Governing Body Spotlight

John is Vice President of Business Solutions for Ecclesiastical Insurance, a specialist commercial insurer, a role he has held since 2020. In the capacity of VP of IT/CIO/CISO, he is responsible for the company’s IT assets, data, protection and the delivery and integration of initiatives to support business growth. He held a range of roles at PCFinancial/Loblaws over a 17 year span. He holds a Bachelor of Commerce from Ryerson and certifications as a CFE and CISSP.

Learn more about leaders in the Toronto CIO community here.
 

Give us a brief overview of the path that led to your current role.

My career path took me through various functional areas and progressive roles over the last 20 years. I started out working in a branch during university and then landed after graduation in Fraud Management, where cyber protection was before Information Security became its own core function.

I was looking to expand my reach, and was offered roles that took me through Business Analysis, Project Management, Operations and Support, Infrastructure, Architecture, Information Security and Strategy. I enjoy having involvement and being a resource across multiple functions, from systems integration to product design and business planning.
 

What is one of your guiding leadership principles?

Manage how you expect to be managed. Look and position for two-way wins internally and with partners. Always listen to get a range of perspectives, and then give clear direction and decisions to move forward.
 

With disruption being a key theme of recent years, where do you see the CIO role going in the next 1-2 years?

With almost all business processes and in many cases products fully powered and integrated with IT, CIOs will guide and lead the business capability roadmap so that the supporting and integrated technology becomes synonymous with the business drivers and opportunities.
 

What advice would you give to someone just starting out as a CIO?

Core supporting technology will always be prominent, so you need fundamentals in multiple domains such as security, infrastructure, architecture and data. Make the priority for yourself and your team to learn the business and business drivers.
 

Tell us 3 fun facts about yourself.

1. Was a school Board Trustee in Toronto for 11 years.
2. Have been to or visited every province in Canada except Newfoundland and our 3 territories.
3. I’m a classic car owner: ’79 Z28.
    

What is the value of participating in an Evanta community? 

Hearing perspectives from other industries and having a forum to meet with vendors offering solutions to the needs of technology leaders.

Evanta Governing Body members share their insights and leadership perspectives to shape the agendas and topics that address the top priorities impacting business leaders today.

by CIOs, for CIOs

Join the conversation with peers in your local CIO community.