As the current CIO at the Vector Institute, Ben is responsible for overseeing Vector’s scientific and business computing environments. He also leads Vector’s participation in building a national AI research compute environment as part of the national Pan-Canadian AI Strategy and sits on the OECD.AI Expert Group on Compute and Climate.
Prior to assuming the CIO role at Vector Institute, Ben was the Chief Information Officer of the Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics where he led the institute through a broad digital transformation process transitioning the organization to a cloud-first organization and introducing internal HPC resources and a research technology team.
He has over twenty-five years of experience in strategic planning, IT operations management, and technology consulting with organizations in North America, Europe and Asia. Ben started his career as a software developer programming GIS systems for leading edge marketing research and socio-economic impact assessment solutions. Since that time, he has held progressive IT management positions in multiple sectors including pharmaceutical, software manufacturing, transportation, travel, and consulting. He was co-founder and president of a managed services company, has been involved in several start-ups, and has been a member of several non-profit boards. Ben is certified chief information security officer with a keen interest in management theory, organizational behavior, and technology trends. He has published a computer game, is an avid squash player and traveler.