Alumni profile: Judy Dinn

Tell us a little about yourself by including a brief biography.

I’m a senior technology executive with 18 years of experience. I started my technology career with Deloitte consulting after graduating from the University of Waterloo in computer science. I quickly learned that I prefer being in front of people rather than a keyboard. I specialized in IT strategy and application implementations.

After five years traveling in the U.S. and Europe, I decided I wanted operational experience. I went to BMO, Nesbitt Burns to head their IT strategy group and then moved on to Siebel Systems (a CRM software company). My career strategy was to work for various players involved in the software development lifecycle; consulting, software, infrastructure and operations. Siebel Systems allowed me to witness the business drivers of a publicly traded software company and learn best practices in software development. I ran the sales support team and I became familiar with sales professionals, the software sales lifecycle and how customers buy technology.

I then moved to CIBC where after seven years, I left as the V.P., Retail and Wealth Management, Offshore Mutual Trust and Benefits Administration. I was grateful for the opportunity to work in a large matrixed organization where influencing and negotiation skills were critical. I built a high performing collaborative team and enjoyed coming to work every day. I was most proud of our design and execution of a three-year strategy which modernized branch technology with minimal business interruption. It was during this time that I found my second passion — nutrition.  I became a registered nutritionist after two years of weekend and evening courses.

I left CIBC for a terrific opportunity to work with Davis+Henderson (D+H), a FinTech 100 organization (a ranking of top financial technology companies).  During my four years as EVP of Product and Application Solutions, we did six acquisitions. I managed a complex portfolio of 400 applications across various technologies including mobile, cloud and SaaS.

I left D+H for a travelling sabbatical in October. I have been taking annual trips to Europe, so this time we chose a road trip along the Eastern Coast of the United States. My family and I traveled through 13 states staying in remote places – like the one that  required us to drive nine miles on a beach. Other memorable experiences include feeding wild horses from our porch and dodging alligators on a golf course.

When did you work for Deloitte?

I worked from 1994 to 1999. I was a member of the IT strategy practice when there were only a handful of us in this discipline. I worked primarily in the U.S. for pharmaceutical companies and in the later years I was doing CRM & ERP selections and implementations.

What was the highlight of your career experience with Deloitte?

The highlight was the culture. To this day, it remains the benchmark of the type of organizational culture I work in.  It was a collaborative environment that encouraged accountability and insisted on integrity.

What do you do now? What is the best part of your current role?

As well as networking with other professionals and my work as a nutritional consultant, I’m currently pursuing senior executive technology job opportunities within North America.

How would you describe the secret of your success?

• Listening, translating and relating.
  • Listening to understand the problem that needs to be solved. Many times people come with the solution in hand. I want to back up and understand the problem so that options can be brought forward.
  • Translating business strategy to technology strategy and then technology activities.
  • Relating. You must spend the time to relate to individuals – what are their interests, what are their career aspirations? I believe in empowering people and building their confidence.

Have you stayed connected with former Deloitte colleagues? If so, how?

I’ve stayed in touch with my former Deloitte colleagues by attending alumni events, finding them in the organizations I work at and hiring Deloitte to help solve various problems.