Debra Christmas is a seasoned leader in the high tech field with over 35 years of experience managing all aspects of information technology. Prior to joining Gartner Canada, Debra was Vice President of Hewlett-Packard Software Technical Sales leading a team of over 300 technical software sales professionals across North and South America, contributing to $500M in sales for HP Software. She has led IT organizations in both the public and private sectors driving change and transformation through engaged, diverse and high performance teams around the world. Between her two tours of duty for Hewlett-Packard she was Chief Information Officer of the City of Kingston and Kanata (Ottawa-Carleton region) where she lead major technology and business transformations to optimize costs and deliver progressive and innovative constituent services. She has facilitated and co-delivered with Peak Teams, leadership development workshops around the world. She is the co-creator of PACE, an award winning presentation and communications course. Her role as an Executive Partner provides her the honour and privilege of working with senior leaders – both technology and business focused – on their strategy, execution of their initiatives, organizational challenges and their own professional development. She leverages the The Box of Crayons Coaching Methodology and her certifications in Tilt365 and The Leadership Circle (based on the book “Mastering Leadership”) 360 assessments as executive coaching instruments. She is a conduit to the extensive resources and information assets within the Gartner organization to help her clients drive results and achieve the targeted business outcomes.
CIO Peer Forum 2019, Day 1: Track Speaker
Title: Diversity – Taking Action & Delivering Results
Diversity in IT is unquestionably an issue as the demand for talent significantly exceeds availability and studies increasingly show the benefits of diversity in delivering improved bottom-line business performance. This panel explores tangible steps being taken and the results of such efforts. Learn what is working and consider initiatives you could lead within your organization or within the broader industry to drive much needed change.
Speakers: Debra Christmas, Sylvia Apostolidis, Yasemin Sezer, Susan Van Klink