Judges

Jim Love is both CIO and Chief Content Officer at IT World Canada. Over his 40 year career Jim has held senior and executive level positions in both technology and marketing.

He has held senior level positions in management consulting at Ernst and Young and as Global Vice President for the former DMR Group where he headed the global practice in Value and Portfolio Management.

In recognition of his contribution to the consulting industry Jim was made a Fellow of the Institute of Certified Management Consultants (FCMC). He continues to provide strategic advice to businesses and governments in Canada and abroad, including technology-based start-ups and existing companies seeking rapid growth through digital transformation.

He has taught at the University of Waterloo as well as York University.

Jim is a well-known writer and publishes frequently in leading publications in Canada and internationally. He has published numerous articles on strategy, technology and business transformation. His most recent book, co-authored with Fawn Annan is entitled “Digital Transformation in the First Person.” His recent paper on digital transformation, co-authored with Dr. Doug Sparkes was selected for presentation to the IEEE summit in Europe in 2021.

He is host of two popular podcasts, “Leadership in the Digital Enterprise” and “Hashtag Weekend” – both featured on the ITWC podcasting network.

Jim is working on a new book called “Data Driven” which explores how businesses can transform their cultures and operations to deliver exceptional customer experiences and compete as digital enterprises. The book details how Jim and his team built the analytics engine which powers IT World Canada’s (ITWC) analytics and how the culture of that organization changed to become “data driven.”

Laura Hensley is an award-winning journalist and editor based in Toronto. She is currently the Digital Director at Canadian Business and a journalism instructor at Toronto Metropolitan University. Her work has appeared in places like the National Post, Toronto Life, Chatelaine, The Walrus, Best Health Magazine, Hello! Canada, MTV, FASHION Magazine and Refinery29, and on-air at outlets including the BBC, AM640 and Citytv.

Warren has more than 25 years of industry analysis and market research experience consulting and executing research programs for global B2B and consumer-oriented tech and non-tech firms. Warren combines methodological expertise in quantitative and qualitative research with IT analyst experience. He is currently focusing on AI/machine learning implementation as well as executing custom sales & marketing support and thought leadership projects for clients. Warren’s research priorities for AI/machine learning include process and workflow change as well as the use of these technologies in digital transformation initiatives.

Prior to returning to IDC, Warren was Director of B2B Research at Leger Marketing, Director of Research for Leger Marketing's Consumer Insights and Technology practice, Lead Technology Analyst at The Strategic Counsel, and in his original tenure at IDC Canada, Lead Software Market Analyst. Warren also worked at The Research Board strategic IT consultancy subsidiary of Gartner in NY and had a merchant banking stint in Europe. He personally moderates over 100 focus groups, panel discussions, sales education sessions and In-Depth Interviews per year and has extensive experience delivering provoking thought leadership research and working with customers' marketing and sales teams.