The Catalyst by Softchoice

The tech sector has an important role to play in the efforts toward an inclusive and equitable world for all, giving us a unique opportunity to re-evaluate what “innovation” truly means. In this episode, we meet up with Cisco Canada’s President Shannon Leininger to discuss how the world of DE&I has evolved in the technology industry and how IT leaders can amplify Diversity, Equity and Inclusion to succeed.

Featuring:   

Shannon Leininger, President, Cisco  Canada 

Special appearance by:   

Robbin Simpkins, Senior Manager of Services Improvement at Softchoice 

Soraya Mohamed, Cloud Advisor for VMware at Softchoice 
 

The Catalyst by Softchoice is the podcast shining a light on the human side of IT leaders and reframing our relationship with technology.    

Are you a leader in the IT space? Read more on Softchoice’s Innovation Executive Forum, an exclusive, members-only community of over 400 senior IT leaders across North America. 

The Catalyst by Softchoice is the podcast dedicated to exploring the intersection of humans and technology. 

A few episodes ago, we talked to David Kennedy about the new obstacles that IT leaders are facing - as cybersecurity threats get more advanced and even more dangerous. But there was a lot more to this conversation that we had to unpack.  

Why are employees and people still the weakest link? What part of security awareness training isn’t sticking? 

Erika Van Noort meets up with Sharyl Givens, Chief Human Resources Officer at Proofpoint to unpack the tangible steps you can use to protect your people and your company. It’s time to  turn your weakest links into your strongest assets. 

Featuring:   

Sharyl Givens, Chief Human resources Officer at Proofpoint 

Special appearance by:   

Molly Moreash,  Commercial Account Sales Leader at Softchoice 

Robbin Simpkins, Senior Manager of Services Improvement at Softchoice 

Soraya Mohamed, Cloud Advisor for V.M Ware at Softchoice 

Sabina Beckman, Territory Sales Account Executive at Softchoice 
 

The Catalyst by Softchoice is the podcast shining a light on the human side of IT leaders and reframing our relationship with technology.    

Are you a leader in the IT space? Read more on Softchoice’s Innovation Executive Forum, an exclusive, members-only community of over 400 senior IT leaders across North America. 

The Catalyst by Softchoice is the podcast dedicated to exploring the intersection of humans and technology. 

The major shift to a digital world over the last year created innovations and mindset changes that people with disabilities have been waiting on for years. Today, our values and dollars have never been more connected, and that means that organizations that are prioritizing accessibility are seeing some big benefits!  

So how important is accessibility to both your culture and bottom line? Ricardo Wagner, Accessibility Lead at Microsoft joins Erika Van Noort to discuss how the shifts to an accessible workplace and customer experience is imperative to the future and success of an organization. 

Featuring:   

Ricardo Wagner, Microsoft Accessibility Lead 

Special appearance by:   

Sabina Beckman, Territory Sales Account Executive and Co-Chair of the AccessAbility ERG at Softchoice 

The Catalyst by Softchoice is the podcast shining a light on the human side of IT leaders and reframing our relationship with technology.    

Are you a leader in the IT space? Read more on Softchoice’s Innovation Executive Forum, an exclusive, members-only community of over 400 senior IT leaders across North America.

The Catalyst by Softchoice is the podcast dedicated to exploring the intersection of humans and technology. 

The year 2020 was one of many turning points in the IT industry, so when it comes to cybersecurity, you’d hope there were some silver linings, right? Well, we might have some bad news. 

In the year since the global pandemic hit, hackers have gotten more sophisticated and dangerous. In this episode, David Kennedy, renowned cybersecurity leader and best-selling author, returns to the podcast to take a look at the major SolarWinds attack, the new obstacles for IT and best practices for securing your people, data and customer relationships. 

Featuring:   

David Kennedy, co-founder at Binary Defense and Trusted Sec 

Special appearances by:   

Rebecca Martinez, Senior Enterprise Account Leader, Softchoice  

Ryan Demelo, Solutions Marketing Manager, Cloud Portfolio at Softchoice  

Christopher Payne, Territory Sales Leader, Softchoice  

The Catalyst by Softchoice is the podcast shining a light on the human side of IT leaders and reframing our relationship with technology.   

Are you a leader in the IT space? Read more on Softchoice’s Innovation Executive Forum, an exclusive, members-only community of over 400 senior IT leaders across North America.  

The Catalyst by Softchoice is the podcast dedicated to exploring the intersection of humans and technology. 

Business leaders have access to more employee data than ever before. But, as with everything else that’s happened with the shift to remote working, there are risks in every opportunity. 

Unified communications thought leader Kevin Keiller and Microsoft’s Sherief Ibrahim join Erika Van Noort to examine the ethical issues and the positive impact these new data and intelligence capabilities bring to the workforce of the future.  

Featuring:  

Sherief Ibrahim, GM of Modern Workplace Devices at Microsoft 

Kevin Keiller, Globally recognized unified communications and collaboration technology thought-leader  

Special appearances by:  

Christine Irving, Principal, Softchoice Design Studio 
Ryan Demelo, Solutions Marketing Manager, Cloud Portfolio at Softchoice 
Rebecca Martinez, Senior Enterprise Account Leader, Softchoice 
Christopher Payne, Territory Sales Leader, Softchoice 

The Catalyst by Softchoice is the podcast shining a light on the human side of IT leaders and reframing our relationship with technology.   

Are you a leader in the IT space? Read more on Softchoice’s Innovation Executive Forum, an exclusive, members-only community of over 400 senior IT leaders across North America.  

The Catalyst by Softchoice is the podcast dedicated to exploring the intersection of humans and technology. 

