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Working with our membership, ITAC establishes and sets targets for where Canada's knowledge economy should be compared to key peer/competitor nations. Where we fall short, ITAC determines what we need to do to get there and ensure we do what is needed in areas such as: skills, capital, tax, science & technology, and collaboration.
ITAC believes Canadian businesses should be leaders in the use of ICT for competitive advantage, productivity and growth. Use of ICT by small and medium enterprises should increase towards that of our US counterparts. By partnering with other associations, as well as with Government, we work to ensure public policy supports these goals.
ITAC strives to ensure Federal, Ontario and other Canadian Governments are leaders in ICT use. ITAC positions itself as a trusted advisor to Government. We gather industry leaders and Government together and work to make it easier for our industry to sell to government.
ITAC believes the Canadian healthcare system should be a world-leading user of ICT to achieve superior patient outcomes and cost-effectiveness, as well as fostering development of a world-leading Canadian health ICT industry. ITAC works to correct chronic under-spend on ICT.
ITAC’s view is Canada’s laws should promote leadership in development and use of advanced technology. We want to ensure efficient and cost-effective measures to protect privacy and instill confidence in the e-economy.
ITAC believes that in order for Canada to continue to compete worldwide, we need to promote policies that will ensure a steady supply of talented men and women for our local ICT industry. We work with industry as well as with Federal, Provincial and local governments to establish initiatives to support this goal.
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ITAC 2010-2011 Executive Committee
| Executive Committee | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Chair | Robert Watson | President & CEO | SaskPower |
| 1st Vice Chair | Robert Crow | VP, Industry, Government & University Affairs | Research In Motion Ltd. |
| 2nd Vice Chair | Doug McCuaig | President | CGI Canada |
| Treasurer | Eric Gales | President | Microsoft Canada Co. |
| Immediate Past Chair | Tom Turchet | Vice President, Software, General Business | IBM Corp. |
| Past Chair | Doug Cooper | Country Manager | Intel of Canada, Ltd. |
| Chair, Board of Governors | David MacDonald | President & CEO | Softchoice Corporation |
| ITAC President | Bernard Courtois | President & CEO | ITAC |
Robert Watson
President and Chief Executive Officer
SaskTel
Before coming to SaskTel in November, 2004, held several senior executive positions in the Canadian Telecom industry, including Vice President of Business Development at GT Group Telecom/360 Networks; Executive Vice President – Carrier Services, Engineering, Operations, Customer Services and Chief Quality Officer at Group Telecom; President of Shaw FiberLink Ltd.; President of Shaw Mobilecomm; and President of WIC Connexus.
Has held numerous director and affiliation appointments within the telecommunications industry, as well as in the education and community sectors.
A recipient of the Saskatchewan Centennial Medal, he currently sits on the Board of Directors for the Conference Board of Canada, the Canadian Prostate Cancer Network (CPCN) and the Information Technology Association of Canada (ITAC).
Graduate in Electrical Technologies from Ryerson University.
Has attended the International Executive Development Program at the INSEAD Centre in Fountainbleau, France, as well as the Executive Management Program at Ashridge College in the United Kingdom. Holds an ICD.D designation from the institute of Corporate Directors.
Robert Crow
Vice President, Industry, Government & University Relations
Research In Motion Limited
Bob Crow is Vice President for Industry, Government and University Relations at Research In Motion Limited, makers of the BlackBerry™ wireless platform. He is responsible for RIM's global programs in market intelligence, public issue management, government programs, community relations and support of higher education.
Prior to joining RIM in July 2001, Bob was Vice President Policy at the Information Technology Association of Canada (ITAC). His career also includes service from 1975 – 1998 at Ryerson University in Toronto as professor and senior administrator and many consulting assignments for private and public sector clients over the years.
Bob holds a bachelor's degree in engineering from Cornell University and master's degrees in planning and economics from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and the University of Toronto, respectively. He also studied engineering and public policy at Carnegie Mellon University at the graduate level.
Bob is currently a director of the Information Technology Association of Canada, the Telecommunications Industry Association, the Canada-UK Chamber of Commerce, and Shad Valley International. He also serves as Honorary President of the Science Teachers Association of Ontario.
Bob and spouse Anne Babcock reside in Toronto with their four children.
Doug McCuaig
President
CGI Canada
Doug McCuaig is responsible for managing client relationships and delivering consulting, systems integration, outsourcing and managed services to clients based in Western Canada, Ontario and Atlantic Canada. Clients include those in financial services, government, healthcare, manufacturing, distribution and retail as well as in communications and utilities.
As a member of CGI's Management Committee, Mr. McCuaig represents Canadian operations and participates in the development and execution of CGI's global strategy. Mr. McCuaig is the leader of the Global Banking Sector Council for CGI and is responsible for the development and implementation of CGI's global banking strategy. He has been involved in many transformation projects and managed services solutions for numerous major financial institutions.
He is also the executive sponsor of CGI's Canadian Healthcare Centre of Expertise and will guide the development of CGI's strategy, solutions and services in this important growth area.
