Greater Toronto Area, Canada
I’ve spent over 40 years deeply immersed in pioneering, championing, and teaching advanced information technology—across three defining chapters of my career. What I’m most proud of are my community development accomplishments centered around social causes. Whether through cause-driven hackathons, industry symposia, applied research partnerships, or skill academies, my work brings together industry leaders, students, aspiring professionals, and academia. The result has been thousands of meaningful connections and career-launching experiences for the next generation of IT talent. 🔹 Chapter 3: Higher Education Leader & Experiential Learning Champion At Seneca Polytechnic, I serve as Academic Program Coordinator for the Post-Graduate IT Project Management program, where I lead experiential learning initiatives, coordinate hundreds of internships per cohort. Most notably, I chair and organize large-scale, cause-driven hackathons—six to date, with over 5,000 participants and 400 organizers—focused on issues like Digital Health, Sustainability, Housing, and Food Security. At Conestoga College, I led more than 15 applied research collaborations with companies such as Magna, Agrimesh, Katlyn, Kinetrics, and Solid State AI. I mentored over 200 student researchers on projects in AI, IoT, big data, and advanced analytics, helping them transition into impactful roles in Canada’s digital economy. 🔹 Chapter 2: President of ASTECH Solutions As founder and president of ASTECH Solutions, a boutique IT consulting firm, I led hundreds of technology projects across the globe. Our most significant client was IBM . A major highlight was the creation and delivery of IBM’s flagship global training programs—“Shark Camp” and “Top Gun”—through which my team and I trained over 20,000 IBM employees and partners in more than 40 countries. At ASTECH, I developed a deep talent for large-scale IT training, with a strong focus on solution selling—helping technical and business professionals align enterprise technologies with real-world business outcomes. 🔹 Chapter 1: IBM Canada Laboratory I began my career at the IBM Canada Laboratory, where I developed and managed next-generation compiler technologies for (then) emerging systems and also led Shared University Research (Queens and Simon Fraser U) dealing with early pioneering AI projects. This early work shaped my foundational expertise in systems-level engineering and instilled a lifelong passion for continuous learning and the strategic application of new technologies to solve evolving enterprise challenges.
Program Coordinator for the Post-Graduate Certificate in Project Management – Information Technology, supporting student success through highly current curriculum development and delivery, industry engagement and experiential learning. Manage and coordinate approximately 100 internships per year, placing students in real-world IT project environments across various industries. Champion of experiential learning, integrating case-based methods, live project simulations, and employer-driven deliverables into the learning environment. Organizer of large-scale “cause” hackathons such as COVID-19 Business Response, Digital Health, Housing and Food Insecurity collaborating with industry leaders like Salesforce, Microsoft, Roche, HP, Deloitte, iVedha, and even F1 Canada to provide students with high-impact applied experiences. Direct and supervise applied research projects with industry partners including Mircom, Thinking North, Trinetra, Ample Organics, CPOS, and Sightline Innovation, focusing on cutting-edge solutions involving: Machine Learning, Artificial Intelligence, Internet of Things (IoT), Blockchain, Big Data Analytics, Business Intelligence, Passionate about building bridges between academia and industry to equip students with job-ready skills and contribute to Canada’s digital economy. Keen interest in interdisciplinary computational social science.
SITP Social Enterprise Inc. offers three primary services • Applied Research Project Consulting with local Colleges and NSERC, MITACS and OCI funders • Full IT Project Services involving skilled students and recent graduates • Paid Internships (called Skilled Interns and Technical Professionals)
- I teach foundational courses in Linux and Shell Scripting as well as Systems Analysis and Design, introducing undergraduate students to industry-standard methodologies and tools such as UML. Led my first applied research project with Ellis Don, exploring the use of Big Data analytics in construction and infrastructure project management. Acted as Industry liaison and organized three successful Cybersecurity Symposiums, bringing together students, faculty, and industry partners to explore critical trends and strengthen the college’s cybersecurity learning community.
As an Applied Research Leader at Conestoga College, I worked closely with a broad range of Kitchener-Waterloo-based technology innovators, helping them solve real-world challenges through applied R&D. My work spanned industries including aviation logistics, clinical trials, smart agriculture, legal tech, education technology, manufacturing analytics, and AI for advanced chip design. Key Industry Collaborations Included: - Katlyn – Optimizing airline cargo transfer management systems - Metriks – Developing a multi-tenant database for clinical trial data - Boardera – Building a centralized passive electrical component database - Hitch Video – Tagging educational content to formal curriculum outcomes - Magna Karmax – Designing operational dashboards for manufacturing - Transchem – Enhancing supply chain visibility in industrial processes - Agrimesh – Deploying IoT-based smart farm systems for poultry - Inheritchain – Automating legal document workflows using blockchain - KargoBox – Innovating in the logistics and last-mile delivery space - CPOS – Upgrading customer loyalty systems through intelligent analytics - Solid State AI – Applying AI to big data in semiconductor fabrication - Kinectrics – VR system for nuclear waste management - Glen Dimplex - Manufacturing Big Data In this role, I directly mentored and led 200+ top student researchers, guiding them in the practical application of advanced databases, AI, ML, IoT, and analytics—while helping them transition into impactful IT careers that contribute to Canada’s innovation economy and GDP. In addition I also occasionally teach post-graduate subjects related to Cybersecurity Response Planning and Systems Analysis and Design.
Successful boutique IT consulting company focused on IBM Systems integration, consulting and skills development. The major client was IBM Corporation as well as many key IBM Partners, Software Vendors and clients worldwide. Sample Programs: - “Top Gun” Class Delivery Manger. Top Gun is IBM’s intense 1-week event-based sales education for top sellers and partners delivered in 20+ locations worldwide. Included “Websphere”, “IBM Systems” and “iSeries” Top Gun. Cities include: Buenos Aires, San Paulo, Mexico City, Tokyo, Singapore, Bangkok, Sydney, Melbourne, Mumbai, Delhi, Johannesburg, Moscow, London, Paris, Berlin, Washington - “Shark Camp”. ASTECH’s most successful program is the end-to-end management of IBM’s technical field enablement program, tied to partner certification. Over 10,000 IBMers and partners were trained by ASTECH’s team in over 40 cities worldwide.Cities included: Orlando, Atlanta, Chicago, New York, Los Angeles, Seattle, Minneapolis, Indianapolis, Vienna, Dusseldorf, Munich, Oslo, Stockholm, Helsinki, Milan, Zurich, Nice, Copenhagen, Cairo, Istanbul, Barcelona, Rome, Amsterdam, Brussels - “AD Program” is ASTECH’s most influential IBM program considering of consulting and services provided to IBM as the independent consulting firm validating third party software products to conforming to IBM Systems standards. It was highly influential in “opening” of IBM Systems. Vendors included: Synon, Lansa, Progress Software, Information Builders, Genexus, Cognos, Borland, SAG, SSA, Blythe SW, Oracle, Speedware, Hardis, JD Edwards - “Modernization Roadmaps” are ASTECH’s key consulting services products targeted to IBM clients and assists IBM iSeries clients to update and modernize their legacy applications.