Bytes of Experience : CIOs Unplugged

Season 1 of Bytes of Experience began as a simple idea: two retired CIOs talking shop over coffee. But after more than thirty conversations with leaders across higher ed, government, healthcare, and industry, Bo and Dana discovered something unexpected — the real story was never about technology. It was about people. In this Season 1 wrap‑up, Bo and Dana look back on the themes that surfaced again...

Stepping into the CIO role is one of the most complex leadership transitions in any organization — and yet most new CIOs receive little structured support. In this episode, Bo and Dana sit down with Deloitte’s Mark DiNello and Manj Kanwal to explore the CIO Transition Lab, a program designed to help new technology executives map out their first 180 days and beyond. Drawing on years of experience w...

In this episode of Bytes of Experience, Bo and Dana sit down with Axel Schulz, Director of Cybersecurity Operations at CANARIE, to explore how shared cybersecurity services are evolving across Canada’s research and education network. Axel traces his unconventional path from philosophy to SOC leadership, reflects on what makes cybersecurity in higher ed uniquely challenging, and explains why collab...

In this episode of Bytes of Experience, Bo and Dana sit down with Darren Schell,  Associate VP Information Technology (a.k.a. CIO) at the University of Lethbridge and a graduate of the CUCCIO Leadership Development Program (LDP). Darren brings a grounded, practical perspective shaped by 24 years at a midsize university — from his early days in the Registrar’s Office to becoming Associate VP Inform...

In this episode of Bytes of Experience, Bo and Dana sit down with one of Ontario’s most respected registrars: Ray Darling, University Registrar at the University of Windsor. Ray’s path is anything but typical — from varsity basketball point guard to leading registrarial teams at four universities. His story offers a rare, panoramic view of how the academic enterprise really works. Together, we exp...

In this episode of Bytes of Experience, Bo and Dana talk with Michael Barr, CIO at the University of Saskatchewan, about what it really takes to lead IT across very different institutional cultures — from a polytechnic, to a non‑U15 university, to a major U15 research institution. Michael brings a rare comparative perspective shaped by years at SAIT, MacEwan, and now USask. We explore how prioriti...

In this episode of Bytes of Experience, Bo Wandschneider and Dana Sanderson sit down with Pete Bombacci, founder of GenWell, Canada’s human connection movement. Pete shares the powerful origin story behind GenWell — the 2003 Northeast blackout — when millions lost power and rediscovered something essential: each other. As he recalls, “When all the distractions are turned off… we need to connect wi...

In this episode of Bytes of Experience,  we sit down with Sandeep Sidhu, CIO at Emily Carr University of Art + Design, to explore how leadership networks shape careers, confidence, and the ability to lead through uncertainty. Sandeep shares her unconventional path into the CIO role — beginning with a six‑month secondment from SFU during the height of COVID — and how mentorship, community, and the...

This episode of Bytes of Experience explores how Canadian universities are developing the next generation of IT and information‑security leaders through CUCCIO’s Leadership Development Program (LDP) and the Information Security Leadership Development Program (ISLDP). Hosts Bo Wandschneider and Dana Sanderson welcome Bob Cook and Gayleen Gray, who helped design and lead these programs.   Together,...

In this episode of Bytes of Experience, Bo Wandschneider and Dana Sanderson sit down with Nela Petkovic, CIO at Wilfrid Laurier University and a national leader in cybersecurity inclusion. Nella shares her career journey from systems analyst to CIO, reflecting on the importance of stretching yourself, building diverse teams, and creating space for others to lead. The conversation explores how incl...

In this episode of Bytes of Experience, Bo Wandschneider and Dana Sanderson sit down with Kevin Paul, Director of Cybersecurity at Cybera, whose unconventional path—from computer science to SWAT operator to cybercrime investigator—now shapes how he leads cybersecurity strategy for Alberta’s research and education sector. Kevin shares how policing gave him a rare, full‑spectrum view of cyber incide...

In this episode of Bytes of Experience, Bo and Dana sit down with long‑time colleague and leadership strategist Megan Kirwin for a deep exploration of what leadership in higher education really demands today. Megan reflects on her early days working with Mike Ridley, Bo, and the Guelph team, and how those formative experiences shaped her belief that leadership is fundamentally about presence, curi...

