, ISOC, IEEE, OASIS-SSTC, ISO SC27 WG5, and she has testified before the US Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology Security and Privacy (ONC HITSP).

Dan Caprio, Co-founder and Executive Chairman, is an internationally recognized expert on privacy and cybersecurity. He has served as the Chief Privacy Officer and Deputy Assistant Secretary at the Commerce Department, a transatlantic subject matter expert for the European Commission’s Internet of Things formal expert group, a Chief of Staff for a Federal Trade Commission Commissioner and a member of the Department of Homeland Security Data Privacy and Integrity Advisory Committee. In 2002, Dan was a representative for the United States delegation revising the OECD Security Guidelines that formed the basis for the first White House Strategy to Secure Cyberspace.

Robert W. (Bob) Gordon is the executive director of the Canadian Cyber Threat Exchange (CCTX). Over his career, Bob has worked for four federal national security agencies—the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, the Canadian Security Intelligence Service, the Communications Security Establishment, and Public Safety Canada—as well as in the private sector at CGI. While serving in these roles, Bob has been a senior assistant deputy minister, led the national counterterrorism program, overseen broad technology and internal security initiatives (including personnel, IT, and physical security), and designed Canada’s first Cyber Security Strategy. At the CCTX, Bob oversees information sharing and collaboration programs designed to create an open threat data exchange between the public and private sectors.

Robin Gould-Soil is a recognized authority on privacy and data protection. She has been at the forefront of this burgeoning field for two decades, and has unique expertise resulting from her multi-sector experience across the corporate and public spheres, including executive roles at TD Bank Group, HSBC Canada, the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada (OPC) and the University Health Network (UHN). Robin has spearheaded award-winning privacy initiatives, successfully engaged with a broad range of constituencies and peers, and built effective data protection and governance frameworks for large, global organizations.

From 2013 to 2017, John served in the BC Public Service as Deputy Minister of Technology, Innovation and Citizens’ Services. With 1,300 employees and an annual budget of more than $1 billion, the ministry delivered a broad spectrum of government services and economic development programs. The ministry was responsible for the government’s cyber security strategy and operations, as well as the privacy and freedom of information files. John continues to have a strong interest in the development of privacy and security practice and policy. Prior to joining the public service, John held a series of senior executive roles in public and private technology companies. Two of his President and CEO roles were with publicly traded companies regulated by both Canadian and United States securities regulators. Beyond his public service and corporate work, John has long been active in the not-for-profit sector. He was on the Board of the Digital Identity & Authentication Council of Canada (DIACC) from 2013 to 2017 and as a senior board volunteer with a national health charity from 1994 to 2008.

Dr. Alan Low is the Executive Director of Medicines Access Coalition – BC, Primary Care Pharmacist and Pharmacy Lead at BioPro Biologics Pharmacy, a collaborative practice approach, focusing on patient centred care. He is also a Clinical Associate Professor in the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences at UBC and an Instructor and Course Developer with the School of Health Sciences at the Justice Institute of BC (JIBC). Convinced that pharmacists have much more to offer to the public and the healthcare system, Alan has led the development and implementation of provincial medication management projects in BC and Alberta as well as creating a novel model of community pharmacy practice where interprofessional collaboration is leveraged to improve patient health outcomes. Within the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences at UBC, Dr. Low is one of the founders of the Faculty based Pharmacists Clinic and helped develop and lead the business case for the Pharmacists Clinic. He is the Course Coordinator for the Pharmacy Practice Management and Leadership Course and Lecturer. In addition, he is also a Board Advisor with the GI Society and sits on the Medical Board of HealthChoicesFirst.com, a patient video education resource. Dr. Low has experience in a wide variety of health and administrative settings including direct patient care in the hospital and clinics, clinical and practice-based research, consultant in healthcare projects and clinical pharmaceutical consulting. He has held positions such as Clinical Pharmacist, Clinical Specialist, Pharmacotherapeutic Specialist within teaching hospitals, as well as Manager of Government Affairs and Medical Affairs, Medical Science Liaison, and Senior Health Sciences Advisor in research-based pharmaceutical companies and was the Chief Operating Officer at Network Healthcare. Alan is a Certified Clinical Densitometrist (CCD), coauthored “The Osteoporosis Book, 4th Edition: Bone Health”, has numerous publications in scientific and health journals, newsletters, and is a founding co-editor of the Pharmacy Management in Canada textbook. Alan has been an active member and past participant on various committees (with the College of Pharmacists of BC, BC Pharmacy Association, Canadian Pharmacists Association, Canadian Society of Hospital Pharmacists, GI Society, etc). He has interests in the areas of, rheumatology, osteoporosis, gastroenterology, diabetes, and cardiology. Alan enjoys being involved in projects that improve health knowledge translation, healthcare delivery, medical health education and health outcomes research. Alan’s training includes a Bachelor of Science in Pharmacy, a Hospital Pharmacy Residency at St. Paul’s Hospital, and Doctorate of Pharmacy degree at UBC. He is frequently invited to speak at regional, national and international conferences. He strives to develop solutions to close gaps in health care working together with a variety of people.

Douglas holds a Doctor of Design degree specializing in planning from Harvard University, and a Master of Landscape Architecture degree from the University of Manitoba. For over 25 years as CEO of O2 Planning + Design, Douglas directed the firm’s work in landscape architecture, planning, and urban design. He has served as an instructor at the Harvard University Graduate School of Design as is a regular visiting critic at the University of Calgary, School of Architecture, Planning and Landscape. Douglas is a Fellow of the Canadian Society of Landscape Architects from which he received numerous awards including the CSLA Lifetime Achievement Award in 2017.

Douglas is a founding member and current Chair of the SAFE Design Council, a not-for-profit aimed at reducing the risk of crime through informed design. His pioneering projects in the field of Geodesign have coupled Geographic Information Systems modelling with design and planning processes. His current work with SAFE Design focuses on multi-scale spatial risk assessment and contemporary design that mitigates the risk and fear of crime.

Until his retirement in 2018, Stephen Simpson served as a Commissioner with the Canadian Radio, Television and Telecommunications Commission. Before becoming a regulator, his early career spanned a wide range of communications disciplines from private broadcasting, international advertising agencies, public policy research, and corporate communications. In 1998 Mr Simpson founded Identity Management Inc., a management consulting and public affairs company with clients in the communications, transportation and energy sectors, that still operates today. Additionally he served as Chair of Totally Hip Software, publicly traded company producing interactive authoring applications to create digital video content and Vice President and shareholder in IPSOS Reid, then Canada’s largest research company. Today Steve serves as a strategic advisor to a range of companies and is a guest lecturer in Entertainment Law at UBC and Simon Fraser University . He is a published author and is presently working on his third book continuing to focus on the subject of maritime history.

Kelly is an Associate Professor in the Department of Economics, Justice, and Policy Studies at Mount Royal University in Calgary, an Adjunct Associate Professor in the Faculty of Environmental Design at the University of Calgary, and Adjunct Professor in the School of Law at the University of Adelaide in Australia. His applied research primarily focuses on how functional, informed, and desired design can effectively contribute to enhanced physical security –– seeking to increase security across the human, technological, and physical landscapes. Kelly holds a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from the University of Victoria, Master of Arts in Public Safety Leadership and Training from Royal Roads University, and Doctor of Philosophy in Political and Social Inquiry from Monash University.

Monique Altman is a Privacy Associate at OneTrust, where she provides guidance on global regulations and standards and works in platform content development. Prior to OneTrust, Monique worked at Voya Financial and WarnerMedia. Monique earned her JD and LLM from the University of Illinois Chicago John Marshall Law School. She holds a CIPP/US certification.

Brent J. Arnold is a partner practising in Gowling WLG’s Advocacy department, specializing in cyber security and commercial litigation. Brent heads the firm’s Commercial Litigation Technology sub-group. In 2019, he co-authored the Canada chapter of Chambers Global Practice Guide: Data Protection & Cybersecurity, 2nd ed.

Brent’s experience includes cyber breach coaching, cyber risk analysis, class actions defence, consumer protection, implementation and other disputes for e-commerce vendors and software developers, administrative and insolvency law, shareholders’ rights, class actions, employment contracts, and general contractual disputes.

Brent is a Director of the Internet Society (Canada Chapter), Steering Committee Vice Chair for the Cybersecurity and Data Privacy section of the US-based Defence Research Institute (DRI), and Vice Chair of the Ontario Bar Association’s Privacy and Access to Information Law section, having also served two terms on the Executive for the Civil Litigation Section of the Ontario Bar Association. Brent is also a member of the Canadian Technology Law Association and the International Association of Privacy Professionals (IAPP)

Chantal Bernier is a member of both Dentons’ Canadian Privacy and Cybersecurity practice group and of the Firm’s Government Affairs and Public Policy group. As Assistant and Interim Privacy Commissioner of Canada, Chantal led national and international privacy investigations in the public and private sectors, as well privacy audits, privacy impact assessment reviews, technological analysis, and privacy policy development and research.

