Forum on Cybersecurity Risk Management

Daniel Couillard

Director General of Partnerships and Risk Mitigation | Canadian Centre for Cyber Security (Cyber Centre)

The objective of the Partnerships and Risk Mitigation directorate is to increase the cyber resilience of Canada, in collaboration with partners. As such the directorate is responsible for advancing the Cyber Centre’s strategic partnerships with governments, critical infrastructure owners and stakeholders, private sector and academia. To that aim, his directorate provides cyber security advice and guidance as well as architectural assessments in key technology areas. It also implements the Cyber Resilience Program and leads the cyber supply chain integrity program in support to the Government of Canada IT procurements.

Daniel was previously Director General of Program Evolution at the Cyber Centre. He was responsible for leading strategic business change and enabling agile decision-making in the context of the complex and dynamic cyber security ecosystem. This ensures CSE meets future cyber security demands from governments, operators of systems of importance and Canadians at large.

Michael Parent

Professor and Academic Director, Directors Education Program | SFU

Michael Parent is a recognized expert on Corporate Governance in Canada, with a focus on cybersecurity, data privacy, and IT governance. He is a Professor at the Segal Graduate School, Beedie School of Business, Simon Fraser University, Vancouver, Canada, since 2002. From 2015-2017 he was a Professor and Vice-Dean at the Telfer School of Management, University of Ottawa. Prior to that, he was an Assistant Professor at the Richard Ivey School of Business from 1996-2002. He was also a Senior Special Advisor to the Treasury Board Secretariat of Canada, Government of Canada, in 2018-2019. Michael received his MBA and PhD degrees from Queen’s University, Kingston, Canada, and qualified for the Institute of Corporate Directors’ ICD.D designation. Before becoming an academic, he spent over a decade in the high technology industry in new product development, marketing, and management. Michael is an active researcher and executive educator. He has taught programs for the federal and provincial governments in Canada, Crown Corporations, as well as a number of public and private companies and Boards. He has advised over 100 Boards on cybersecurity and governance issues.

He is the Academic Director for the Vancouver cohort of the Directors’ Education Programs for Canada’s Institute of Corporate Directors (ICD), co-Academic Director for the Montréal cohort, Founding Academic Director of the Ottawa cohort, and teaches the IT and Cybersecurity Risk module nationally. He is also the Academic Director for the ‘Oversight of Cybersecurity in an Era of Digital Acceleration’ program, delivered nationally by the ICD.

Kathryn Anthonisen

President and CEO | CANARIE

Kathryn Anthonisen was appointed CANARIE’s President and CEO in July 2023, after having served as Vice President, External Relations with the organization for 11 years. Since joining CANARIE as Director of Communications in 2010, Kathryn led the team responsible for marketing and communications, stakeholder engagement, international relations, in addition to leading the strategic development of CANARIE’s mandate renewal.

During her tenure as Vice President, External Relations, Kathryn worked to promote the impact of digital research infrastructure on Canada’s innovation capacity. Kathryn successfully reshaped the perception of the CANARIE brand from that of solely a network operator to an organization focussed on delivering a range of relevant and impactful digital infrastructure tools and services, and worked with partners in Canada’s National Research and Education Network to increase the visibility of this mission-critical infrastructure.

Prior to joining CANARIE, Kathryn held a variety of senior roles in marketing, communications, and client management in the academic and private sectors, including at the Institute of Canadian Bankers, Humber College, and Canadian travel management pioneer, Rider Travel. At Humber College, Kathryn was an instructor and program administrator in the School of Business, and led or participated in several international projects, including a small business development project for women in Bangladesh, a lifelong learning project in China, and a capacity-building project for the educational sector in Guyana. During her time at Rider Travel, Kathryn held progressively senior roles in marketing communications, sales support, and client management.

Kathryn earned her BA in English and History at McGill University and her MBA, with a focus on Marketing and International Business, from Schulich School of Business at York University, and spent a year studying French language and culture at the Sorbonne in Paris. Kathryn’s favourite place is outside, so she takes advantage of Ottawa’s extensive bike paths to commute to work until the snow flies, when she switches to skates and glides to the office and home again on the Rideau Canal.