New President announced for CIO Association of Canada's (CIOCAN) Vancouver Chapter: Alex Buhler (CIO at Mountain Equipment Co-op) succeeds Jories Timmers (Director IT and CIO at Powerex)

VANCOUVER, June 11, 2012 /CNW/ - Alex Buhler (MEC) will assume leadership of CIOCAN's largest chapter June 30, succeeding Jories Timmers (Powerex) after a two-year term.  The new board includes Vancouver IT leaders: Ian Banks, Business Development, Ritchie Bros and former President of the Vancouver chapter; Alex Buhler, CIO, Mountain Equipment Coop; Ken Ontko: Vice President Information Systems & CIO, BCAA; Carmen Plesch, CIO White West Water West; Blaize Reich, RBC Professor of Technology and Innovation, Segal School of Business, SFU; Jories Timmers, Past President Vancouver Chapter, IT Director and CIO, Powerex; Gary Munro, CIO Justice Institute of BC; Lloyd Bauer, CIO Translink;  John Tolkamp: Director, IT, Ainsworth Engineered Canada. 

Buhler, a longtime member and past chair of several board portfolios, aims to continue the focus on building value for members, and on amplifying the voice of the CIO in business and government sectors.

Buhler "Our members report year after year that they find best value in the peer network and executive development at CIOCAN, and those are areas where we want to make continuous improvement.  Vancouver Chapter has attracted more than 130 senior IT leaders from a wide range of business and public sector organizations - leaders who really want to get a cross-industry perspective on critical business issues from working CIOs and local academic leaders.   They can now share ideas and best practices in several ways:  at monthly lunch or dinner events with guest experts; at monthly coffee mornings in three different sectors of the city; and through our national e-network.   Jories and the whole chapter board have done a great job here - our membership has jumped over 20% during the past two-years - we're clearly doing something right."

Jories Timmers  "We're giving back to the community as well - the CIO Association is becoming a valued resource to business, government and education.   For example, Vancouver Chapter is active in growing the next generation of IT leaders through its involvement with SFU's CaseIT program, and with the CIOCAN/SFU Leadership Development Program.   CIOCAN members are frequent presenters at conferences about how technology can drive innovation and productivity, and how boards and executives can address the attendant security and cost issues.   Our CIOs speak to students and parents about why IT is a great career track.  And CIOCAN members sit on many regional and national boards where they bring the benefits of their association experience to a broader business audience. "

National President, Gary Davenport  "CIOs are in demand as advisors on many critical business issues.  What are the hot topics?  Why is Canada lagging in productivity and innovation and what can we do about it?   How can we leverage technology to drive business results without breaking the bank?  Should we move to the Cloud?  Should we allow/encourage employees to bring their own devices to work?   All of us are dealing with these issues every day, issues that are not always easy to articulate to a non-tech audience.   We need to communicate in terms of business value.  It just makes sense for us to get feedback from other CIOs on how they're dealing with the issues so that we can communicate more effectively and make better decisions within our own organizations.  That's what the CIO Association is all about - and Vancouver Chapter is covering all the bases.  We are grateful for the excellent contributions that Jories Timmers has made, and we know that Alex Buhler and his board will build on these to deliver more value to our members and truly become the voice of CIOs in Canada."

Media Contact: 

Vancouver: [email protected]

National:  [email protected]