Chantal leverages her years in high-ranking positions at the Government of Canada to provide clients with strategic counsel. She is also a member of Statistics Canada’s Advisory Council on the Modernization of Microdata Data Access and of the Standards Council of Canada’s Steering Committee on Canadian Data Governance Standardization Collaborative.

Tim Brown joined SolarWinds in 2017 as vice president of security and is now the CISO for SolarWinds, overseeing internal IT security, product security, and security strategy. After the SUNBURST attack in December 2020, Tim Brown led the response and remediation efforts. Tim has spoken to thousands of customers and has been instrumental in all customer remediation support and services. He has worked closely with the SolarWinds® CEO in designing the future state of security and their “Secure by Design” philosophy. This new philosophy on software design will not only benefit SolarWinds but the industry as a whole, and it sets a precedent for responses to future cyberattacks. As a former Dell Fellow and CTO, Tim deeply understands the challenges and aspirations of the person responsible for driving digital innovation and change. Tim has over 25 years of experience, and his trusted advisor status has taken him from meeting with members of Congress and the Senate to the Situation Room in the White House. He’s also an avid inventor and holds 18 issued patents on security-related topics.

Abigail joined Infoway in 2017 to promote Infoway’s commitment to addressing health information governance, including the privacy and security of personal health information, throughout the digital health industry and within Infoway. She is also responsible for Infoway’s risk management, compliance and legal functions.

Prior to joining Infoway, Abigail served as Vice President, Human Resources and Chief Privacy Officer for eHealth Ontario and Chief Privacy Officer at the University Health Network. A Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP), Certified Information Systems Auditor (CISA) and Certified Information Privacy Professional (CIPP/C), she also holds a Masters in Health Law from Osgoode Hall Law School.

Rob Davidson brings more than 25 years of experience to his current role as Director of Information Security Services and Chief Information Security Officer at Pacific Blue Cross. His career started with Dell and has progressed though several senior strategic and leadership positions at industry-defining organizations such as Microsoft and Social media pioneer Hootsuite. Prior to returning to Vancouver, Rob spent two decades with Microsoft and worked in the Networking, Security, Windows Server, and Azure teams in Canada and Seattle.

Rob holds an Executive MBA and maintains his long standing CISSP certification, he enjoys the opportunity to share with and learn from others who are likeminded in his passion for the Security of People, Information and Technology.

Elizabeth Denham CBE, joined Baker McKenzie as International Consultant, Data and Tech in 2022. She has over 15 years’ experience as a data protection regulator in Canada and UK. She was most recently the Information Commissioner for the UK (2016-2021) . During her tenure in the UK she also chaired the Global Privacy Assembly, which brings together more than 130 data protection authorities around the world – the premier global forum for data protection. She is recognized as a leader in enabling responsible data use by government and the commercial sector, and for implementing the GDPR into UK law. She tackled some of the most complex issues facing the digital economy, including the use of data in political campaigns, the use of live facial recognition technologies in the commercial and police sectors, and the transparent and fair use of analytics and AI. She is passionate about the protection of children online, ethical and accountable use of health data, and supporting companies to embed data protection and security into their services and offerings. Elizabeth was honoured in the Queen’s 2019 Honours list a CBE for services to protecting personal privacy of UK citizens.

Dr. Robert Fraser is the President and CEO of Molecular You, a digital health company delivering molecular-level personalized health insights and action plans. Dr. Fraser has been at the forefront of developing the framework and technologies to bring personalized medicine into healthcare practice. He is the co-founder of The Personalized Medicine Initiative (PMI), GenXys Health Care Systems, Personalized Biomarkers Incorporated, Mesentech Corporation and Novobind. Dr. Fraser has led drug discovery and development projects at Sanofi, Xenon, Neuromed and CDRD and has been involved in raising of more than $37M in funding. He completed his Ph.D. in the molecular mechanisms of endocrinology at the University of Alberta and Harvard Medical School and Post-Doctoral Fellowships at Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto and IGBMC, Strasbourg France.

James Hursthouse is a twenty-year veteran of the global games and digital media sector. He has proven success across content development and publishing, infrastructure and technology for ‘games as a service’, and with technologies such as mixed reality, blockchain and artificial intelligence. He was a contributing author to ‘The Metaverse Roadmap’ whitepaper in 2007 and has been developing initiatives that could be considered precursors to the current ‘Metaverse boom’ for over fifteen years.

After spending the first half of his career focused on early-day massively multiplayer online games in Asia and Silicon Valley, James moved to Vancouver, BC in 2010 to co-found and be the CEO of Roadhouse Interactive, a gaming studio that grew to 180 people at its peak. Roadhouse was an early adopter of Unity for its Family Guy Online 3D web-based game, and worked on multiple high profile mobile titles, including a series of action sports titles for Red Bull and Iron Maiden’s Iron Maiden: Legacy of the Beast. The massively successful Legacy of the Beast world tour, continuing through 2022, represents the first time a major artist has toured in support of a video game rather than an album.

Between 2016 and 2018, James served as the Executive Director of DigiBC where he continues to serve on the board. He also currently sits on the board of Canada’s Digital Technology Supercluster.

James co-founded Cooper’s New Reality Garage, an augmented reality mobile game studio in 2017. CNRG was acquired by Truly Social Games in 2018, which in turn was acquired by LEAF Mobile in 2021. He also co-founded PlayChannel Inc., a mobile game developer and publisher focused on prizing-supercharged mobile game experiences, in 2019.

Since 2019, James has served as Chief Strategy Officer of AMPD, a provider of high-performance cloud and compute services that cater to the requirements of cutting edge, low-latency applications. AMPD went public on the Canadian Securities Exchange in October 2019.

Departure Lounge Inc. was formally incorporated in June 2021 to explore a range of Metaverse-focused technology and content opportunities.

Departure Lounge Inc. was acquired by AMPD Ventures in December 2021.

Keith Jansa is the Executive Director of the CIO Strategy Council. Keith brings 15+ years of public, private and not-for profit experience leading diverse teams to generate successful business strategies and deliver client-focused solutions and meaningful results. Keith has particular subject matter expertise in the strategic application of standards for creating secure, privacy-preserving technologies. He works with Canada’s most forward-thinking Chief Information Officers and executive technology leaders to collectively accelerate the pace of digital transformation and advance Canada’s position in the global digital economy. In his previous role as Vice President of Standards and Innovation at the Council, Keith provided executive leadership in the design and successful accreditation of the Council’s standards-setting process to drive the creation of national standards to advance Canada’s digital economy. Keith is also Chair of Innovate Cities, an appointed member of Ontario’s Health Data Council, and chair of its Strategic Working Group on Data Stewardship. Keith holds a Bachelor in Health Sciences honours degree from the University of Ottawa. He is married to his university sweetheart, Kayla Jansa, and loves chasing after his 3 children.

Max Jarvie is a senior associate in the Privacy and Data Protection practice group at Borden Ladner Gervais LLP. He provides assistance and strategic advice to organizations relating to privacy and data protection, the use of machine learning, blockchain and other technologies, information governance, data trusts, technology licensing and corporate commercial matters. Max publishes and speaks regularly on privacy law and the legal implications of technology.

Sunny Jassal is on a mission to enable and secure digital transformation. A passionate technologist and trusted leader striving to deliver innovative technology solutions with strong credibility across business and technology groups. A change agent, bringing two decades of progressive on-the-ground experience leading highly technical teams from Enterprise Architecture, Network Operations, Application Development, Cyber Security and Risk Management across various sectors.

Sunny has special interests in Cyber Security and leads by the principle of ‘security by design’. In his current role as Director, Cyber Security at BCIT, Sunny provides leadership and oversight over all aspects of Cyber Security and IT Risk Management; ensuring critical systems and assets are protected and kept secure. Sunny holds a B.Tech in Technology Management from BCIT along with top industry certifications like, Certified Chief Information Security Officer (CCISO), Certified Information Security Manager (CISM), Certified Data Privacy Solutions Engineer (CDPSE) and Systems Security Certified Practitioner (SSCP).

Sunny is an active member of, and participates in, various local, national and international Cyber Security and Risk Management communities. Sunny also serves on number of boards providing strategic leadership and direction to various programs and initiatives.

Mani Keerthi Nagothu is a cybersecurity professional with work experience in India, London, Bermuda, and Canada. She worked with consulting firms before her current role as Security Lead at Ballard Power Systems.

Her focus areas are Cybersecurity strategy, Cyber incident response, and risk management.

She was a recent speaker at (ISC)2 security congress 2021 and Cloud Security Alliance SECtember 2021.

She started a podcast on LinkedIn named: “A Thought in Cyber”. The podcast focuses on specific topics related to Cybersecurity including leadership, Emerging Technology, Digital transformation, and Emotional Intelligence.

Peter is a recognized thought leader in data privacy with 20 years of experience as a former marketer, technologist, lobbyist and association leader and as a current consultant, educator and international speaker.

