Bob Parker is a Senior Vice President responsible for several areas of research at IDC.  Bob leads the global industry research teams which includes coverage of healthcare, government, retail, energy, manufacturing, and financial services as well as a cross industry group looking at emerging topics such as blockchain and robotics.  Additionally, Bob leads our teams in the enterprise applications space, services, and the IDC coverage of data intelligence which includes coverage of artificial intelligence.

Bob has been conducting industry research for over twenty years including five years at AMR Research before joining IDC.  Prior to entering the research field, Bob spent over fifteen years in various Information Technology and Operational management roles in the manufacturing industry including serving as the Chief Information Officer at Eastern Technologies, a defense contractor.

Tony Olvet is Group Vice President, Worldwide C-suite and Digital Business Research at IDC. His team’s global research focuses on the connection between business transformation and digital investments across enterprises. Tony’s analysis and insights help vendors, IT professionals, and business executives make fact-based decisions on technology strategy and digital business.

Tony has worked with clients across a variety of organizations including global IT manufacturers, enterprise software vendors, telecom service providers, financial institutions and public sector organizations. He has been quoted in major business and industry media including CIO Magazine, The Globe and Mail, CBC and The Financial Post.

He is also a frequent public speaker delivering keynote presentations at conferences, IDC webinars, and virtual events for clients. Tony is member of IDC Canada’s senior leadership team and is based in Toronto, Canada.

Megha Kumar heads software and cloud services research at IDC Canada. As a research vice president, Megha is responsible for managing and delivering projects across technology areas such as cloud services, enterprise applications, software and digital transformation for the Canadian market. She manages both the Canadian Software as a Service (SaaS) and Canadian Cloud Platforms (PaaS and IaaS) research programs in Canada

In addition to research, Megha has aided vendors with go-to-market engagements to improve market awareness and provide end users with essential guidance on technology adoption. She regularly interacts with CIOs and IT decision makers regarding their technology preferences, priorities, and concerns.

She originally joined IDC in 2007 covering the Middle East, Africa, and Turkey region, based out of Dubai, U.A.E. In her previous role at IDC, she regularly provided insights on market dynamics, vendor strategies, and end-user trends across the Middle East, Africa, and Turkey for both global and regional ICT firms as well as public sector organizations.

Megha presents at various industry and vendor conferences. She is often quoted in the media, providing opinions on technologies and market dynamics. She holds a Bachelor’s degree with Honors in Marketing from York University, Canada.

Phil is a global technology executive, CIO, and board member with over 20 years of experience leading technology organizations, delivering transformative initiatives in data and analytics, and crafting IT strategies that drive both value and growth.

Phil is currently CIO at SNDL, the largest private-sector liquor and cannabis retailer in Canada with retail banners that include Ace Liquor, Wine and Beyond, Liquor Depot, Value Buds, and Spiritleaf. Additionally, the Company operates as a licensed cannabis producer and stands as one of Canada’s premier vertically integrated cannabis enterprises.  Previously, Phil served as Vice President of Data & Technology at OMERS, Chief Information Officer at Norton Rose Fulbright Canada, Molson Coors Beverage Company, and Aeroplan, following a distinguished 15-year tenure leading technology initiatives at Procter & Gamble.

Phil is committed to advancing technology in the community, serving on the Board of Directors of Goodwill Industries Great Lakes, and as an active participant in IDC’s CIO Research Advisory Board, and the CIO Association of Canada.

Phil holds a Project Management Professional (PMP) certification, an MBA in Technology & Organizational Change from Simon Fraser University, and an Honours BA from Queen’s University. Phil is passionate about leveraging technology to drive strategic value, a passion he frequently shares as a speaker and panelist on topics such as technology trends, innovation delivery, and the Canadian enterprise technology landscape.

Jassi Kaur is a seasoned technology executive with more than two decades of experience leading enterprise technology strategies across retail, insurance, and financial services. Known for guiding organizations through growth, transformation, and operational complexity, she brings deep expertise in IT strategy, cybersecurity, process automation, enterprise platforms, and technology governance. Jassi is recognized for her collaborative leadership style and her ability to build high-performing, people-centered teams that deliver meaningful business impact.

