CIO Council

Top 20 Women in Cyber Security 🇨🇦 2020 - Experienced executive in strategy, policy, operations and cyber security; MBA BCSc; Director General Email and Workplace Technology Services, Shared Services Canada and Member CIO Association of Canada; Former: DPI Board Director; CIO Strategy Council member; and advisor to Silicon Valley start-up;

VJ Viswanathan is a seasoned global technology executive recognized and awarded for technology innovation, capability transformation and inclusive leadership. Most recently, VJ is the founding partner at CYFORIX, a global cybersecurity research, advisory & strategy firm delivering solutions to public and private sectors. He serves as the CEO at TORQE, a specialized due diligence, advisory and technology services firm delivering value through analytics and automation. VJ is also the co-host of ELEVATEINTEL, a podcast series at the nexus of technology, social and defense. With over 25 years of Enterprise technology, Cyber Security, Privacy, Compliance and Risk Management experience, VJ has a detailed track record of designing, implementing and leading highly successful programs, products & services at multinational brands spanning CPG, Telecom, Media, Supply-chain & Finance segments. As a strategic thought leader, VJ has delivered the first of its kind "Supply Chain Security" & “Omni-channel Risk management” frameworks. As a published author and featured keynote speaker at global industry events, he approaches disruptive digital paradigms with innovation, creativity and active collaboration with his key industry peers, national & international law enforcement and defense groups. VJ is an active advisor, investor at select incubators & accelerators groups. As a strategic advisor to VC & PE firms, he specializes in developing market analysis, competitive product road map and guides in opportunity mapping. As a Board member and subject matter advisor to CEOs and Corporate directors, VJ evaluates and audits cyber security program for veracity and operational effectiveness. VJ is passionate about animal rights and giving back to the technology & security industry. He has created a rescue & foster care group for large breed dogs. He is actively engaged with academic institutions and purpose driven professional groups like ‘Minorities in Cyber security’, where he serves as the Board member and chair of mentorship programs to develop the next generation talent through coaching and facilitating scholarships for cyber security education.

Jake Sloan is Vice President of Global Insurance & Healthcare for Appian. Jake has spent 20+ years utilizing technology to deliver innovative, digital transformation initiatives that often result in “largest,” “first in history,” or “unattainable” change. Jake brings extensive experience to Appian as a change leader driving strategy and business transformation in the Insurance & Healthcare industry as he collaborates with the world’s top CIO’s.

Physician, software engineer, health systems leader, educator, entrepreneur, and advocate for the underserved. I am currently the Co-Founder and CEO of Homecare Hub, where we help patients find high quality homecare and are creating new models of care to allow patients to age at home. I am also the Chief Medical Director of TD Bank Group where I am focused on improving the health and wellness of TD's 90,000 employees. My goal is to create significant positive change within our healthcare system - and am tackling this problem at all levels. My career interests include healthcare innovation, healthcare technology, healthcare quality and systems, leadership development, prevention/primary care, inner city and global health, adolescent medicine, seniors health, behavioral economics, and genomics. Key strengths include leadership, innovation, problem solving, perseverance, and integrity. I am always looking to connect with people who share a similar desire to innovate and similar vision to create positive change.

Tiyam Robati is Chief Enterprise Architect at the National Bank of Canada. She held a Ph.D. degree in Software Engineering and IT and many years of cumulative experience in delivering business values through IT organizations in different domains including Finance, Insurance, Avionics, Railways, and Telecommunications. She helps enterprises during the digital transformation journey by bridging the gap between business and IT, focusing on the long-term vision of the organization and client satisfaction.

Bilal Siddiqi is the Chief Enterprise Architect with The City of Calgary. He is responsible to manage his team and practice covering Enterprise Architecture including Business Architecture, Business Process Management and Change Management. Enterprise Architecture at The City of Calgary has completed its major EA transformation that is now helping to shape up City’s business and technology strategy, portfolio planning, transformation and governance. Bilal has EA and IT experience in multiple industry sectors including health care and global banking. He worked for global banking institution HSBC for 12 years, successfully carrying out projects across the world in New York, London, Hong Kong and Vancouver. Bilal has also been an active speaker at leading forums including Gartner.

Ron is the Baycrest executive responsible for driving innovation in the organization including the introduction of new information systems, tools and digital services for clients, clinicians, researchers and educators. Among my responsibilities, I oversee the Baycrest Innovation Office and am co-leading a transformational initiative called Baycrest @ Home, which will lever emerging technologies to enable seniors to age successfully at home. In 2015, he helped found and was the inaugural Managing Director of the Centre for Aging and Brain Health Innovation (CABHI) – a $124M, 5-year investment by the Governments of Ontario and Canada, community donors and industry partners. CABHI is a unique public-private partnership connecting seniors care organizations, clinicians, researchers and companies. Over 3-years, his team supported over 100 collaborative projects across North America advancing seniors health while driving new economic activity. Prior to Baycrest, he held two executive-level positions with the Ontario Telemedicine Network (OTN), among the world’s largest and most successful virtual healthcare delivery organizations. He was OTN's VP of Emerging Business, and was its founding CIO. He lead the team that built OTN's state-of-the-art technology infrastructure, applications and service delivery model. After extending this service across the province I then worked to deliver the model of companies, governments and health jurisdictions around the world.