Peter led the creation of the first professional certification in data privacy, the Certified Information Privacy Professional (CIPP) in 2004, launched the CIPP-Canada (CIPP/C) in 2006 and followed both with four additional privacy credentials. He helped grow the International Association of Privacy Professionals (IAPP) from a professional community to the world’s largest privacy association as its first Vice President.

Peter led the US-based Digital Advertising Alliance (DAA) and its “AdChoices” programme for consumer privacy protection as the organization’s first managing director. He has served in leadership roles at technology companies that include CMGI, dataxu (now ROKU) and at trade associations, the 4As and the NAI. He has represented industry in working groups and standards bodies The Trustworthy Accountability Group (TAG), Stop Patent Abuse Now (SPAN) and the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) Tracking Protection Group.

Peter’s roots are in digital media as a senior executive at ad agencies, Wells Rich Greene BDDP and MVBMS Partners/EURO RSCG (Havas).

Beginning in 2020, Peter became program advisor, lead content developer and course instructor for the first certificate programme in data privacy ever to be offered by York University in Toronto. He currently teaches two of the three courses in the programme.

Alena Kottova, BSc, MA, PhD is an award winning researcher and educator with a broad background in history and philosophy of science and technology as well as social and ethical implications of technological development for society. She specializes in addressing the ethical paradigm shift required to address the cybersecurity issues brought up by digital society and fast changing technological innovations.

Alena teaches privacy, ethics and cybersecurity university courses at the University of Victoria, Faculty of Engineering and Faculty of Social Sciences, Department of Philosophy as well as Vancouver Island University, Department of Computer Science. Through her role as a researcher and educator, Alena has extensive experience in exploring privacy and security opinions and views of hundreds of students who are becoming the next generation of professionals in their respective fields.

Alena is passionate about supporting science, technology and cybersecurity education on all levels, advancing ethical and privacy-sound digital habits of her students; she is committed to advocating for practical ways to reduce and manage privacy risks and improve cybersecurity education.

Christian Leuprecht (Ph.D, Queen’s) is Class of 1965 Professor in Leadership, Department of Political Science and Economics, Royal Military College, Director of the Institute of Intergovernmental Relations, School of Policy Studies, Queen’s University the inaugural Fulbright Chair in Canada-US Relations at the School for Advanced International Studies at Johns Hopkins University in Washington, DC and Eisenhower Fellow at the NATO Defence College in Rome. He is Adjunct Research Professor, Australian Graduate School of Policing and Security, Charles Sturt University as well as the Centre for Crime Policy and Research, Flinders University. A recipient of RMC’s Cowan Prize for Excellence in Research and an elected member of the College of New Scholars of the Royal Society of Canada, he is also Munk Senior Fellow in Security and Defence at the Macdonald Laurier Institute. An expert in security and defence, political demography, and comparative federalism and multilevel governance, he has held visiting positions in North America, Europe, and Australia, and is regularly called as an expert witness to testify before committees of Parliament. He holds appointments to the board of the German Institute for Defence and Strategic Studies, the Police Services Board of the City of Kingston, and the Polar Research & Policy Initiative.

His publications have appeared in English, German, French, and Spanish and include 12 books and scores of articles that have appeared, inter alia, in the Florida State University Law Review (2019), Electoral Studies (2016), Government Information Quarterly (2016), Armed Forces and Society (2015), Global Crime (2015, 2013), the Canadian Foreign Policy Journal (2014, Maureen Molot Prize for Best Article), Canadian Public Administration (2014), the Canadian Journal of Political Science (2012, 2003), Regional and Federal Studies (2012), and Terrorism and Political Violence (2019, 2018, 2017, 2011). His editorials appear regularly across Canada’s national newspapers and he is a frequent commentator in domestic and international media.

Leuprecht has been Matthew Flinders Fellow at the Flinders University of South Australia (2017-2018), held a senior and visiting fellowships at the Hanse-Wissenschaftskolleg Institute for Advanced Study (2016), the Helmut-Schmidt-University of the Bundeswehr (2016), Université Pierre-Mendès France (2015), the University of Augsburg in Germany (2011), the Swedish National Defence College (recurring) and the European Academy (recurring), and as the Bicentennial Visiting Associate Professor in Canadian Studies at Yale University (2009-2010). He is a research affiliate at the National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism (since 2005), the Network for Terrorism, Security, and Society (since 2012), l’Université de Montréal’s International Centre for Comparative Criminology (since 2014), the Centre interuniversitaire de recherche sur les relations internationales du Canada et du Québec (since 2015), l’Observatoire sur la radicalization et l’extrémisme violent (since 2015), the Austrian Institute for European and Security Policy (since 2010), the Solomon Asch Center for Study of Ethnopolitical Conflict at the University of Pennsylvania and Bryn Mawr College (2003), the World Population Program at the International Institute for Advanced Systems Analysis in Vienna, Austria (2002), and held doctoral (2001-2003) and postdoctoral (2003-2005) fellowships from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada. He holds a Ph.D. from Queen’s University (2003), and graduate degrees in Political Science (1998) and French (1999) from the University of Toronto as well as the Institut d’Études Politiques at the Université Pierre-Mendès France in Grenoble (1997).

From 2015-2018 he held a Governor-in-Council appointment to the governing Council of the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada where he also served on the Executive Committee and as Chair of the Committee on Discovery Research. He is also immediate past-president (2014-2018) of the International Sociological Association’s Research Committee 01: Armed Forces and Conflict Resolution. Since joining RMCC in 2005, he has served as Associate Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Deputy Head of the Department of Political Science and Economics. He has twice received the RMCC Commandant’s Commendation for Excellence in Service. A long-time proponent of experiential learning, Leuprecht has also been a finalist for RMCC’s Teaching Excellence Award and has received honourable mention for the Queen’s University Undergraduate Research Mentorship Award (2017). He is a member of the editorial boards of Armed Forces & Society, Commonwealth & Comparative Politics, Current Sociology’s Manuscript Series, and the Springer book series in Advances in Science and Technologies for Security Applications. Previously, he was associate editor of the Queen’s Policy Studies series published by McGill-Queen’s University Press.

Kevin Lonergan is a Senior Strategy Manager with TELUS Security. In this role, Kevin works with various stakeholders to understand market trends, customer needs, and emerging technologies to ensure TELUS is offerings a strong portfolio of services to customer now and in the future. Previous to TELUS, Kevin managed IDC Canada’s cyber security research practice for 8 years where he published dozens of studies and presented across the country.

 Holly is responsible for guiding the development, recommendation and implementation of innovative approaches to privacy policy and practice to build accountable information stewardship and privacy conscious practices that enable the execution of PHSA’s expanded mandate and the conduct of health research. She advises on the privacy requirements relating to new and expanded provincial initiatives working closely with PHSA’s Information, Access and Privacy, and Legal Services teams. She also provides leadership in developing and implementing governance mechanisms to enable nimble, multidisciplinary review of privacy and security requirements for new and expanded initiatives and research, including province-wide platforms and systems, digital and information technologies, and data access/sharing. Holly is a PhD level trained ethicist and research consultant. She serves as the ethicist on the BC Cancer Research Ethics Board and a US-based IRB. She has worked as a consultant for Health Canada, the Public Health Agency of Canada, and the CIHR Ethics Office and her work has been published in a variety of journals including CMAJ, Trends in Neurosciences and Cell Stem Cell.​

Derek Manky brings more than twenty years of experience to a strategic and visionary cyber security role, working with FortiGuard Labs at Fortinet. Manky leads FortiGuard Labs’ global threat intelligence team which consults with leading CSOs/CISOs of Fortune 500 companies worldwide across multiple industries. Manky provides thought leadership to industry and has presented research and strategy worldwide at many premier security conferences. As a cyber security expert, his work has included meetings with leading political figures and key policy stakeholders globally, including law enforcement, which helps define the future of cyber security. In 2019, he was selected as one of six nationwide delegates to represent Canada as a Canadian leader from the field of cyber,through his leadership and expertise in Cyber Security. He is a contributing author to the World Economic Forum Partnership against Cybercrime Report. Manky has been recipient of his technical University’s honorable 2019 BCIT Distinguished Alumni Award. Manky orchestrates global threat intelligence initiatives with Fortinet, including the World Economic Forum Partnership against Cybercrime, Cyber Threat Alliance (CTA), NATO NICP, INTERPOL Expert Working Group, and the Forum for Incident Response and Security Teams (FIRST). Manky has been with the Cyber Threat Alliance since it was founded in May 2014and sits on the steering committee, working with leading security executives and CEO direction in industry. His vision is applied to help shape the future of proactive cyber security, with the ultimate goal to make a positive impact towards the global war on cybercrime. He works globally with the security industry and Computer Emergency Response Team(CERT) to connect the dots, streamlining mitigation advice and threat forecasts based on personal knowledge and a team of world class experts at Fortinet and FortiGuard Labs. This strategy is integrated into advanced technology frameworks to fight cyber-attacks, while keeping clients secure. Manky designed a zero-day vulnerability disclosure framework, which has been reliably used for years to responsibly fix security issues before black hat attackers get a chance to exploit victims. Manky sits on a computing science advisory committee and meets with universities to provide security industry input that he hopes will help shape the bright young minds of tomorrow. In an effort to educate, he is regularly featured in top tier media and guest articles including, but not limited to, CNN, Bloomberg, NBC, MSNBC, Wired, CSO, Forbes, Wall Street Journal, Dark Reading, and the Financial Times. Manky has also been the recipient of CRN’s ‘Security Superstar’ award. He continues to dedicate his career to security, research and education.