Transitioning into the higher education sector, Jassi now serves as the Chief Information Officer for Yorkville University and Toronto Film School. In this role, she leads the institutions’ technology and security strategy, overseeing the evolution of core systems and digital capabilities that support students, faculty, and staff. Her work focuses on modernization, strengthening information security, and aligning technology investments with academic and operational priorities to drive long-term institutional growth.

Throughout her career, Jassi has built trusted partnerships with executives, boards, vendors, and teams at all levels. She is committed to developing future leaders, fostering strong stakeholder relationships, and championing strategic initiatives that create measurable, sustainable value.

As the Vice President of Technology at Coke Canada, Sarah spearheads the Technology team that is responsible for the entire suite of technology needs including developing, planning, organizing, and executing strategic initiatives. In her broad role, Sarah oversees pivotal domains such as Development & Integration, Automation, Infrastructure, Data & Reporting, as well as Network and Security. Embedding emerging technology within the overall company strategy and encouraging her team embrace a learn-fast mentality, she has helped companies use technology as a competitive advantage.

Sarah is known as a transformational and innovative leader, a problem solver with a curious mind and someone who has excellent product management and leadership skills. Her leadership philosophy is rooted in trust, and she is dedicated to cultivating a creative and inclusive work environment. She is a passionate ambassador for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, actively working to ensure that there is diverse representation withing the team while also providing space to empower the next generation of leaders.

Caren Morrison is the Senior Vice President and Chief Information Officer of Infrastructure and Enterprise Platforms at Scotiabank, where she leads technology strategy and the delivery of resilient, scalable infrastructure capabilities that support the bank’s global operations. With deep experience in driving IT innovation and operational excellence, Caren plays a key role in ensuring that technology platforms are robust, secure, and aligned with business goals. She is recognized for her leadership in building collaborative teams, strengthening system reliability, and championing digital transformation across diverse markets.

Andre Albuquerque is a Cloud and AI leader focused on one core mission: building the skills organizations need to turn AI ambition into real, lasting impact. At BMO, he leads large scale Cloud and AI capability programs that help thousands of employees build confidence, fluency, and practical skills to apply AI responsibly in their day-to-day work.

Andre’s keynotes draw from real world experience transforming how people learn and adopt AI inside complex, highly regulated environments. He speaks about why AI success depends less on advanced models and more on developing human capability, strong leadership, and a culture of trust. Known for his clear and grounded storytelling, Andre challenges audiences to rethink AI as a workforce transformation, not just a technology shift. His work helps organizations move faster, scale responsibly, and deliver measurable outcomes by investing first in people.

Bill Syrros is BDO Canada’s National AI Leader and a Partner in BDO Digital. He brings over 25 years of experience leading innovation, technology strategy, and business transformation across Canada, the US, and international markets.

As a member of BDO’s Senior Leadership Team, Bill is responsible for shaping BDO’s national AI vision and applied AI strategy. His focus is on helping organizations move beyond experimentation by embedding AI into core business operations—delivering practical, measurable outcomes while addressing governance, risk, and adoption at scale.

Prior to BDO, Bill was the CEO and a Founder of Lixar IT Inc., where he led the firm’s strategy and growth. Under his leadership, Lixar delivered connected technology solutions for global airline, automotive, and telecommunications clients, and built a strong reputation for innovation, execution, and culture.

In 2020, recognizing the accelerating opportunity in AI and advanced analytics, Lixar IT Inc. was acquired by BDO Canada with Lixar’s capabilities, practice staff, and legacy now fully integrated into BDO Digital.

BDO Digital has since evolved into a nationally recognized leader in AI and data services, bringing together decades of enterprise-scale experience across data platforms, software development, Internet of Things (IoT), and cloud technologies.

Outside of the office, Bill is a passionate supporter of Canadian music and community-based organizations, having supported and sponsored cultural initiatives in the past, including the Polaris Music Prize, Halifax Pop Explosion, and Megaphono. He believes strongly in inclusive, barrier-free communities and supports organizations like the Boys and Girls Club. Bill is also an avid cyclist, cross-country skier, and hockey player.

