Canada’s Association of Information Technology Professionals, or CIPS, has inducted four new Fellows: Dr. Ken Barker, Derek Burt, Beverley Gooding, and Utpal Mangla. Since 2005 the association’s Fellow Memberships have been awarded to professionals in the Information Technology sector “who have made an outstanding contribution to the advancement of the IT profession or industry in Canada.”
Burt, in particular, is currently an Enterprise Architect and member the IT Architecture team at WestJet Airlines, Ltd. He is an IT Architect by trade, whose primary expertise lies in Enterprise Architecture as well as Business, Solution, and Application Architecture, particularly producing IT architectures for open platforms. He has experience leading projects, teams, and organizations, has worked with a wide variety of clients from across North America, and has been a frequent public speaker. Learn more at Burt’s CIPS Fellows profile at: https://cips.ca/derekburt/
Meanwhile, Dr. Barker is a professor of computer science at the University of Calgary. He holds a PhD in computing science from the University of Alberta (1990) and has many years of experience working with industrial computer systems. He has interest in system integration, distributed systems, database systems, and the privacy and security of data repositories. His CIPS Fellows profile can be viewed at: https://cips.ca/kenbarker/
Gooding has worked in the IT sector since 1970, working at SaskTel, INCO, and SGI, before retiring in 2014. Her Fellows profile can be viewed at: https://cips.ca/beverleygooding/
Mangla is a General Manager responsible for Telco Industry & EDGE Clouds in IBM. Prior to that, he was the VP, Senior Partner and Global Leader of TME Industry’s Centre of Competency. In addition, Utpal led the ‘Innovation Practice’ focusing on AI, 5G EDGE, Hybrid Cloud and Blockchain technologies for clients worldwide. Mangala has been with IBM (and PwC) since 1998. With 20+ years of experience, Utpal is a highly motivated & dynamic leader who thrives in challenging environments. He is reputed for his trust, problem solving and organizational skills. Recipient of numerous client excellence awards, he is recognized as “IBM Top Talent”. Lean more by viewing Mangla’s CIPS Fellows profile at: https://cips.ca/utpalmangla/
Being awarded the CIPS Fellow status is earned recognition of significant development or outstanding contribution to the advancement of the profession, computer technology, the ICT sector or the adoption of ICT. Contributions can be made at a local, provincial, national or international level. Contributions can be made within or for the profession, business or government or industry. They can be made through research, systems development, education, authorship, public policy or advocacy.
The Fellow is the highest class of membership offered by CIPS and can only be obtained with approval from the CIPS National Board of Directors. Fellow Members have agreed to uphold the highest standards of ethics and professional conduct. They also help to promote CIPS and the association’s initiatives and causes within their sphere of influence. Fellow Members use the designation “FCIPS” after their name.