Shawn McGuire is the Chief Technology Officer for Resiliency at Kyndryl Canada. As an experienced leader and Certified Business Continuity Professional (CBCP) he has developed and implemented Enterprise Resiliency Programs and Protection Strategies for clients across multiple industries, including Federal and provincial governments. Specializing in Business Resilience, Shawn excels at translating business services and requirements into resilient technology solutions.

Dr. Brenda McPhail is the Director of the Canadian Civil Liberties Association’s Privacy, Surveillance, and Technology Program. She guides CCLA’s litigation and advocacy at the junction of privacy and emerging technology; recent examples include the Supreme Court of Canada cases R. v. Marakah and R v. Jones, which confirmed privacy rights in electronic communications, and R. v. Jarvis, which addressed video recording of individuals in public spaces. Brenda has often served as an expert witness before parliamentary, senate, and legislative committees on legal reforms related to privacy. Her research and public education activities currently concentrate on the social implications of technology, including, most recently, health information sharing, digital surveillance including facial recognition, AI and human rights, smart cities, and data trusts.

Jennifer Miller is the Director General of the Marketplace Framework Policy Branch at Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada, focusing on issues related to privacy, data protection, intellectual property, copyright, competition and insolvency.

Previously, she was responsible for the federal Innovation Superclusters Initiative and served as ISED’s Director of Emerging Technologies. Previous roles within the federal government have included various responsibilities at the Privy Council Office, including economic and social policy analysis and advice to Cabinet, as well as leadership of the policy innovation agenda. Jennifer also spent several years at ESDC, where she worked on various files related to post-secondary education and student financial assistance.

Lance Morginn is a seasoned operator with 25+ years of business leadership and executive experience in technology-based enterprises. His career includes stints as founder, CEO, and director in several publicly and privately owned companies, and has a proven track record for building multi-million-dollar companies. Lance founded his first company and scaled it to a multi-million-dollar business in 18 months. In 2015, Lance co-founded Blockchain Intelligence Group where he sets the company’s strategy and vision. He is also a director of BIGG Digital Assets.

As Vice-President, Enterprise Conduct, Data Ethics and Chief Privacy Officer, Suzanne is responsible for overall privacy leadership at Sun Life and its subsidiaries worldwide. Her mandate includes the company’s Code of Conduct program and evolving standards for ethical use of data. Suzanne’s prior roles include leading the legal team in Quebec and compliance for IT.

Before joining Sun Life in 2015, Suzanne spent more than 20 years working in the communications industry, for businesses such as Bell Canada and BlackBerry.

A passionate believer in giving back to the community, Suzanne is actively involved with many organizations including the Canadian Bar Association’s National Privacy and Access Law Section and MediaSmarts, a leader in media and digital literacy. Suzanne served as an appointed member of the Board of the Standards Council of Canada for over a decade.

Suzanne has appeared before parliamentary and legislative committees, speaks frequently at Canadian and international conferences, and is an Advisory Board Member and occasional contributor to the Internet and E-commerce Law in Canada and the Canadian Privacy Law Review.

Suzanne is always physically active, walking and working in the yard, loves jigsaw puzzles and coffee. She has a son and husband and divides her time between Ottawa and Montreal.

Kharis O’Connell is a Principal of Design Futures at Amazon, working in the Spatial Computing, Computer Vision and Machine Learning space. Prior to that, he led a product design group at Google, working on future hardware and software devices for Augmented Reality and Spatial Computing.

He has spent the last 13 years focusing on designing for emerging technologies. Before Google, he was VP of Product and Design at AR pioneers such as Meta, published a book for O’Reilly Media – ‘Designing for Mixed Reality’ and has worked at other companies including Nokia, Samsung, Vodafone, Archiact, Global Mechanic as well as advising startups focusing on new technologies. Kharis has also been a prominent speaker at many conferences that focus on the relationship between design and technology. His personal interests are alternative energy and resource use, and the design of the built environment.

Lauren Reid is President of the boutique privacy and data ethics consulting firm, The Privacy Pro. The Privacy Pro helps global companies implement practical solutions to protect data, comply with laws, and most importantly, respect people. Lauren has over 15 years of global privacy experience, having worked in several countries and industries. She was the Director of Data Governance and Privacy for Sidewalk Labs, Alphabet’s smart city portfolio company. She also led the National Privacy Advisory Services practice for KPMG Canada and was Senior Manager accountable for strategic privacy initiatives at Bank of Montreal, one of Canada’s largest financial institutions.

Pam Simpson is a Strategic Cyber Threat Intelligence Analyst at BMO within their Financial crimes Unit. In this role she analyzes the cyber threat landscape impacting BMO at a macro-level, producing relevant intel on innovative ransomware and nation-state threats and how to respond to them effectively. Aside from her role at BMO, she currently sits on the Scientific Executive Council for the Human-Centric Cybersecurity initiative, which leverages a transdisciplinary group of scholars, government, industry, and not-for-profit partners to help create a more secure and inclusive digital society. Pam previously worked as a researcher focusing on anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism throughout her bachelors and master’s degree at Queen’s University, co-publishing the article “Tracking Transnational Terrorist Resourcing Nodes and Networks.” During her masters, she also studied initial coin offerings and distributed ledger technology as a visiting scholar at the University of Sydney Law School. Moving forward, Pam hopes to continue contributing to creating a culture of cyber resilience within Canada’s private and public sectors.

Brad Stocking is an Associate Partner and Zero Trust lead at IBM Security, specializing in Cloud and Infrastructure Security, guiding organizations in securing their journey to the cloud in line with Zero Trust principles, and in driving innovation.

With over 15 years’ experience, in his prior roles, Brad worked as the Principal Security Architect for the Bank of Canada and Payments Canada, modernizing the security of critical infrastructure for the Canadian financial sector, including the High Value Payments System (Lynx) and the real-time payments system (Real-time Rail).

Brad also served, for over 17 years, in the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) in the fields of security engineering for tactical and strategic systems, security testing, and Signals Intelligence (SIGINT). In those roles he led multi-disciplinary security and operations teams where he established critical capabilities and teams that left enduring impacts on the organizations he supported; the CAF Cyber Range, advanced SIGINT/EW capabilities, and organization security programs.

In 2007 Brad created an iterative threat driven approach to security engineering and testing, leveraging the Joint Red Team and the military intelligence apparatus. This pragmatic approach to building security programs has served as the cornerstone of his security leadership in his subsequent roles.

Brad hails from the thriving metropolis of Onoway, Alberta… a place that puts the term “one-horse town” to the test.

Ganesh Swami is a serial entrepreneur, adventurer, and speaker. He is currently the co-founder and CEO of Covalent – a venture-funded blockchain data analytics startup based out of Vancouver, BC. He has over a decade of experience with database technologies and bringing new products to market. His current focus with Covalent is to solve the big problems inhibiting blockchain’s mainstream adoption. He started his career in building protein simulation algorithms to solve cancer.

Shane Tews is a non-resident senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute (AEI), where she works primarily on cybersecurity, technology and innovation policy, and internet governance issues. She is also president of Logan Circle Strategies, where she focuses on information and communication technology and cybersecurity policy issues including privacy, data protection, 5G next generation networking, the Internet of Things, internet governance, and digital economic policy.

She is currently vice chair of the board of directors of the Internet Education Foundation, which governs outside work for the Congressional Internet Caucus and State of the Net annual conference, The Chair of the Internet Society DC Chapter, on the board of SeedAI, and the Chairman of the board of directors of TechFreedom. She is also the Chair of the Dynamic Coalition on Internet of Things for the International Internet Governance Forum. She has previously served as co-chair of the Internet Governance Forum USA, and on the boards of the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation, Information Technology Industry Council, and the Global Women’s Innovation Network.

Previously, Ms. Tews managed internet security and digital commerce issues as vice president of global policy for Verisign Inc. She began her career in the George H. W. Bush White House as a deputy associate director in the Office of Cabinet Affairs, and later moved to Capitol Hill as a legislative director for a member of Congress.

Daniel is a proven global cross industry (Financial Services, Telecommunications, Industrial, and Technology) cybersecurity and technology executive and thought leader with extensive experience in all facets of cybersecurity technology development and operations. Having held positions such as CTO, VP Security R&D, Director of Advanced Cybersecurity, and Chief Cybersecurity Architect in large transnational organizations as well as innovative security technology start-ups.

