The Exciting Geospatial Leadership Panels for GeoIgnite 2020 July 22-24th
Registration for GeoIgnite closes July 20th so claim your ticket now.
This year’s GeoIgnite features two panel discussions on key topics for the future of the geospatial industry both in Canada and internationally. The first session at 3:30pm EST on Wednesday, July 22 is “What does the Future Hold for the Canadian Geospatial Sector?”. The second panel discussion “Diversity in Leadership: Canada’s Geospatial Ecosystem” is at 1:45pm EST on Thursday, July 23. Each panel discussion is 45 minutes long and features five panelists with extensive geospatial experience from a wide variety of backgrounds and government and industry sectors.
“What does the Future Hold for the Canadian Geospatial Sector?”
David Harper is the Director General of Environment and Climate Change Canada within the Meteorological Services of Canada (MSC). He is responsible for leading the collection and management of meteorological, climatological, hydrometric, and environmental data in support of water, weather, and climate services in Canada. This includes the management, design, operations, renewal of MSC’s national upper air, surface, marine, hydrometric, lightning, radar, and satellite receiving station networks as well as the IM/IT infrastructure.
VP of the Geointelligence Group for MDA Geospatial Services International, Paul Kennedy has over 25 years in geospatial including the past decade at MDA. He has experience in management and engineering positions in both the private and public sector. His team at MDA meets MDA client’s needs though providing industry-leading operational monitoring programs with data from the RADARSAT-2 SAR satellite combined with additional data sources.
Kumar Navulur is the Senior Director of Strategic Growth for Maxar Technologies, a member of the board of the Open Geospatial Consortium and sits on the advisory board of start-ups. He is an expert in the geospatial industry representing commercial remote sensing industry at UN Group of Experts of Global Geospatial Information Management. An author of the book “Multi-Spectral Image Analysis Using Object Oriented Paradigm” and he holds several patents on image processing and analysis.
The panel moderator, Mr Prashant Shukle, is President of Global Geospatial Group. He has decades of extensive public sector experience including: the launch of RADARSAT, as the first director general and a founder of the Canada Centre for Mapping and Earth Observation, establishing the Canadian Federal Geospatial Platform, and revitalizing Canada’s National Air Photo Archives. He is an international champion of open data, international data standards, and Canadian participation in the UN, the Open Geospatial Consortium, the Group on Earth Observation, and the World Geospatial Industry Council.
Thomas Strong is the President & CEO of CanBIM – Canada’s largest Building & Infrastructure focused technology & Innovation Organization. He currently manages a construction technology consulting practice and acts on the board of directors for several start-ups. An entrepreneur, investor, and technologist, he has worked in project management, built virtual design and construction departments, led strategy as the CTO for one of North America’s largest construction companies, and co-founded industry non-for-profits.
“Diversity in Leadership: Canada’s Geospatial Ecosystem”
David Acco, of Cree-Métis ancestry, is co-founder with Julie Lepage of Acosys is a 100% Aboriginal-owned operated business that provides professional consulting services in Information Technology, Human Resources, and Aboriginal Policy Development. He holds an International MBA from the University of Ottawa and holds multiple advanced university qualifications in business. David has experience leading teams and working independently on projects varying in size and scope with extensive experience in Information Systems and Information Technology.
As CEO of the Open Geospatial Consortium, Dr. Nadine Alameh, is responsible for creating and integrating the strategic direction and business plans of the Consortium in partnership with the Open Geospatial Consortium Board, members and staff. With entrepreneurial experience in the aviation and US public sector, she is a graduate of MIT with a PhD in Computer and Information Systems Engineering, a Masters in Civil and Environmental Engineering, and a Masters in City Planning.
Bilyana Anicic is president of Aurora Consulting. As a founding member of the GeoIgnite Advisory Committee, she is leading the “Leadership in Diversity” and “Digital Transformation”. With over 20 years of extensive experience in geospatial leadership in the Government of Canada, she has been involved in multiple sectors including: , environmental, health, natural resources, and transportation. She recently completed MIT’s Digital Transformation programme “From AI and IoT to Cloud, Blockchain, and Cybersecurity”.
Amina Deiab is the former Chief of Staff to the Deputy Minister of the Policy Coordination Office in the Government of Alberta. With over a decade of leadership in Alberta industries, including the energy and technology sectors, over the last few years, she has worked on key energy policy issues with the Government of Alberta. Ms. Deiab holds a Master’s Degree in Public Policy and Public Administrationfrom Carleton University specializing in Innovation, Science, and Energy Policy.
Founder and CEO of RiverCross Technologies, David Gachuche, is a Geomatics Engineer and technology entrepreneur specializing in location based solutions including spatial tracking and interactive real time mapping. RiverCross Technologies is a group of companies with operations in Canada and Africa that develops location based technology solutions with a focus on monitoring of movable assets, specializing in integrating GPS data with GIS mapping making data available over web and mobile platforms.