Mr. McCuaig joined CGI in March 2004 from Cap Gemini Ernst & Young (CGEY) where he held the position of Senior Vice-President and Managing Director, Consulting Services, Canada. He began his career at Ernst and Young in 1989 (then referred to as Woods Gordon / Clarkson Gordon) and had been a Partner since 1995 as well as a member of Ernst & Young's Partnership Board. At Ernst & Young, Mr. McCuaig led many practices including Strategy, Customer Relationship Management (CRM), Supply Chain Strategy and Management (SCM), Enterprise Risk Management and Finance and Employee Transformation (FET).
Mr. McCuaig sits on a number of boards including the International Advisory Board of the Schulich School of Business at York University, The Canadian Chamber of Commerce, The Toronto Board of Trade (BOT) as Vice Chair of the Policy and Advocacy Committee and The Information Technology Association of Canada (ITAC) Executive Committee as Treasurer. He also sits on the IT committee for Mount Sinai Hospital.
He holds an MBA in Marketing & International Business from McMaster University having completed his undergraduate studies at the University of Western Ontario and Ryerson University. He has also received executive management training at Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University in Chicago.
Eric Gales
President
Microsoft Canada Co.
On June 12, 2009, Eric Gales was named President of Microsoft Canada. In this new role he will be responsible for all elements of Microsoft Canada's business and for deepening the company's commitment to this country through its Citizenship efforts.
Eric has more than two decades of experience in the IT industry and an outstanding track record of success in Microsoft’s Small Business Solutions and Partners group. He joined Microsoft Canada three years ago as Vice-President, Small Business and Midmarket Solutions & Partners. He has been instrumental in helping businesses understand the depth and breadth of software solutions available and works closely with Microsoft’s vast partner community, identifying ways to help small and midsized business exceed their business goals.
Previously, Eric held positions in various business areas at Microsoft UK, most recently leading the UK Partner Group. During that time he was closely involved in developing the highly successful Microsoft Partner Program.
Tom Turchet
Vice President - Software, General Business
IBM Americas
Tom Turchet is Vice President – Software, General Business for IBM North America.
Appointed to his current role in January 2005, Tom is responsible for serving the GB software marketplace for Canada and the United States. Tom’s organization provides software solutions to small and medium-sized companies across all industries, with a focus on leveraging software technology to competitive advantage, and positive return on investment.
Tom has more than 25 years of experience working with customers in their implementation of information technology. Most recently, he was Vice President, General Business for IBM Canada. Previous positions included Director, Software, IBM Canada, and Operations Executive for Canada and Business Unit Executive for IBM Global Services’ General Business Organization.
Tom is a graduate of Wilfrid Laurier University with a Bachelor of Business Administration. He has also completed the Strategic Management Program at the Wharton School of Business in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the IBM Advanced Leadership Executive Program in Armonk, New York, and the Strategic Planning Program at Harvard University in Boston.
Tom was recognized in 2003 as one of Canada’s Top 25 newsmakers by the Computer Dealer News.
Tom is also serving as the Vice Chair on the Board of Directors for the IT Association of Canada (ITAC). He is currently chairing a joint ITAC and Federal Government initiative designed to increase the speed of execution of IT solutions in the General Business space in Canada.
Doug Cooper
Past Chair 2007 - 2008
Information Technology Association of Canada
Doug Cooper is the Country Manager for Intel of Canada Ltd. He reports into the Americas Sales and Marketing Group. He has been with Intel since 1983.
Cooper graduated from the University of Waterloo in 1981 as an electrical engineer. He began his career with Intel as an applications engineer, working to help engineers at companies across Canada incorporate Intel technologies into their products. With Intel's acquisition of the Sarnoff Labs in Princeton, New Jersey, Cooper expanded his scope, helping to take Intel Digital Video Interactive technology (DVI) to broadcast and multimedia organizations across the country.
Cooper also helped create an Intel FP500 program in which he served as the technology liaison to the IT departments of some of Canada's most influential companies. His engineering background and knack for simplifying the inherently complex has allowed him to develop strong business relationships with the IT managers of top corporations.
In 1995, Cooper took over responsibility for all of Intel Canada's marketing activities. In 2000, he was appointed Director of Marketing for both Canada and Latin America assuming the challenge of developing marketing directions for both these regions. Today he assumes a broader role as Intel's Canadian Country Manager expanding the company's Sales and Marketing activities as well as developing the role of Government Affairs liaison.
David MacDonald
Past Chair
Information Technology Association of Canada
David MacDonald is the President and CEO of Softchoice.
In July 2002, Mr. MacDonald was promoted to President of Softchoice from his position as Senior VP and Chief Operating Officer. In his role as President, Mr. MacDonald oversees all corporate and operational activities. Mr. MacDonald joined Softchoice as Senior VP and COO in April, 2001. In this role he was responsible for Strategy, Marketing, Sales, Publisher relationships and Information Systems. Mr. MacDonald joined Softchoice from Xerox where for over 18 years he served in progressively senior roles including Sales, Marketing, World Wide Product Development and Business Strategy. His last assignment was Vice President of North America for Xerox Business Services. Prior to joining Xerox Mr. MacDonald worked for Systemhouse Ltd. and Burroughs Business Machines.
Mr. MacDonald holds a Bachelor of Business Administration and Commerce degree from the University of Alberta (1979).
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