Daniel has a deep technical background in security that has involved novel R&D, product and standards development, as well as working as a leader/contributor across multiple industry and government groups. He has been a key technical contributor to U.S. government expert testimony and cyber policy. Daniel has been involved with and/or has led working groups in IEEE, IEC, U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), and the U.S. White House Office of Science and Technology for defining security standards, best practices, and strategies. Through his start-ups and other organizations Daniel’s work has had impact with national security organizations and objectives, and Presidential Commissions for Cybersecurity. He has written multiple patents in the security field and contributed to numerous industry and government reports and strategies globally.

Daniel currently leads Security Product R&D for Arctic Wolf which includes leading our MDR, MR, and Security Intelligence and Analytics & Analytics.

Lena Trudeau is the Chief Operating Officer of Fu Associates, Ltd., a technology firm that provides data analytics and digital advisory services to public good organizations.

Lena is an experienced entrepreneur and executive. She has served as CEO of a high growth technology services firm, led Amazon Web Services’ expansion into global public sector markets, and held senior executive positions in both the U.S. and Canadian Governments, helping to stand up both 18F (the first in-house digital service in the U.S. Government) and the Canadian Digital Service.

Lena serves on the Boards of the Canadian American Business Council and the Internet Society, Canada Chapter.

Throughout her career, Lena has worked at the intersection of technology, security, and privacy. Her perspective is informed by insights gained from being on all sides of the security and privacy debate — as an advisor to technology policy-makers, as a business leader accountable for compliance, and as a citizen whose private data has been stolen.

Kirsten Turnbull is a Technical Specialist, Security & Compliance at Microsoft responsible for providing deep subject matter expertise to customers in Microsoft’s Security portfolio.

A career spanning almost 20 years in Network Security covering both IT and OT networks throughout Canada and abroad has provided Kirsten the insight into the challenges that companies face when implementing Cyber Security protections. Having spent significant amounts of time in the Oil & Gas, Manufacturing, Utility, Pharmaceutical, Mining and Start Up industries provided Kirsten the ability to truly understand the needs of each specific industry and more importantly the risks they face.

Helping mentor and guide and Women into a Cyber Security career is one of Kirsten’s passions. She herself had an incredible mentor that helped shape her career and it inspires her to do the same for others.

Sybila Valdivieso is Executive Director and Senior Legal Counsel with the Provincial Health Services Authority where she oversees the Information Access Privacy department and the Technology Development Office. In her role, she has the opportunity to work across the health sector with colleagues who bring substantial expertise in the areas of healthcare, privacy, data protection, data analytics, information security, governance, technology, intellectual property and commercialization in support of the overarching goal of better patient care for British Columbians. It is her work throughout the pandemic that has spearheaded her interest in AI and Robotics in healthcare, with a view to contributing to the larger discourse of AI on key practicalities so that future regulations of AI in British Columbia consider the full potential of AI in healthcare, while also protecting patients’ rights.

Heather Vescent is a digital identity industry thought leader and futurist with more than a decade of experience delivering strategic intelligence consulting to governments, corporations and entrepreneurs. Vescent’s research has been covered in the New York Times, CNN, American Banker, CNBC, Fox and the Atlantic. She is co-author of the The Secrets of Spies, The Cyber Attack Survival Manual and The Comprehensive Guide to Self Sovereign Identity.

David is Principal at David Young Law, a privacy and regulatory counsel practice. He has been advising clients on privacy issues since prior to the enactment of Canada’s private sector privacy laws. He advises both private and public sectors on all aspects of privacy law including compliance procedures, consent, data sharing, employee privacy, personal health information, security, breach response and access to information. David advises on marketing matters including digital advertising, anti-spam, social media and food and drug law. His practice also includes corporate regulatory compliance.

David is a co-author of Canadian Advertising and Marketing Law (Carswell) and Marketing Communications Services Agreement – Commentary and Model Agreement 5th ed. (Association of Canadian Advertisers).

David is the 2015 recipient of the Ontario Bar Association’s Karen Spector Memorial Award for Excellence in Privacy Law. He is recognized as a ranked lawyer in the Canadian Legal Lexpert Directory and Chambers & Partners 2021 Canada Guide. David is a member of the Canadian Marketing Association’s Ethics and Standards Committee. David is a director of the Canadian Helen Keller Centre.

John Weigelt leads Microsoft Canada’s strategic policy and technology efforts. Mr. Weigelt helps individuals and organizations across Canada innovate with technology while avoiding the unintended consequences that might arise. He leads Canadian outreach for a variety of technology policies including: Economic Development, Privacy, Security, Government 3.0, Accessibility, Ai ethics and Interoperability. He also leads Microsoft Canada’s Responsible AI program and was one of the authors of Canada’s National Standard on Ethics in the Design and Use of Automated Decision Systems.

Robert Wong is currently the Chair of the Broader Public Sector (BPS) Cyber Security Expert Panel, reporting to the Minister of Government and Consumers Services for the Province of Ontario, to provide advice and recommendations to strengthen the digital resilience and enhance the cyber security posture of BPS partners.

He is also the Principal of Hesketh Sloane Advisory, an executive consulting and advisory services provider specializing in the areas of corporate governance, strategy, enterprise risk management, information technology, cyber security, operations, and performance management.

Robert was the former Executive Vice-President, Chief Information Officer at Toronto Hydro-Electric System Limited. He had held the senior IT role since 2010 and was responsible for the overall delivery of information technology services for the organization, including operational technology, cyber security, and telecommunications. He had also held the role of Chief Risk Officer, having developed and implemented Toronto Hydro’s Enterprise Risk Management system, and had responsibility for strategic planning, corporate governance, performance measurement, and business continuity. Having been with the organization for over 32 years, he has extensive industry experience in the electrical distribution operations areas of the business and working with the company’s board of directors.

Robert had also served as a member of the Board of Directors, Finance and Audit, and Research Committees of Canadian Cyber Threat Exchange (CCTX).

A professional engineer with a Bachelor of Applied Science Degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of Toronto, Robert also holds a Master of Business Administration Degree from the Schulich School of Business at York University, and the Chartered Director (C.Dir.) designation from The Directors College (a collaboration between McMaster University and The Conference Board of Canada).

John Wunderlich is a data protection professional and expert witness who has worked and consulted about privacy, data protection, and security for over 20 years in multiple jurisdictions. He has provided advice and consulting services to multiple public and private sector organizations in Canada, the United States and abroad.

John is a participant and leader in international privacy standards including the ISO, IEEE, and the Kantara Initiative. He serves as the Chief Privacy Officer for JLINC Labs, a Bay Area start-up that has developed protocols and software for data governance and accountability that addresses multiple privacy standards and regulations. Before launching his consulting practice, he designed and implemented process improvement, security & privacy programs and was a senior policy advisor to the Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario.

Mr. Wunderlich is the vice-chair of the IEEE P7002 Data Privacy Process Working Group that has created the “Data Privacy Process” standard for software engineers. In the Kantara Initiative, he has contributed to several efforts, most recently leading the Privacy Enhancing Mobile Credentials Work Group. He is member of the Standards Council of Canada ISO working group for the development of security and privacy standards. He is also a member of the CIO Strategy Council group that is developing a National Technical Specification for digital credentials and digital trust services. Mr. Wunderlich is a privacy member for the Toronto SickKids Hospital Research Ethics Board. He teaches privacy and security related courses at the University of Guelph. He has authored or contributed to several books and is a frequent speaker at privacy and security conferences as well as a sought-after commentator on privacy issues in the print and broadcast media.

He is a member and Fellow of Information Privacy (FIP) of the International Association of Privacy Professionals (IAPP), holding both a Certified Information Privacy Professional/Canada (CIPP/C) and a Certified Information Privacy Manager (CIPM) certification. Mr. Wunderlich has an B.A. (Hon. History) from the University of Manitoba and an M.B.A. from the John Molson School of Business at Concordia University.

Drew McArthur retired from TELUS in 2007 as Vice President Corporate Affairs and Chief Compliance Officer. As Chief Compliance Officer, Drew was responsible for legal and regulatory compliance for all of TELUS’ operations, reporting to the Audit Committee of the Board of Directors. The responsibilities of this role included ensuring TELUS had the appropriate controls, policies and measurements in place to be compliant with many areas of law and regulation. Drew played a key role in the privacy community in Canada as a founding member of the Council of Canadian Chief Privacy Officers and a member of the advisory board of the International Association of Privacy Professionals (IAPP). From June 2016 to April 2018, Drew was the Acting Information and Privacy Commissioner for BC, and is now consulting in the area of privacy. He can be contacted at drew.mcarthur@telus.net.

Roxanna Dehghan is the Director for Privacy Governance and Operations at Provincial Health Services Authority (PHSA), where she provides strategic direction and leadership across all aspects of privacy governance and operation, including policies, practices, education, information stewardship, data governance, audit. Roxanna leads provincial privacy programs that impact all BC health authorities and she, along with her team, leads the development of provincial standards in such programs. Internal to PHSA, Roxanna and her team provide guidance, support, education and awareness to staff, physicians and researchers employed by PHSA to ensure compliance to British Columbia’s Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act. Although new to healthcare, Roxanna is not new to public sector privacy, she previously worked within Information Privacy and Security team with the Government of British Columbia Ministry of Citizen Services prior to PHSA. Roxanna holds a Masters of Information, her specialization was Identity Security and Privacy from the University of Toronto and she also has her certified privacy professional certification for Canada and Europe (CIPP/C and CIPP/E) with the International Association of Privacy Professionals. Outside of privacy work, Roxanna enjoys, hiking with her dog Bernie, cycling, skiing and exploring all over British Columbia for the best surf spot.

