Past Speaker - Wendy Cukier

Wendy Cukier is one of Canada’s leading experts in disruptive technologies, innovation processes and diversity. She is a Professor of Information Technology and Management. She has written more than 200 papers on technology, innovation and management and is co-author of the bestseller “Innovation Nation: Canadian Leadership from Java to Jurassic Park.”

She is the Founder of Ryerson University’s Diversity Institute, which she founded in 1999 and has led projects aimed at promoting the participation and advancement of underrepresented groups. Dr. Cukier has assisted organizations in becoming more inclusive through innovative programs such as DiversityLeads funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council, which tracks the progress, impediments and evidenced-based strategies for promoting diversity in organizations.

During her five-year term as Ryerson University’s Vice-President of Research and Innovation, she transformed her unit to support the growth of research and to promote innovation and commercialization. Under her leadership, research and partnerships expanded, driving an increase in external funding by more than 60% over 5 years.

Dr. Cukier spearheaded Ryerson’s social innovation strategy to help engage faculty and students from across the university in all disciplines in the innovation agenda. This included leading the bid to become Canada’s first Ashoka Changemaker Campus. She also created innovative programs to support student learning, experiential learning and applied research (iSTEM, ADaPT, Summer Company, RECODE, RBC) with particular focus on leveling the playing field between Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM), and Social Science and Humanities (SSH) funding and opportunities.

Previously, Dr. Cukier was the first Associate Dean of the Ted Rogers School of Management, leading the development of new MBA programs, dramatically expanding research activities, and gaining accreditation by the Association for the Advancement of Collegiate Schools of Business. She continues to teach and mentor students in several programs at Ryerson University. An active volunteer, her work has been widely recognized for its impact.

She is a recipient of the Governor General’s Meritorious Cross, one of Canada’s highest civilian honours. She was also named one of the University of Toronto’s 100 Alumni Who Shaped the Century, was selected in 2013 as one of Canada’s Top 25 Women of Influence and in 2010 was selected as one of 25 Transformational Canadians by The Globe and Mail, La Presse and CTV. More recently, she received the Black Business Professional Association’s Harry Jerome Diversity Award, and in November of 2016, became a Fellow of the Canadian Geographic Society.

Dr. Cukier holds an MA and MBA from the University of Toronto, a PhD from the Schulich School of Business, York University. She has also received an honorary doctorate from Laval University in medicine, dentistry and nursing and an honorary Doctor of Laws from Concordia University.