Dr. Cavoukian is recognized as one of the world’s leading privacy experts. She is currently the Executive Director of the Global Privacy & Security by Design Centre and is also a Senior Fellow of the Ted Rogers Leadership Centre at Ryerson University. Until June 2019, Dr. Cavoukian was the Distinguished Expert-in-Residence, leading the Privacy by Design Centre of Excellence at Ryerson University. Appointed as the Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario, Canada in 1997, Dr. Cavoukian served an unprecedented three terms as Commissioner. During that time, she elevated the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner from a novice regulatory body to a first-class agency, known around the world for its cutting edge innovation and leadership. There she created Privacy by Design, a framework that seeks to proactively embed privacy into the design specifications of information technologies, networked infrastructure and business practices, thereby achieving the strongest protection possible. In October 2010, regulators at the International Conference of Data Protection Authorities and Privacy Commissioners unanimously passed a Resolution recognizing Privacy by Design as one of the three recommended practices for protecting online privacy – a major validation of its significance. Since then, PbD has been translated into 40 languages! In 2018, PbD was included in a sweeping new law in the EU: the General Data Protection Regulation.
Dr. Cavoukian is the author of two books, “The Privacy Payoff: How Successful Businesses Build Customer Trust” with Tyler Hamilton, and “Who Knows: Safeguarding Your Privacy in a Networked World” with Don Tapscott. She has received numerous awards recognizing her leadership in privacy, including being named as one of the Top 25 Women of Influence in Canada, one of the Top 10 Women in Data Security and Privacy, and one of the ‘Power 50’ by Canadian Business. Dr. Cavoukian was awarded the Meritorious Service Medal by the Governor General of Canada for her outstanding work on creating Privacy by Design and taking it global (May, 2017), named as one of the 50 Most Impactful Smart Cities Leaders (November, 2017), the Top Women in Tech (December, 2017), awarded the Toastmasters Communication and Leadership Award (April, 2018), named among the Top 18 Global AI Influencers within the AI & Tech Space (February, 2019), and most recently, recognized among the Top 100 Identity Influencers (February, 2019 & January 2020).