Quinn Fletcher is currently the Privacy Officer for the Ministry of Health and Ministry of Mental Health and Addictions. Prior to joining the health sector, he worked in the corporate privacy office for the Province of BC in the Ministry of Citizens’ Services overseeing the review of over a thousand privacy impact assessments a year, while working with all ministries on new legislation, projects, systems and any other challenging privacy problems. He brings a background in client service and information studies.

Seana-Lee has been working in the field of privacy in health care for over 20 years. She is a published author in privacy in health care and has worked with several post secondary institutions in the development of course materials in privacy and release of information. In her career she has overseen the development of over 9000 Privacy and Security Impact Assessments and has incorporated the theme of “Privacy and Security by Design” in her work since 2004. Most recently Ms.Hamilton has been focusing on assisting Primary Care Networks within the Fraser Health Region in privacy legislation (public and private) navigation. Ms. Hamilton has the following certifications: CHIM, CIPP/C, MAPP, CIAPP-P, TFL.

Penny Longman is the Director, Information Security and Data Stewardship at Fraser Health. She has experience in a variety of industries across Canada, in IT and Security and is especially passionate about real transformational change in security awareness and management within organisations.

Daniel Nam is a lawyer and privacy professional with an extensive range of legal skills and business experience in privacy, regulatory compliance, and enterprise risk management. As Senior Legal Counsel, Leader, Privacy and Freedom of Information for Vancouver Coastal Health Authority (VCH), he is responsible for all issues relating to privacy and information access as well as providing leadership to the VCH Information Privacy Office and the VCH Freedom of Information Office. Prior to VCH, Daniel served as Chief Privacy Officer for Vancity Credit Union. He also currently serves on British Columbia’s Data Stewardship Committee as an appointed member by the Ministry of Health.

Janet Scott is the Director for Information Access & Privacy at Providence Health Care (PHC), where she, along with her team, provide advice, support and education to Staff, Physicians and researchers to ensure compliance to BC’s privacy legislation. Janet has worked in various roles in healthcare, starting her journey as a laboratory technologist doing ‘bench’ work and then moving into teaching, supervisory and management roles. She has worked in both small and large hospitals and in a private laboratory before coming to PHC. Janet is a Registered Laboratory Technologist with an advance degree in Clinical Microbiology. She also holds an MBA from Simon Fraser University and is a Certified Privacy Professional (CIPP/C) with the International Association of Privacy Professionals.

Greg Stolhand is a Regional Director at Medigate. Before joining Medigate, Greg spent 3 years at ThunderCat Technology (SDVOSB) serving the VA and DoD Healthcare system as a Medigate channel partner.

Sandy is a cybersecurity engineer with a background in safety-critical and security-critical systems. He helps clients in compliance and regulation-heavy industries develop and mature their cyber security programs to meet their business objectives as well as integrate security into their engineering and development practices. Most recently, Sandy has been focused on ensuring the privacy and security of cloud and IoT systems and the automation of security and compliance controls. He has worked with clients from a wide range of industries including, Automotive, Aerospace, Maritime, Oil and Gas, Energy, and High Tech. He is involved on the boards of both Vancouver and Vancouver Island’s information security communities and helped to produce the inaugural B|Sides Vancouver Island security conference. Starting in 2020 he is acting as Co-producer for B|Sides Vancouver, the city’s premier grassroots information security conference. Sandy holds a BASC in Computer Engineering from the University of British Columbia, an Advanced Diploma in Mechanical Engineering Technology from St. Clair College, and holds the CISA (Certified Information Systems Auditor) and GCSA (GIAC Cloud Security Automation) certifications.

Since its inception, Cherie Burgett has worked with the Mining and Metals ISAC. Responsible for the threat research and analysis of the ever-changing landscape affecting the Mining and Metals sectors. With a unique background in Theology, she brings a nuanced perspective to the ethics and human condition relating to both threat actor groups and the people defending our critical infrastructure.

Over the past two decades, Alex has helped organizations increase situational awareness and enable better preventative, detective and responsive capabilities. Alex has worked within three mission critical Security Operation Centres (SOC), designed and operated the Vancouver 2010 Olympics honeypot and most recently co-founder Mirai Security in 2017.

Over the past 5 years Alex has been leveraging his experience to help enterprises digitally transform securely through pragmatic governance, secure Cloud adoption and maturing software development practices to align with privacy and security requirements

Rob Labbe is an accomplished Senior Executive with more than 20 years of success across the IT security industry, within mining, software development, telecommunications, retail, oil & gas, manufacturing and healthcare. Leveraging extensive experience in cyber-security risk management and critical infrastructure, he is a valuable advisor for an organization that is concerned around the security of their manufacturing or industrial networks, needing to enable a digital transformation. His broad areas of expertise include risk management, building diverse cyber-security teams, vendor management, training, and professional development. Throughout his executive career, Rob has held leadership positions with Teck Resources Limited, Mining and Metals Information Sharing and Analysis Center, Microsoft, and Fidelis IT Inc.

Armed with over 20 years of experience in various security roles, Stephen is an esteemed security practitioner, boasting expert level knowledge of operating system and network internals enabling him to architect, implement, support, and manage a wide variety of security solutions. A strong believer in maximizing existing solutions and capabilities before seeking new technology solutions, Stephen uses all the tools at his disposal to help enterprise clients reduce business risk and improve their security posture. His experience leading both operational and architectural security teams while securing and segregating industrial control networks in a sizeable oil and gas environment has given him a strong understanding of real-world security challenges. With many additional years of experience responding to breaches and performing security assessments and penetration tests, Stephen understands the many ways in which an organization can be compromised and continues to work with clients to enhance their visibility, detect and respond to threats. Stephen holds many cybersecurity certifications and is a Certified Instructor for SANS, the leading provider of information security training.

Vivek has 23+ years of experience in Industrial Control Systems, of which 8+ years in OT Security, and currently serves customers in Western Canada for Nozomi Networks with market-leading OT and IoT Security & Visibility solutions. Having started his career in ICS as an Instrumentation Technician, he became a Controls Engineer and commissioned Gas Turbine Controls systems in Europe, Middle-East, Africa and South-East Asia. Over his career, Vivek held multiple roles including Sales, Marketing & Business Development and Services covering Control systems & Cybersecurity solutions for Critical Infrastructure (Power, Oil & Gas, Water, Mining) industries at GE and ICI Electrical Engineering in North America. He is the co-lead for the Top 20 Secure PLC Coding Practices Project and his recent talks/contributions include ICS Village (DefCon 29), Industrial Security Conference in Copenhagen & several BSides. Vivek has a Bachelors Degree in Electrical Engineering from I.E. India, MBA from The University of Texas at Austin and GICSP certification from GIAC. He is an active member of the Infosec community in Vancouver, BC as a Board Member for Mainland Advanced Research Society, member of the ISA and also a Volunteer for ISACA.

Victor Badejo is a Cyber Security Manager in PwC’s Consulting practice based in Vancouver. He has over 5 years of experience helping retail, public sector and financial services clients develop and sustain their information security programs. Victor has been involved in cloud security assessments and implementations, security architecture and deployment of enterprise SIEM/SOC solutions for multiple organizations across Western Canada.

Victor currently serves as the certifications Director at ISACA Vancouver Chapter and an Advisory Board member at New York Tech Vancouver’s cybersecurity program. Victor has a Masters Degree in Information, Network and Computer Security and holds the CISSP and CISA designations.

Shawn R. Chaput is an Information Security Architect with Central 1 Credit Union, in Vancouver, Canada. With a past of entrepreneurship, running his own PCI QSA company, and working for large consulting firms like IBM, EDS/HP, and Accenture, he has more than 20 years of experience in information security, now specializing in strategy and compliance related to regulations like PCI DSS, SWIFT, OSFI, and BCFSA.

Shawn holds a Master of Business Administration focusing on the Management of Technology from the Beedie School of Business at Simon Fraser University and an BA in Economics and Political Science from the University of Winnipeg. Over the last 25 years, he has also collected more than thirty industry certifications across multiple technical and best practices disciplines, such as those from (ISC)2, IIA, PMI, Microsoft365/Azure, and Amazon.

Pouria Ghatrenabi is a Manager within PwC Canada’s Cloud Security Practice. With +15 years of professional experience, he has led many security transformations, cloud migration, security automation, and security solution implementation projects for the Canadian financial sector clients. Pouria holds two master’s degrees in eBusiness Technologies and IT Management.

