Strengthening CIOs through Connection and Conversation

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Upcoming Events

Calgary CIO events allow technology executives to network with their cross industry peers and discuss relevant trends, opportunities and challenges

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The Era of AI

Join Chris Barry, President of Microsoft Canada, and your Calgary CIO peers for a fireside chat on “The Era of AI”, where we’ll discuss:
-The transformative business impact of AI: enhancing efficiency, driving innovation, and providing competitive advantages
-The importance of adopting AI responsibly and ethically to ensure positive outcomes for organizations and society as a whole
-Microsoft's own AI transformation journey and insights on how to enable AI in your organization

Fireside Chat with Reception to Follow

Wednesday April 23, 2025
4:30 pm - 7:00 pm

USask Calgary Hub
301 3 Ave W #109, Calgary

In Partnership With

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Back by Popular Demand...

PICKLEBALL!
Not only is it the fastest growing sport in North America, it is also the most requested sport by Calgary CIO! Given the success of our previous learn to play pickleball event, we want to introduce more CIOs to this exciting game, while offering steeper competition to our recent pickleball addicts!

Join Calgary CIO and Veeam for a trend setting evening with an amazing sport, your dynamic peer community and some insightful conversations.
We will kick off with a panel on resilient leadership, featuring insights from Jan Bradley (CIO, The City of Calgary), Jason Hinchliff (CIO, Cenovus Energy) and John Hill (CIO, Suncor). Following our dinner and discussion, we will hit the courts to learn how to play the incredibly fun, super accessible sport that everyone is talking about. Those who already know the basics can head straight to some rec games.
You won't want to miss this awesome evening together!

CIO Discussion and Dinner followed by Pickleball

Wednesday May 21, 2025
4:00 pm - 8:00 pm

The Rec Room Deerfoot / Calgary Pickleball Centre
901 64 Ave NE / 1145 65 Ave NE

In Partnership With

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Rehearsing the Future

Join your Calgary CIO peers and TCS' renowned futurist, Frank Diana, who will challenge you to rethink scenario planning and adopt a forward-looking mindset by examining historical patterns. His keynote remarks will delve into the convergence of forces across science, technology, society, geopolitics, economics, the environment, and philosophy – highlighting how they disrupt traditional structures and beliefs. He’ll also explore how these forces shape emerging technologies like AI, requiring a fundamental shift in thinking to navigate the future successfully.
Our discussion will help leaders anticipate multiple scenarios and prepare for uncertainty. After hearing from Frank, we will continue the conversation over dinner. CIOs are encouraged to bring a C-suite peer or line-of-business leader focused on long-term strategy, to explore new ways of strengthening existing business lines or serving customers, potentially unlocking new markets.

Dinner and Discussion

Wednesday June 11, 2025
5:30 pm - 8:30 pm

Major Tom - 40th Floor, Stephen Avenue Place
700 2 St SW, Calgary

In Partnership With

Seriously loved by CIOs

Our intimate roundtables offer an unparalleled forum to candidly discuss issues that are top of mind for CIOs.

“Calgary CIO offers a diverse range of learning sessions, covering strategic and operational topics. These sessions have provided me with fresh perspectives and practical insights that directly impact my role as CIO at the University of Calgary. The differing environments and situations have led to solid connections and valuable discussions about common technology challenges and opportunities while at the same time keeping a local perspective is especially helpful. The informal and collaborative environment at Calgary CIO events allows me to connect with fellow CIOs from various industry sectors. For me personally, one of the most valuable characteristics of the sessions is the candid nature of the discussions; there is a strong sense of both collegialism and challenge that I have rarely found in organizations of this nature. Susan has curated a wide array of topics, always ensuring that the Calgary CIO session content remains relevant to technology leaders with high-caliber speakers, in excellent venues. "

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Trevor Poffenroth

Chief Information Officer

University of Calgary

“As the Chief Information Officer at Legal Aid Alberta, being a member of Calgary CIO has been a transformative experience. Calgary CIO is an essential resource for senior technology leaders of large organizations, offering a network of experienced professionals sharing critical insights and innovative solutions in a collaborative environment. The association excels in sharing thought leadership and challenging each other to better drive digital transformation and deliver greater sustained value. I highly recommend this association to any CIO looking to elevate their impact and stay at the forefront of the industry. "

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Hellen Knight

Chief Information Officer

Legal Aid Alberta

“As Long View’s CITO, my role has evolved over the years from that of CTO to CITO and in that time, I’ve had the opportunity to network with industry leaders in many different venues and events. I found the most engaging opportunities occur during conferences but the downside is the cost of travel and time away from the office. What I’ve heard from other peers in the industry is being able to get that same experience in the same City as they are located, or at least one that’s a short commute away is ideal. There are other Organizations that host events intended to provide this opportunity, but many times those that attend are not direct peers or aren't in Leadership positions with accountability of running IT organizations so they don’t have the same networking impact. There is however a new organization called Toronto CIO with a Calgary Chapter that seems to have found the right formula. Susan Pound, Executive Director, manages the invites to these events and you have to be in a Leadership position (CIO/CTO/VP of IT) with accountability for IT. This creates a different environment for one to network with peers and because the invitations are well managed by Susan, you have a smaller more intimate group in which people can share experiences. The events are spaced out nicely from a time perspective, hosted at one of the attendees locations (where possible) and sponsored by Companies suggested by those that attend. All in all, the events hosted by Toronto CIO are well worth the investment in time to attend. "

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Robin Bell

Chief Information and Technology Officer

Long View Systems

“It can often feel like you are the only person navigating the constantly evolving technology landscape. Having a peer group locally, that you have physically met and interacted with, allows you to get some unbiased and more unfiltered advice. The topics presented are broadly relevant and hearing how different organizations deal with an issue can create new ways of thinking about things for your own organization. I’ve got a lot out of being part of the Calgary CIO group. "

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Penny Rae

Chief Information Officer

Alberta Health Services