Kevin Peesker is President of Microsoft Canada responsible for leading a world class team who delivers transformative outcomes for Canadians. Through Microsoft’s partner ecosystem, citizenship efforts and employee engagement programs, Kevin’s objective is to empower every person and organization across Canada to achieve more.
A proven transformational leader with more than 28 years of experience in technology that has taken him to over 70 countries, Kevin has held leadership roles in finance, marketing, operations, sales, and general management. Kevin is passionate about the development of teams, building customers for life and driving collaboration between government/industry and technology. He focuses his time with Microsoft’s customers, partners and teams, traveling extensively so he can hear first-hand how Microsoft can better serve each stakeholder as a true technology partner.
Most recently, the President of Dell EMC Canada, Kevin held multiple senior leadership roles spanning every customer/industry segment over his 14 years with Dell including leading the UK & Ireland Consumer, Small and Medium Businesses (CSMB), and leadership of the CSMB business units spanning Europe.
Born in Western Canada, Kevin holds an MBA from the Australian Graduate School of Management. He resides in Toronto with his wife Karen and is active in the community, volunteering his time coaching youth and serving on boards. Kevin is member of the Board of Directors and Vice Chair of the Information Technology Association of Canada.
CIO Peer Forum 2019, Day 1: Keynote speaker
Disrupting the Disrupters: Thriving in the Digital Age
Barely a week passes without an announcement about a new AI incubator or research lab. AI is all around us and investment has been particularly aggressive right here in Canada. In fact, Toronto added more tech jobs between 2012 and 2017 than San Francisco. And yet, Canadian businesses are lagging behind in the adoption and deployment of AI relative to our peers. Why are Canadians so bullish on AI research and development and so restrained on its business applications? What are the barriers for business leaders and what is their reticence costing them? How should organizations get started on their AI strategy and accelerate digital transformation across the business?
In his closing keynote, Peesker will address these questions in a discussion about the importance of AI, and using concrete examples will demonstrate how organizations can use AI to transform and grow their business