Board of Directors

Imraan is a Partner and the National Public Sector Cyber Leader at KPMG in Canada. With 20+ years of experience in the field, Imraan is well-versed in multiple areas of cyber security, including governance, strategy, incident management, cloud security, risk management, digital identity and more.

Prior to joining KPMG, Imraan was the Government of Canada’s Chief Information Security Officer (CISO), directing the policy, strategy, implementation, and oversight of the federal government’s enterprise-wide cyber initiatives, including leadership of key programs such as cloud security and digital identity. In this role, Imraan was exposed to a wide range of cyber security challenges from departments of varying complexity, which positions him well to provide tailored advice to organizations of all sizes.

Imraan prides himself on providing pragmatic security guidance whilst managing cyber risk appropriately, with a focus on enabling a safe and positive user experience in the digital world. Imraan’s work in this space has been recognized globally for its success, as he was named one of the world’s top 100 most influential people in digital government by Apolitical in 2019.

Joined CANARIE Board in 2023

Dr. Barb Carra was appointed President and CEO of Cybera, Alberta’s Research and Education Network in 2019. She is a respected leader and collaborative partner within Canada’s National Research and Education Network (NREN) landscape.

Barb is a champion for the digital needs of Canadians, and frequently meets with all levels of government to ensure that Albertans have access to a connected, secure, and equitable digital future. Provincially, Barb works to strengthen how Alberta’s public sector organizations collaborate with each other through trusted partnerships to collectively increase impact, relevancy, and value. Barb also spearheaded the development of Cybera’s policy, strategic and operational initiatives, including programs that are strengthening the cybersecurity posture of Alberta’s education sector.

Barb currently sits on the Boards for The Calgary Zoo and Wilder Institute, the Saskatchewan Research & Education Network (SRNet), and recently received a Governor in Council appointment to The Canada Revenue Agency Board of Management. Barb earned her Master’s of Science at the University of Calgary and her Doctorate from Wilfrid Laurier University.

Joined CANARIE Board in 2019

Dr. Charmaine Dean is Vice-President, Research and International at the University of Waterloo. In this role, she is focused on building upon foundational strengths to heighten the emphasis on collaborations, and link related external portfolios in a systematic approach to industrial partners and entrepreneurship.

From 2011 to 2017, Dr. Dean served as Dean of Science at Western University. Prior to her service at Western, she played a major role in establishing the Faculty of Health Sciences at Simon Fraser University in her capacity of Associate Dean of that Faculty. Previously, she was the founding Chair of the Department of Statistics and Actuarial Science at Simon Fraser University.

An engaged member of several relevant boards including, Compute Ontario, the Southern Ontario Smart Computing Innovation Platform, the Vector Institute for Artificial Intelligence and the Institute for Cybersecurity and Privacy, Dr. Dean has also served as a board member for the US National Institute of Statistical Sciences (NISS) Corporation, the National Institute for Complex Data Structures and the Canadian Statistical Sciences Institute. She is dedicated to developing outstanding computing capabilities for researchers and for building capacity in Canada and is interested in bringing together diverse communities to drive forward a unified direction for data management activities and priorities.

Joined CANARIE Board in 2023

Art Exner presently serves the University of Regina in the role of Associate Vice-President, Information Services, through which he is responsible for charting the strategic information technology plans for the University to achieve improved business outcomes in an increasingly client centric service model.

Committed to community service, Art serves in many capacities for a number of organizations including: founding member and current Board member of the Canadian University Council of Chief Information Officers (CUCCIO); Chair of SRNET the Digital Research Alliance of Canada’s Cybersecurity Steering and Advisory Committee, and CANARIE’s Cybersecurity Advisory Committee; co-Chair of the Saskatchewan Post-Secondary Cybersecurity Committee; and, CIO liaison for CUCCIO’s Cybersecurity Special Interest Group. Art also previously fulfilled the role of Assistant Vice-President for Information Technology at the 2015 Canada Summer Games.

Jean-Charles (JC) Fahmy has over 25 years of global leadership experience in tech, creating value and accelerating business performance with large public companies as well as both Private Equity and Venture Capital backed businesses. A strategic thinker, JC has demonstrated success in leading organizations to harness innovation, achieve differentiation, create value for customers, and accelerate business performance.

As President and CEO of CENGN, JC provides leadership and strategic direction to the company, and drives the delivery of CENGN’s mission to enable the innovation and adoption of advanced networking technologies in Canada. A champion of Canadian tech, JC works in collaboration with government, industry and ecosystem partners on enabling the growth and global competitiveness of Canadian innovation toward achieving Canada’s economic, environmental and social goals.

JC holds an MBA from McGill University, and a BASc in Electrical Engineering from the University of Ottawa.