This episode explores Scarborough’s extraordinary diversity and how it shaped one hospital leaders approach to inclusion, belonging, and employee experience. Michele, a former Executive VP at Scarborough Health Network, walks through the creation of Communities of Inclusion (COIs), the organization’s first employer brand (“SHN… where the world comes to work”), and the Equity, Diversity & Inclu...

Hosts Dana Sanderson and Bo Wandschneider sit down with Gary Doucette, former CIO of Acadia University, to explore what happens when a long-time technology leader steps into a new role as an executive advisor focused on process management and institutional transformation. Gary reflects on leaving the CIO seat, shedding the weight of cybersecurity, and learning to lead without a team — relying inst...

In this episode Richard Godsmark joins us to reflect on his career across Canadian colleges, Canadian universities, and now the Australian higher education system. He compares how governance, funding models, culture, and decision‑making differ across these environments, offering a rare cross‑border view of how higher ed systems actually function. From committee‑driven universities to policy‑driven...

In this episode we explore the University of Guelph’s bold experiment in unifying library and IT leadership under one role — a model far more common internationally than in Canada. Mike Ridley, Chief Librarian Emeritus and former CIO, reflects on the decade he spent navigating this hybrid portfolio and the strategic intent behind it: elevating information as a core institutional asset, strengtheni...

In this episode of Bytes of Experience, we sit down with Jason Oliver, CIO at Western University, to explore what it means to lead higher ed IT across borders. Jason shares his journey from the UK to Canada, reflecting on sector similarities, cultural surprises, and the critical role of community in shaping student experience. From navigating financial pressures to modernizing governance and uncov...

In this episode of Bytes of Experience, hosts Bo and Dana speak with Kevin Magee about how CIOs earn trust at the boardroom table, what boards want to see, and how CIOs and CISOs should coordinate their message. Kevin shares practical steps—show up, frame IT as digital transformation, use clear risk metrics (like probability of material impact), and do pre-conversations with board champions—to mov...

Welcome to Bytes of Experience with Bo Wandschneider and Dana Sanderson. In this episode Alex Matos, Internal Auditor at the University of Toronto, shares his journey into higher‑ed audit and explains how auditors and CIOs can work together to enable institutional strategy while managing IT and cybersecurity risks. The discussion covers board oversight and IT governance, the evolving role of inter...

Bo Wandschneider and Dana Sanderson sit down with Mark Humphries, the new CIO at the University of Alberta, to explore leadership during major institutional change. They cover governance models, project initiation, consolidation into university-wide services, and the practical challenges of app rationalization and infrastructure at scale. Mark draws on his experience at multiple universities and t...

In this episode, Bo and Dana sit down with Marc Denoncourt to trace his path from campus CIO to board director — and why he pursued the Chartered Director designation. Marc explains how governance training reshaped his leadership approach, helping him frame technology as a business strategy, engage boards at the right altitude, and build trust through transparency and partnership. The conversation...

Two retired Canadian CIOs and guest Laurie McMullin trace the evolution of Canada’s digital research infrastructure—from servers under desks and fragmented funding to a national strategy led by the Digital Research Alliance of Canada (DRAC). Through advocacy, summits, and hard conversations, CIOs, librarians, VPRs, and funders reshaped how infrastructure is funded, secured, and shared across insti...

Hosts Dana Sanderson and Bo Wandschneider reflect on the first 15 episodes of Bytes of Experience, distilling recurring themes like people-centered leadership, trust, change management, mentorship, security, and the intersection of technology and human connection. They share memorable quotes, the "seven T's" of leadership (transparency, trust, translation, timing, tenacity, togetherness, temperame...

In this episode of Bytes of Experience, Bo Wandschneider and Dana Sanderson talk with Martin Bernier, CIO at the University of Ottawa, about what happens when a faculty IT team joins forces with campus IT. Martin shares the story of integrating the Faculty of Medicine’s IT group into the enterprise fold—why the decision was made, how the process unfolded, and what others can learn from it. But bey...

Bytes of Experience revisits CanSoC with guest Isaac Straley to explore how shared security works in practice. The episode digs into trust, real-time signal sharing, regional SOCs, equity across provinces, and how leadership can build a sustainable, collaborative cybersecurity model amid rising costs and AI-driven threats. Listeners will hear practical examples, governance and technical challenges...