We aren’t ever going back to the office – at least not in the same way. So what does that mean for the workplace, and even what “work” really is? 

IT leaders today are tasked with rapidly building the infrastructure, security and user experience needed to create a sustainable and modern Hybrid Workplace. But they’re also operating with no playbook in hand! 

In this episode, Erika speaks to a thought leader about the future of work, as well as Softchoice’s own SVP about scaling a new way of working. 

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Featuring:  

Jeff Reis, Senior Vice President of Information and Technology, Softchoice 

Stephen Harrington, Director, Deloitte 

Special appearances by:  

Ryan Demelo, Solutions Marketing Manager, Cloud Portfolio at Softchoice 

Rebecca Martinez, Senior Enterprise Account Leader, Softchoice 

Christopher Payne, Territory Sales Leader, Softchoice 

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The Catalyst by Softchoice is the podcast that is shining a light on the human side of IT leaders and reframing our relationship with technology.   

Are you a leader in the IT space? Read more on Softchoice’s Innovation Executive Forum, an exclusive, members-only community of over 400 senior IT leaders across North America.  

The Catalyst by Softchoice is the podcast dedicated to exploring the intersection of humans and technology. 

The year 2020 saw IT leaders quickly adapting to a new world, creating changes that sometimes felt like they were a long-time coming. Now, a year later, the only way forward is to keep up the courage and continue to push ahead with bold new ideas. There’s no turning back. 

This season, we’re once again shining a spotlight on the intersection of people and technology. We'll find out where the hybrid workplace is headed and re-examine what “work” actually means these days. We’ll figure out how workplace analytics can protect our mental health, the business impact of accessible technology, and how Diversity, Equity and Inclusion are now a critical factor in the IT landscape. And much, much more. 

 
Join host Erika Van Noort for the Season 2 premiere on March 17th, 2021. New episodes every two weeks after that!
 
The Catalyst is an original podcast from Softchoice.
For more on Softchoice, go to https://www.softchoice.com/ 

The Catalyst by Softchoice is the podcast dedicated to exploring the intersection of humans and technology. 

The year 2020  pushed us all to great lengths to achieve things we never thought possible – and it was no exception for those in the IT space.  

With the year almost behind us, the question is: what now?    

In this episode, host Erika van Noort is joined by her Softchoice colleague Aaron Brooks – Senior Director of Strategy -- for a year-end, season finale. Together they review the key insights we uncovered from our co-workers and our tech leaders in Season 1 and look forward to how these same conversations will shape the IT journey in 2021 and beyond.    

The Catalyst by Softchoice is the podcast that is shining a light on the human side of IT leaders and reframing our relationship with technology.  

Are you a leader in the IT space? Read more on Softchoice’s Innovation Executive Forum, an exclusive, members-only community of over 400 senior IT leaders across North America. 

The Catalyst by Softchoice is the podcast dedicated to exploring the intersection of humans and technology. 

As Canada’s longest-running restaurant chain, White Spot and Triple O's Restaurants served more than 17 million guests last year. But since the world nearly stopped in March 2020, Vice President of IT Shauna Begley has been tasked with finding innovative solutions to keep burgers and shakes a part of people’s everyday lives. 

In this episode we’re taking a deep dive into the new user experience of dining out. What design innovation will result in a safer date night? Or, will we still be eating outside, next to a heat lamp all winter long? 

From AI in the kitchen to the sudden rise of QR codes, feast your ears on a cornucopia of culinary digital transformation.   

Featuring: 

Shauna Begley, Vice President of IT at White Spot and Triple O’s 
 

Special appearances by: 

Almir Pervan, Senior Manager of Microsoft Programs at Softchoice 

Michelle Blom, Talent Advisor for Campus & Territory Sales at Softchoice 

Michael Bertrand, Digital Marketing Manager at Softchoice 

Justin Hane, Director of Brand and Communications at Softchoice 
 

The Catalyst by Softchoice is the podcast that is shining a light on the human side of IT leaders and reframing our relationship with technology.  

 
Are you a leader in the IT space? Read more on Softchoice’s Innovation Executive Forum, an exclusive, members-only community of over 400 senior IT leaders across North America. 

The Catalyst by Softchoice is the podcast dedicated to exploring the intersection of humans and technology. 

For nearly a century, the way people travelled the world didn’t change much. And then came COVID-19. Now, Erika Van Noort feels strange leaving her house at all. 

In this episode, Erika sets out to understand the ever-present relationship between travel and technology and what is top of mind for travelers, industry leaders and travel bloggers alike. 

In a featured interview, Erika meets up with Derek Marshall, Chief Technology Officer at TripStack, a B2B travel technology company. They talk about the future of the industry and how big data, AI, digital transformation, and next-generation customer experiences are at the forefront of getting travel back off the ground. 

Featuring:
Derek Marshall, Chief Technology Officer at TripStack 

Special appearances by:
Christopher Mitchel, Travel Writer at TravelingMitch and Ultimate Ontario 
Almir Pervan, Senior Manager of Microsoft Programs at Softchoice 
Michelle Blom, Talent Advisor for Campus & Territory Sales at Softchoice 
Michael Bertrand, Digital Marketing Manager at Softchoice 
Justin Hane, Director of Brand and Communications at Softchoice 

Clip from:  

• CBC Marketplace, “The Fight for Airline Refunds”. 

The Catalyst by Softchoice is the podcast that is shining a light on the human side of IT leaders and reframing our relationship with technology.  

Are you a leader in the IT space? Read more on Softchoice’s Innovation Executive Forum, an exclusive, members-only community of over 400 senior IT leaders across North America. 

The Catalyst by Softchoice is the podcast dedicated to exploring the intersection of humans and technology.