IT specialist and data leader at Alpha Auto Group with expertise in analytics, architecture, and systems management. Focused on turning data into strategic assets, improving operational efficiency, and building secure, scalable technology environments.

Husam Shublaq is an accomplished technology executive with over 30 years of experience leading digital transformation, enterprise modernization, and large‑scale IT operations. He has a strong record of delivering complex initiatives including AI and ML integration, platform modernization, and M&A technology alignment while managing multimillion‑dollar budgets and global teams.

He brings significant cybersecurity governance expertise, overseeing security modernization, risk mitigation, and compliance programs across regulated industries. Known for driving operational efficiencies, measurable cost savings, and scalable technology growth, Husam is a strategic leader who leverages modern IT and cybersecurity practices to strengthen organizational resilience and long‑term value creation.

Manas Khana, Senior Director of Engineering, Veryon. Currently Manas Khanas is a Senior Director of Engineering at Veryon focused toward Infrastructure and Operations/ Corporate IT and Cyber Security.

James Scott is the Canadian Field Chief Technology Officer (CTO) for Dell Technologies.  His expertise encompasses cloud architecture, modern application design, artificial intelligence, and IT security.

James has been instrumental in assisting clients worldwide with the design, security, and maintenance of multi-cloud environments, and he plays a pivotal role in how organizations are looking to deploy and leverage cloud technology to drive productivity and simplify business operations.

Ivan Nekrasov is an NVIDIA AI Field Product Manager leading customer-facing engagements and sales enablement for joint Dell-NVIDIA programs across North America. With 20+ years at Dell, he drives multi-million dollar AI infrastructure initiatives that accelerate breakthroughs in healthcare, science, and enterprise innovation. A father of three, Ivan is passionate about technology’s power to improve lives globally.

Marcela Vairo is responsible for leading the Americas Data Architecture Sales Team at IBM, helping customers with initiatives to successfully become AI Driven Businessesl driving innovation and growth across the competitive IT landscape.

Marcela has been working in the IT Industry for more than 25 years, leading diverse and high-performing sales and marketing teams and developing strategic ecosystem partnerships across the Americas. She is graduated in Industrial Engineering at University of Sao Paulo, Brazil.

David is a Senior Software Engineer at You.com leading AI Infrastructure Solutions Engineering. He helps Enterprises unlock business value and power AI transformations with realtime General and Vertical Web Search APIs. He also helped build the first LLM fully connected to the web for real-time knowledge at You.com.

Ryan Picchini serves as Chief Revenue Officer at dotCMS, leading global go-to-market strategy and revenue growth for the company’s visual headless CMS platform for compliance-led industries. With senior leadership experience across Adobe, Acquia, Total Expert, and other high-growth SaaS organizations, he brings a strong background in product marketing, demand generation, and enterprise GTM execution. His work centers on helping compliance-focused enterprises modernize digital experiences while aligning marketing, IT, and revenue teams around measurable business outcomes. 

As Regional Vice President of Systems Engineering at Fortinet, Rafi Wanounou leads a top-tier team of Systems Engineers dedicated to securing some of the largest and most ambitious digital transformation projects in the enterprise sector. With a 25-year career in technology that spans the globe, Mr. Wanounou has led teams and projects for major financial, insurance, and technology firms. Since joining Fortinet in 2009, he has played a pivotal role in establishing the company as the leading security solution in Canada, driving operational efficiencies and reliability across the customer base.
Mr. Wanounou has been instrumental in Fortinet’s growth and leadership in Cyber Security, executing strategies for hyper growth in Canada. His experience extends across both public and private sectors, establishing operational efficiencies and reliability. Passionate about nurturing future Cyber Security professionals, Mr. Wanounou actively supports the development of the Cyber Security program at Willis College.

Michael Pelosi is the Country Manager for Canada at Cohere, where he leads the strategy and deployment of secure, enterprise-grade AI for the country’s largest businesses. Responsible for Cohere’s Canadian operations, Michael partners with major leaders in finance, energy, telco, and retail, to integrate sovereign AI solutions that respect data privacy while driving real-world business value. He is currently focused on helping Canadian enterprises navigate the shift to agentic AI, enabling them to automate complex workflows and modernize their workforce securely. Michael brings over 15 years of experience scaling technology solutions, with a background that spans global tech pioneers like Google and high-growth startups. He holds an MBA from the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology and a Bachelor of Commerce from Concordia University.