Shiv Gill is the Sergeant in charge of the Vancouver Police Department Financial Crime Unit. Responsible for the overall management and direction of all fraud related investigations in the city of Vancouver. Shiv brings with him decades of experience in all types of high-level criminal investigations that have been local, national, and international in scope. The types of investigations that Shiv has led include: Homicides, Cross-border firearms trafficking, Fraud, Cyber-Fraud, Sex Crimes, and Extortions/Kidnappings. Shiv is also a forensic interviewer and teaches investigative interviewing to both the public and private sector.

Anna has been with the Vancouver Police for 21 years. Her career has span from front line policing in East Vancouver (DTES) to the West side of Vancouver. She then went into investigations working in Domestic Violence (developing and running the Elder Abuse Unit – the 2nd unit of its kind in BC), Recruiting, Mental Health Unit, Homicide Support Team and now the Financial Crime Unit.

She is a member of the IAFCI (International Association of Financial Crime Investigators) and is the Co-Chair on the Financial Abuse Investigators Action Group. Anna lives in North Vancouver with her husband and their two dogs.

Alvin Madar is a Cyber Security Partner in PwC’s Vancouver office with over 20 years of experience in information security. Alvin has been involved in strategy development, solution architecture, threat and vulnerability management, and deployment of many enterprise solutions for multiple financial institutions across BC. He has been involved in a number of IT transformation projects, and has worked as interim CISOs for a number of organizations, helping to develop their information security programs. Alvin is also a leading subject matter specialist in cyber incident response advisory, helping clients through breach preparedness, breach response and compromise assessments.

Jennifer has been with the Vancouver Police for 25 years now. Her career started in patrol working on the South Slope, West side then into East Vancouver and the DTES.

She went into policy writing for the Planning/Research & Audit Section, she branched out into investigations working as a Detective in the General Investigation Unit, then Major Crime Unit (Robbery/Assault/Arson Unit) where she was also the Liaison Officer between police and Jewelers Vigilance Canada. Jennifer was seconded to work in Special Projects for the Professional Standards Section and now works as a Detective in the Financial Crime Unit

Heidi Miller is the Privacy Officer at Synergy Credit Union. She is also one of the facilitators in the Co-operative Development Foundation of Canada’s Women’s Mentorship Program to help mentor women from developing countries on all things in the credit union system. Heidi has over thirty-five years of experience in the credit union system with nineteen of these being in the role of Privacy Officer. Heidi has her Chartered Access and Privacy Professional designation from the Privacy and Access Council of Canada and was one of the first graduates from the University of Alberta’s Information Access and Protection of Privacy Program back in 2010.

Stephen has a Bachelor of Technology in Electrical Engineers from Cape Peninsular University South Africa. He also holds professional designations in Security Management, Intrusion Detection, Incident Response and Forensics from the SANS Institute. Stephen holds a MBA through SFU’s Beedie School of Business. His Information Security career began in the mid-nineties connecting corporations to the Internet. Prior to joining Coast Capital Savings Federal Credit Union as Director information Security in 2017, Stephen spent 20 years in the Telecom sector (Telus) where he held a variety of security leadership roles.

Jason Wang is Chief Risk Officer at Synergy Credit Union, a top tier credit union in Saskatchewan. He is also an Advisory Board Member of Marble Financial, a Vancouver-based fintech. Jason has nearly two decades of experience working as a risk, compliance and analytics professional in the U.S. and Canadian financial services industry. Jason is frequently featured in print media and live TV interviews, ranging from Bloomberg, Business New Network (BNN), Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC), to Canadian Television (CTV). Jason has an MBA from New York University, and is a CFA charter holder.

Todd is the Cybersecurity Program Coordinator and Instructor for the Abbotsford School District Careers Department. He also serves as the Chair of the High School Partnership Program on the ISACA Vancouver Board. With the ongoing labour shortage in the cybersecurity industry in British Columbia and globally, Palo Alto Networks partnered with a number of school districts in BC to promote cybersecurity among high school students, and to certify them with entry level certification, skills and knowledge. Todd has brought this program to fruition in Abbotsford and promotes high school cybersecurity across the province through his role with ISACA. He believes that we shouldn’t wait until students graduate high school, let alone post-secondary before we prepare them for a career in cybersecurity. Let’s work together to bring this about today.

Steve Eccles is the Regional CEO and Dean of Northeastern University’s campus in Vancouver, BC. He brings a unique background to his role at Northeastern, combining corporate C-suite executive experience with postsecondary education innovation and leadership. With a shared values-based approach to building teams and supporting student success, he focuses on education and workforce development strategies that secure positive economic and social outcomes for British Columbia.

Prior to joining Northeastern, Steve was the Dean of the School of Computing at BCIT. He’s also previously led the Centre for CEO Leadership at the Sauder School of Business at UBC. Additionally, Steve has over a decade of experience in the financial sector including his role as VP, Investments at HSBC Global Asset Management.

Manager of Cyber Security Operations and IT Compliance, Chartered Professional Accountants of British Colombia (CPABC).

Since 2019, Anthony has built up and led the team responsible for CPABC’s security program. He joined CPABC from London Drugs, one of Western Canada’s largest retailers, where he was leading PCI DSS compliance as a Security Analyst.

Through CPABC’s newsroom, Anthony curates and publishes articles, podcasts, and other resources. He has also taught a post-degree program in security fundamentals at Vancouver Community College and a Cyber strategy and risk management Micro-Credential course at the University of British Columbia.

Kyle is the current President of the ISACA Vancouver Chapter and has been a member of ISACA for over 10 years. His personal purpose is to enable those on stage to be their best so they can deliver superior results. Through his current role as a Senior Manager in Consulting at EY, he helps clients in a variety of industries, including technology, government & public sector, healthcare, mining, and power & utilities. His areas of specialization include IT risk and controls, internal audit, compliance reporting, and enterprise risk management. He is currently a member of the EY Canada Consulting Quality & Risk Management team where he works with and coaches Consulting teams from across Canada to deliver high quality service to EY’s clients and protect the firm's brand and reputation.

One of his passions is personal development. At EY, he is an avid knowledge contributor and as a firm qualified facilitator, he regularly facilitates technical and non-technical training sessions for engagement teams and new staff. He also frequently speak to students and participate in multiple mentorship programs as a mentor and mentee.

Principal Consultant of Carmel Info-Risk, Edward is a veteran of over 17 years in information risk, security, governance, compliance and privacy, and an additional 15+ years in auditing, retail systems and financial systems, and e-commerce development.

As Security Director at two public companies, Edward founded a cybersecurity function at each, and also led one to its first Level II PCI compliance certification.

As a trusted advisor, Edward has applied his information risk expertise in numerous industry sectors including retail, tourism, technology, transportation, education, health, government, mining, financial services, and e-commerce. Edward is conversant with various regulations, including PCI, and SOC 2.

Edward is a Past President and Board volunteer of ISACA Vancouver for the past 10 years, was co-founder of the award-winning BC AWARE CAMPAIGN, and founding member of the Government of British Columbia’s Provincial Security Advisory Council (BC-PSAC). Edward is also an advisor to the Vancouver International Privacy & Security Summit, and a member of the Cyber Security Collaborative Forum. Edward was also recently awarded the 2022 Distinguished Service Award by the CPA Association of British Columbia.

Kimberley St. Pierre has worked in IT & Business Development for over 20 years. She has worked for Canadian technology giants TELUS and Bell, and also has experience working for the world’s largest cybersecurity vendors. She has specialized in cybersecurity for the last five years and has become completely addicted to the field as global cyber risks continue to rise as does the talent shortage. Her desire to give back to her community has led to a number of board director roles for NFP organizations over 15 years. Her most recent past board role was Vice President of ISACA Vancouver currently she serves on ISACA’s One In Tech Foundation global SheLeadsTech Leadership Council and is a member of the Government of B.C.’s Provincial Security Advisory Council. Kimberley is very passionate about mentoring, connecting, and inspiring people. Outside of her professional life, she is an avid equestrian and an amateur competitive show jumper.

Sharlene Tan recently finished her Computer Information Technology (CIT) Diploma from BCIT. Her current role as Pagefreezer’s Information Security Coordinator ties in suitably with her pursuit of a bachelor’s degree in Technology for Cybersecurity and Digital Forensics. She is also a member of the ISACA Vancouver Chapter, where she is able to network and get mentored by seasoned cybersecurity professionals. As a recent graduate with only a couple years of experience in the tech field, Sharlene is eager to provide any guidance and help to students and newcomers into the cybersecurity field. With first-hand experience in the struggles of looking for that first job, she understands that getting your foot in the door can be the hardest part. In her spare time, you can find Sharlene walking her chihuahua and watching sitcoms.

Taking technology transformations to new heights. Steve currently works in the information and communication technology ecosystem providing strategic solutions to his clients. Steve sees patterns where others see noise, whether it is cyber/digital forensics, big data analytics challenges, risk management, digital transformation, or strategic innovation leadership. Combined with a number of professional and academic certifications; Steve epitomizes industry best practices within the field of information and communication technology, providing strategic insights for successful outcomes. Some of his past clients come from a variety of industries including financial services, law enforcement, oil and gas, retail, legal services, government, transportation, education and non-profit.

