Lori has become a champion of creating new ways of supporting her leadership team at EY and external partners on supplier diversity. She has taken a leading role to develop the supplier diversity ecosystem across Canada.
Highlights from the 31st Annual CATAAlliance Innovation Awards Gala
OTTAWA — The 2016 Award Winners were announced the evening of May 26th at a sold out Gala Dinner featuring a keynote address from Dr. Micheál J. Kelly, Dean Lazaridis School of Business and Economics, Wilfrid Laurier University on “Scaling Success: Tackling the Management Gap in Canada’s Technology Sector”, revealing insights from 125 executive interviews of the challenges facing Canadian high-tech firms and an evidence based road forward to build initiatives designed to address them.
Dr. Kelly was joined by an all star Executive Panel consisting of Ian Rae, CEO and founder of CloudOps, Partner at Year One Labs, a lean startup incubator and Cofounder of the Centre cloud.ca, and Dr. Cindy Gordon, CEO of Saleschoice Inc., and National Spokesperson for CanWIT (Women in Tech). Alumni CTV, Tech Now Moderator, Paul Brent, engaged the Panel in lively discussions on Innovation Leadership and Community Engagement for the 21st Century.
Following CATA’s passion for digital adoption, the winners were announced via Twitter and broadcast on key social networks. Innovation Gala delegates were asked to become CNN- like live TV reporters by using Periscope to stream their own Gala experience to the social media world.
For three decades, the CATAAlliance Innovation Awards Gala has been celebrating the best in Canadian advanced technology from coast to coast and this year certainly did not disappoint!
Photo credit: Corey Graham
(Front-row left – right): Carl J. Rodrigues, President & CEO, SOTI Inc., Julie Ireton, Business Reporter, CBC Ottawa; Corey Ellis, President, Enactus uOttawa
(Middle-row left – right): Lori Benson, SCMP, CPSMC Canadian Procurement Leader at EY; Teri Kirk Founder and CEO, Funding Portal Inc.; Chief Superintendent Jeff Adam, Director General Technical Investigation Services, RCMP Technical Operations; Dr. Karen Sievewright, Managing Director, Banting & Best Centre for Innovation and Entrepreneurship, University of Toronto; Michael Serbinis, CEO and Founder, LEAGUE; Alex Kottoor Co-Founder and CEO, SceneDoc
(Back-row left – right): Dr. Yasser Morgan, Associate Professor, Software Systems Engineering, University of Regina; John Reid, President and CEO, CATAAlliance.
During the Awards Gala, winners were presented with awards in the following areas:
Canada’s First Weology Leadership Award
Winner: Chief Superintendent Jeff Adam, Director General Technical Investigation Services, RCMP Technical Operations
Telfer School of Management Award for Private Sector Innovation and/or Leadership in Advanced Technology
Winners:
Adam Froman, CEO, Delvinia
Michael Serbinis, CEO and Founder, LEAGUE INC.
Community Innovation Leadership Award
Winner: Bruce Lazenby, President and CEO, Invest Ottawa
TELUS Outstanding Product Achievement Award for Mobility Health (M-Health) Innovation Excellence in Canada’s Health Care Sector
Winner: eTreatMD for myHand
ICTC Digital Economy – Strategic HR Leadership Award
Winner: Kinaxis HR Team
RBC Sara Kirke Award for Entrepreneurship and Innovation
Winner: Dr. Karen Sievewright, Managing Director, Banting & Best Centre for Innovation and Entrepreneurship, University of Toronto
EY Sara Kirke Award for Entrepreneurship and Innovation
Winner: Teri Kirk, Founder and CEO, Funding Portal Inc.
Wilfrid Laurier University Award for Public Sector Leadership in Advanced Technology
Winner: Dr. Yasser Morgan, Associate Professor, Software Systems Engineering, University of Regina
Peter Brojde Award for Canada’s Next Generation Executive Leadership
Winner: Corey Ellis, President, Enactus uOttawa
Sprott School of Business at Carleton University Outstanding Product Achievement Award
Winner: SOTI Inc.
Canadian Aboriginal and Minority Suppliers Council (CAMSC) Corporate Advocacy Award
Winner: Lori Benson, Canadian Procurement Leader, EY
Motorola Solutions Award for Public Safety Technology
Winner: SceneDoc
OBJ Innovation Award for Excellence in Science and Technology Reporting
Winner: Julie Ireton, Business Reporter, CBC Ottawa
“This was one of the best Galas yet! There was such a positive buzz in the room, a mix of competitive spirit and camaraderie supporting the best in Canadian innovation,” says John Reid, President and CEO, CATAAlliance. “Our Award winners and finalists have each demonstrated significant leadership as role models for the development of commercially successful enterprises in Canada. CATA is proud to act as an advocate for them, to share their stories, and to provide a platform of programs and services to assist in fostering their growth,” says John Reid, CATA President.