Dan is the manager of Solution engineering at Rewind, where he’s spent the last four years helping businesses safeguard their critical SaaS data. With a background in software engineering, he spent his first two years at Rewind on the development team, playing a key role in building the company’s robust backup and recovery platform.

Mark Mikhail is a Principal Product Marketing Specialist at BlueCat, where he focuses on helping organizations build trusted, data-driven foundations for AI adoption and digital transformation. He works at the intersection of infrastructure, data quality, and automation, translating complex systems—spanning DNS, DHCP, IPAM, and cloud networking—into practical, business-aligned strategies.

Mark brings a pragmatic perspective to AI, emphasizing that its effectiveness depends on data quality, governance, and human oversight. He has spoken on separating AI hype from reality, advocating for human-in-the-loop approaches, privacy-preserving architectures, and responsible deployment models—particularly for organizations operating under regulatory and security constraints. His work helps enterprise and public-sector leaders operationalize AI as an assistive capability that enhances decision-making, resilience, and trust rather than replacing human expertise.

Hannah is a Toronto-based SAP BTP Solution Advisor with 5+ years of experience across SAP Services and the BTP solution space. She is supporting customers across North East (NE) and Canada, helping organizations design and adopt scalable, value-driven BTP solutions.

I thrive at the intersection of technology, innovation, and business impact. With nearly a decade in the IT space, I have worn many hats—Full Stack Developer, QA Engineer, Data Scientist, Machine Learning Engineer (MLE), AI Engineer (AIE), and Technical Architect—bringing a holistic approach to solution-building.

For the past four years, I have been focused on AI-driven solutions in the avionics industry, transforming complex challenges into scalable, high-impact applications.

Sailas Sundaram is head of product management at Zoho BI & Data Platform, where he leads the evolution of Zoho’s BI and data platform. With over a decade at Zoho, he has driven end-to-end product strategy and execution, translating advanced technologies into measurable business impact.

In addition to product leadership, Sailas oversees business strategy, operations, and growth for Zoho BI and data platforms in North America, and leads the BI technology and consulting partner ecosystem. His expertise spans BI, AI, DSML, and SaaS, with a strong focus on aligning data platforms with enterprise decision-making.

Shane Schick tells stories that help people innovate, and to manage the change innovation brings.

As a content marketing consultant, Shane has helped organizations ranging from the world’s most recognized technology brands to the smallest agencies and startups to tell more authentic and engaging stories about the communities they serve.

Lee Rennick is the Vice President, Tech Evangelist at IDC, where she hosts CIO Leadership Live in Canada, the UK and US. She interviews senior technology leaders to discuss leadership, current topics, and technology trends for weekly interviews on cio.com. She participates in events, moderates round tables and writes blogs to cover technology industry topics. Lee is passionate about DEI&A, women in leadership and supports Hackergal a charitable organization whose vision is to pave the way for a technology industry that is diverse and inclusive of girls and underrepresented groups across Canada. She also is a Leader for the Foundry ERG group, I Stand with Her. Lee lives on a farm, and has horses, goats, chickens and bees, and a llama named Poppy.

Allice Shandler, a seasoned event management professional, orchestrates captivating and seamless experiences in the technology, hospitality, entertainment, and manufacturing industries. With a proven track record spanning the past 25 years, she skillfully designs and executes a multitude of events, both virtual and in-person, to bring together like-minded individuals for the purpose of sharing knowledge and forging connections. She is an energetic leader who enjoys leading with empathy and embodying the science of emotional intelligence.

From her time as an Assistant Cruise Director with Princess Cruises to her role as the National Virtual Events Manager and subject matter expert during the pandemic at KPMG Canada, and currently as the Director of events with IDC and Foundry, Allice’s journey reflects a mastery of marketing integration, project logistics, and alignment with sales strategies, all underscored by her meticulous attention to detail. Allice Shandler exudes a passion for hosting and connecting with peers both on the stage and during carefully crafted industry events. She brings an unmatched ability to curate engaging experiences that resonate across industries and captivate audiences around the globe.