Owen Davidas joined City of White Rock in 2017 as the Network Administrator. I am responsible for maintenance, operation of the city’s IT infrastructure including cloud apps and SCADA networks. Before White Rock, I was security Analyst at Family Insurance and Network administrator Samsung Canada. I led projects involving improvement of security controls, financial audits, PCI compliance and security testing. I look forward to meeting and having discussion with other technology professionals to share experiences and work collaboratively to solve challenges we face today on IT security. When I am not on my laptop, I venture outdoors on the trails or appreciating the waters around our beautiful province.

Renata Hale is the Director of Technology & Strategy with the Municipal Finance Authority of BC (MFA), where she leverages external opportunities and internal resources to achieve the MFA’s mission to support the financial success of all BC Local Governments. As a proponent of life-long learning, she is pleased to also manage the MFA’s ‘third-pillar’ of championing, funding, and delivering financial and other relevant education and events for MFA Stakeholders. She is a CPA, CGA, holds a Bachelor of Accounting Science, and has worked on the boards of several animal welfare organizations for which she has a passion.

David Morrish is the founder and CEO of MBS Techservices Inc. (MBS Tech). His career in the information security industry started over two decades ago, and his innovative style of leadership has earned him recognition in the industry.

MBS Tech is an established cyber security consultancy providing organisations in public and private sectors with security risk assessment and compliance, penetration testing, architecture, cybercrime investigation, industrial espionage defence, and cyber security software. David has built a very successful team of highly experienced and motivated experts from different paths of IT, network, cyber security, intelligence, police, and business consultancy. Such a combination of skills and experience, combined with the highest levels of security clearance, allows our team to solve, mitigate and prevent the recurrence of any challenge that cyber criminals pose to our clients.

Currently, David sits on major aviation committees for the Aerospace Association of Canada and is also a special representative to the Cybercom advisory committee at the International Organisation for Aerospace Industry Associations.

David has an education from BCIT and MIT. He also served in the Military. David is an avid skier, tennis player and pilot.

Jason is a lifelong technologist, with interests varying from software development, data and security to emerging technologies such as distributed ledger and artificial intelligence. Jason has specialized in the Identity Management domain for more than a decade. As the Director of Client Relationship Management in the Province of BC’s Provincial Identity Management Program, Jason leads the team responsible for Onboarding and Integration with the province’s identity management solutions – our legacy BCeID username and password, and the BC Services Card multi-factor authentication solution.

Mike Palmer has 20 years experience in local government delivering technology solutions across a broad set of lines of business and key stakeholders. Leading technology innovation in local government is highly rewarding when you are improving citizen services and working with departments to streamline and improve their business processes on a day to day basis. The top challenge today in local government is the balance between enabling and protecting the organization with the current cyber security threat landscape.

David Polano is a seasoned IT security professional with more than 20 years of cybersecurity experience in the public and private sectors. As the Cybersecurity Manager for the City of Vancouver, David Polano leads a team of passionate cybersecurity professionals keen on improving the City’s cyber defense and response capabilities. Outside of work, David is dedicated husband and father to three boys. He enjoys spending time outdoors with the family, coaching soccer and tinkering in the garage.

Technology leader and communicator with proven success in building, growing, and leading high-performing engineering teams. Sasha is a VP of Software Engineering at Mastercard where he leads an effort to build a secure privacy-first global data science platform. With over 20 years of experience in the industry, his interests are in cybersecurity, distributed systems, and AI/ML. Sasha is currently enrolled in the NYU MSc Cyber Fellows degree program with a specialization in cybersecurity.

“I believe that people are everything and that technology should be used to improve our society and the environment. I’m a husband and a father of two wonderful boys, one and four years old. When the boys are not chasing me around the home, I enjoy biking, swimming, tennis, and am an amateur woodworker.”

Aarti Gadhia is a changemaker and has dedicated her entire career to breaking down barriers and boundaries to achieve equality for underrepresented groups in STEM and in leadership. She founded Standout and SHE (Sharing Her Empowerment) to close the gender diversity gap. The outcome has been a 50% increase in the number of women being hired within the organization and 30 women in cybersecurity have begun their board journey.

She has worked with prestigious companies including Sophos, Trend Micro, Carbon Black (VMware), Bugcrowd and currently at Tines. She serves as the Board Director for ObserveID, an identity intelligence and automation platform. Aarti volunteers her time and serves on the OWASP Vancouver Board and WiCYS Western Canada Board. She was quoted in Canadian Security Magazine as she shared her views on the importance of soft skills to break down barriers in traditional hiring. Aarti was honored for her contribution to the cybersecurity community by being named as one of the Top 20 Women in Cyber Security in Canada. She is a speaker and one of the authors of the book “The Rise of the Cyber Women: Volume Two” as she shared her Safari of experiences as a change agent paving the path for future generations.

Due to her international background, she loves to travel and learn different cultures. If you’ve seen her post on LinkedIn titled Phulka Roti, you’ll know that she enjoys cooking.

Nancy is a Senior Developer Advocate for the GitHub Security Lab, where she helps security researchers and developers collaborate and communicate better. In her spare time co-leads the OWASP DevSlop Project and is a member of the AWS Community Builder group. Nancy was named one of the Top 20 Women Leaders in Cyber in Canada, 2021.

Mrigakshi is passionate about speaking for cybersecurity and following best practices to create a cybersafe world. She is currently working at Finning International as an Information Security Engineer and has worked in Application Security at Optiv, Bugcrowd and Accenture in the past.

With about 8 years in the IT industry and Masters’ in Cybersecurity, she is here to present on File upload bypass as an emerging threat. She believes that while the OWASP top 10 is focused on shifting left, vulnerabilities like File upload restriction bypass are still important areas to research on.

Tanya Janca, also known as SheHacksPurple, is the best-selling author of ‘Alice and Bob Learn Application Security’. She is also the founder of We Hack Purple, an online learning academy, community and podcast that revolves around teaching everyone to create secure software. Tanya has been coding and working in IT for over twenty years, won countless awards, and has been everywhere from startups to public service to tech giants (Microsoft, Adobe, & Nokia). She has worn many hats; startup founder, pentester, CISO, AppSec Engineer, and software developer. She is an award-winning public speaker, active blogger & streamer and has delivered hundreds of talks and trainings on 6 continents. She values diversity, inclusion and kindness, which shines through in her countless initiatives.

Advisor: Nord VPN, Cloud Defense, NeuraLegion, ICTC PAC, WoSEC

Founder: We Hack Purple, WoSEC International (Women of Security), OWASP DevSlop, #CyberMentoringMonday

Dr. Baljeet Malhotra, is an award-winning researcher known for his work in Open Source and API Data Management. He conceptualized the world’s first “API Composition Analysis” based on source code static analysis. He founded TeejLab in 2017 and steered the team to build API Discovery and Security™, world’s first comprehensive end-to-end API Management platform. Prior to TeejLab, he established the R&D unit of Black Duck Software in 2016 (acquired by Synopsys), he has also served as Research Director at SAP. He received a PhD in Computing Science from the University of Alberta and won several awards including NSERC (Canada) scholar in 2005 and Global Young Scientist (Singapore). He concurrently holds Adjunct Professor positions at the University of British Columbia, University of Victoria and University of Northern BC.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/heidibmartin/

Harsh is an offensive security professional, whose experience is diversified with various aspects of penetration testing such as Web, Mobile, Network, Iot, Infrastructure. He has found various bugs and received hall of fame or bounties on platforms like Bugcrowd and Hackerone. Currently he is a Senior Security Consultant at PwC. Moreover, he is among the top 20 in Canada on platforms like Hackthebox and Tryhackme. He has won several ctf events and takes immense pleasure in mentoring/guiding other beginners in the field of cybersecurity. He has done various pentesting projects with the financial and e-commerce sectors. Harsh will be delivering the talk on bypassing file upload restrictions in modern web applications. He has spoken previously at Owasp and Null conferences respectively.

Betsy is a Security Engineer on the team at Amazon that is responsible for securing all the applications in Amazon’s Consumer Payments Infrastructure. Prior to this, she was a Product Security Engineer for the Salesforce AppExchange and other core Salesforce products. Having spent most of her career in application security, she is passionate about proactive security and developer enablement. She was an active member of the Bay Area security community and hopes to do the same with her move to Vancouver.

Jeff brings more than 20 years of security leadership experience as co-founder and Chief Technology Officer of Contrast Security. He recently authored the DZone DevSecOps, IAST, and RASP refcards and speaks frequently at conferences including JavaOne (Java Rockstar), BlackHat, QCon, RSA, OWASP, Velocity, and PivotalOne. Jeff is also a founder and major contributor to OWASP, where he served as Global Chairman for 9 years, and created the OWASP Top 10, OWASPEnterprise Security API, OWASP Application Security Verification Standard, XSS Prevention Cheat Sheet, and many more popular open source projects. Jeff has a BA from Virginia, an MA from George Mason, and a JD from Georgetown.