Chief Information & Technology Officer, Canadian Tire Corporation
Rex Lee is accountable for technology strategy, architecture, development, operations, and cybersecurity across the CTC family of companies (Canadian Tire, Sportchek, Mark’s, PartyCity, CT Financial Services, Atmosphere, Sports Experts, Pro Hockey Life, Hockey Experts, Partsource, CT REIT, Helly Hansen, and Gas+). His mandate is inclusive of technology operations for 1700+ national retail locations, global corporate facilities, digital, analytics, supply chain, merchandising, marketing, finance, human resources, and other corporate functions.
Reporting to the CEO, Rex leads a talented technology team of 1000+ individuals collaborating with global technology partners to manage and evolve the technology landscape. Rex’s career at CTC began in 2012, with accomplishments including digital transformation, instituting Agile operating models, technology modernization, cloud strategy & operations, cybersecurity strategy, enterprise architecture modernization, CT Innovations, IT operational efficiency programs, and technology architecture for advanced analytics & artificial intelligence.
In 2022, Rex was awarded the Private Sector CIO of the Year on behalf of IT World Canada (ITWC), Canadian CIO and the CIO Association of Canada (CIOCAN) for his critical work leading CTC’s digital transformation. Previously, Rex held senior technology leadership roles at CTC, BlackBerry (RIM), Bell Canada and Bell Mobility, having lead efforts in Digital Transformation, eCommerce, Big Data & Analytics, Social Computing, Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP), Automation, Architecture and Retail Systems.
He has a passion for continuously advancing technology systems, processes, and teams. His approach to innovation and technology have been featured in various publications including the Wall Street Journal, CIO Magazine, IT Canada, Forrester and in the books, Groundswell, Business Goes Virtual and The 2020 Workplace. He currently is a member of various technology advisory boards and is active in the CIO and IT communities. Rex is also on the board of directors for Canada’s largest national cancer charity, The Canadian Cancer Society (CCS) and chairs their Digital Committee.
Rex resides in Toronto with his wife and two daughters, holds an MBA in Marketing and Technology Management from McMaster University, and an undergraduate degree from the University of Western Ontario.