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Curtis Messam

Director, IT

About

As a visionary IT leader with 19 years of experience in IT infrastructure management, cybersecurity and cloud migration, Curtis Messam brings a wealth of knowledge to his role as Director of IT. His leadership is complemented by a decade of experience in customer service and he has a proven track record of leading successful digital transformations that reduce operational costs and enhance security.

Demonstrating a forward-thinking approach, Curtis is adept at leveraging emerging AI technologies to enhance operational efficiencies and team productivity. . By empowering staff with AI-driven tools, he has a proven ability to boost productivity and streamline workflows, positioning organizations to capitalize on the next wave of technological innovation.

Curtis excels at transforming complex technologies into accessible and effective solutions that align with business needs and ensure operational excellence. He has a strong history of developing and executing strategic IT plans, in one instance completing a five-year plan a full year ahead of schedule. His expertise in budget oversight has been instrumental in managing million-dollar IT budgets and realizing significant cost savings.

A key area of Curtis’s focus is cybersecurity. He has successfully reduced phishing susceptibility by 75 per cent through comprehensive staff training and has a proven record of maintaining zero critical vulnerabilities over a two-year period of extensive penetration testing. His proactive approach to security has also decreased incident response times by 45 per cent.

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The Canadian Institute for Advanced Research (CIFAR) is a globally influential research organization proudly based in Canada. We mobilize the world’s most brilliant people across disciplines and at all career stages to advance transformative knowledge and solve humanity’s biggest problems, together. We are supported by the governments of Canada, Alberta and Québec, as well as Canadian and international foundations, individuals, corporations and partner organizations.

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