Kevin Hall is President and Vice-Chancellor of the University of Victoria. He is an innovative academic leader and civil engineer known for his strong commitment to sustainability, innovation, community engagement, and unwavering belief in equitable access to education, and equity, diversity and inclusion.

A civil engineer who has made global impact, Hall has put research into practice by delivering knowledge to industry and community. Kevin has worked with the United Nations to establish 2 CIFAL centres at Newcastle, Australia and Victoria, Canada. His academic interests are focused on water quality modelling, environmental monitoring and pathogen detection systems, and water and health in marginalized communities. Kevin has served on over 30 not-for-profit and corporate boards in Australia and Canada, is an avid arts enthusiast, and has a lifelong commitment to fitness.

Joined CANARIE Board in 2023

Tatiana Kozbenko joins the CANARIE Board of Directors as a Rise on Boards Young Director, an annual program of Fora: Network for Change, that places trained, mentored, and community-minded young women and gender-diverse youth on non-profit governance boards across Canada.

Tatiana is a programs officer with the research facilities team at the Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI). Her current work contributes to the administration of the Major Science Initiatives Fund (MSIF) supporting the 19 research facilities across Canada that tackle some of the most important issues facing society by bringing together researchers from Canada and around the world.

Tatiana is an MSc graduate from the University of Ottawa, having completed her thesis in Biology with a specialization in Bioinformatics. Her research work focused on creating a comprehensive knowledge model summarizing the health effects of deep space travel as a member of an interdisciplinary collaboration between uOttawa, Health Canada, the Canadian Space Agency, and NASA. Passionate about science communication, Tatiana has participated in various community outreach initiatives like youth education through Let’s Talk Science, volunteering for the Science Teachers of Ontario Association, and through her role as editor for the uOttawa departmental magazine, BioMatters. She takes every chance she gets to visit Canada’s wild places and looks forward to continuing exploring on foot, ski, bike, canoe and everything in between! 

Joined the CANARIE Board in 2022; elected as Secretary-Treasurer in 2023

Gitta has served in several senior leadership roles in Canada’s post-secondary education, healthcare, and high-tech sectors. Before joining Dalhousie in 2020, Gitta was Vice President, Finance and Administration at the University of Alberta. Prior to that, she spent 12 years as Vice President, Resources and Operations at Western University, and has served as Vice President and Chief Financial Officer for the Grand River Hospital in Kitchener, the South East Health Care Corporation in Moncton, and the Calgary General Hospital.

In her current role as Dalhousie’s Vice President, Finance and Administration, Gitta plays a key role in the development, management, and planning of Dalhousie’s infrastructure, human resources, information technology services, ancillary services, environmental health and safety, athletics and recreation, sustainability, and financial services.

Gitta also serves on the boards of CURIE, Interuniversity Services Inc. and the Baycrest Academy for Research & Education.

Gitta earned a Commerce Degree (Cum Laude) in Accounting, Finance, and Mathematics from Laurentian University and an MBA (Magna Cum Laude) from the University of Ottawa. She also holds the Chartered Professional Accountant designation.

Joined CANARIE Board in 2012; served as Vice-Chair from 2019 – 2021 and Chair from 2021-2023. Currently serving as Past Chair

Sylvie LaPerrière is a builder of the Global Internet, having led Google’s Africa Global Network Acquisition team which landed the Equiano Subsea Cable along the Western Coast.

A recognized leader in the global Internet community, Sylvie is involved in the governance of non-profit tech organizations. She promotes diverse talent inclusion by coaching and mentoring young ICT professionals, and by promoting science and technology careers with teenagers and underrepresented groups. During her tenure at Google, Sylvie was a leader at Women@, promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion, and she actively promotes and supports Women in Technology groups in the industry.

She received her Bachelor of Commerce in Marketing and Information Systems from École des Hautes Études Commerciales de Montréal. A proud mother of three inspiring young adults, Sylvie enjoys the company of friends and family, reading, hiking, discovering the world, and meeting new people.

Joined CANARIE Board in 2021

Dejan Mancic has spent over 20 years in the industry as a senior leader with roles in product development, sales, technology, and engineering.

Dejan joined Bell in 2005 and is currently leading teams accountable for the network engineering and deployment of Bell’s extensive fibre network to homes and businesses.

Dejan holds a Bachelor of Electrical Engineering degree from the University of Belgrade, and an MBA from the Rotman School of Business.

Joined CANARIE Board in 2017; served as Vice-Chair from 2021-2023; elected as Chair in 2023

Dr. Rosia’s career in education spans more than 35 years, as an Instructor, Program Chair, Revenue Generating Coordinator, Marketing Manager and Dean. He has more than 20 years of leadership experience in educational administration and has served in advisory roles to community, provincial and municipal committees. He has served and is serving as a Director or Board Member for several Regional, National, and International organizations, including the Business/Higher Education Roundtable (BHER), the Canadian Council of Chief Executives, Canadian Homebuilder’s Association, the Community Colleges for International Development (CCID), the International Mineral Innovation Institute (IMII), Polytechnics Canada (past Chair), Post-Secondary International Network (PIN), Skills Canada Saskatchewan, the Saskatchewan Post-Secondary International Education Council, the Saskatchewan Labour Market Task Force (LMTF), the Chair Academy, the University of Regina Senate, and the World Federation of Colleges & Polytechnics (WFCP).

Dr. Rosia is an alumnus of the University of Alberta and SAIT Polytechnic and a lifelong learner. He has a background in telecommunications engineering, adult education and educational policy and administration, and in 2006 completed his PhD in academic leadership at the University of Calgary. He completed the Executive Leadership Program at Harvard University and he earned the Institute of Corporate Directors (ICD) Designation. Notable recognition includes the SAIT Board of Governor Award for Business and Industry Partnerships, the Conference Board of Canada Award for Business and Industry Partnerships, the Chair Academy International Exemplary Leadership Award, the Saskatchewan Men of Influence Award, and the Paul A. Elsner Excellence in Leadership Award.

Dr. Rosia is a well-respected ambassador for the post-secondary community. He authored a book titled “The Successful College President.”

Joined CANARIE Board in 2021; elected as Vice-Chair in September 2023

Sherry Shannon-Vanstone has made a significant contribution to the spectrum of digital industries from cryptography to telecommunications to electronic commerce, while also making a major contribution to the advancement of all women.

Sherry has been involved in three start-up ventures with successful exits — Cylink, Certicom, and TrustPoint Innovation— and in 2018 launched Profound Impact.

Sherry was recently named Rogers Woman of the Year in STEAM for the Waterloo Region and in 2020 was the recipient of the prestigious Leadership Excellence Award in Entrepreneurship from Women in Communications and Technology. In June 2019, Sherry received an Honorary Doctorate of Laws (LLD) from Western University and in 2015, she was named the Waterloo Region’s Female Innovator of the Year.

She is also the co-chair of the Emmy Noether Council at Perimeter Institute of Theoretical Physics.

Sherry holds a Master of Science degree in mathematics from the University of Tennessee and was a cryptologic mathematician with the US Government.

Joined CANARIE Board in 2021

Dhruva Suthar is the Director of Security, IBM Canada. Dhruva leads a team that is passionate about delivering value to clients and helping organizations, large and small, use market leading technology to protect their business from cyber threats.

Most recently Dhruva was the Chief of Staff to the General Manager of IBM Americas, where she gained a broader view of the IBM business, its clients, and the marketplace.

Dhruva has led teams across IBM in Canada, the United States, and Latin America throughout her 20+ year career.  She has managed Sales Account Teams, Operations, and Finance units.

Dhruva holds a Finance degree from the Schulich School of Business at York University and completed a financial analysis and business management program at the Harvard Business School.

Niek Van Dierdonck joined the CANARIE Board in 2022.

Niek Van Dierdonck is a business leader with decades of experience in the logistics, manufacturing, and technology sectors, including as founder and CEO of two technology start-ups. He is currently CEO of RedLore, a company focused on helping manufacturers, distributors, logistics providers, and healthcare organizations improve efficiencies in their supply chains and distribution networks through on-site asset tracking and touchless process solutions.

Before founding RedLore, Niek was the Director of Innovation at Fremach, an automotive manufacturing multinational, where he was also the General Manager of the German and French subsidiaries. Prior to that, Niek was the founder-CEO of high-tech start-up Ubiwave, an early IoT leader that was successfully acquired by a semiconductor manufacturer. Niek has also served on the boards of several organizations, including Belgium-based tech startups, VILOC and Ubiwave.

Joined CANARIE Board in 2019

Deb Verhoeven is Canada 150 Research Chair in Gender and Cultural Informatics at the University of Alberta. Before this she was Associate Dean of Engagement and Innovation at the University of Technology in Sydney. Deb is one of the world’s leading proponents of Digital Humanities research. Among her many accolades, she was named Australia’s Most Innovative Academic in 2013. Deb was the inaugural Project Director of the Humanities Networked Infrastructure project (2012-19), a virtual laboratory interoperating data from Australia’s major cultural collections. She is the Director of the Kinomatics Initiative, a global investigation of big cultural data with a particular focus on the film industry. She serves on the inaugural board of NDRIO and from 2011-2014, she was Deputy Chair of the National Film and Sound Archive of Australia. She has previously served on the boards of the Victorian eResearch Strategic Initiative (VeRSI) and the Tasmanian government’s Digital Futures Advisory Council.