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Higher ed IT isn’t just about technology—it’s about leadership, strategy, and navigating the unique challenges of institutional culture. And we’ve seen it all. Two retired Canadian Higher Ed CIOs—and CUCCIO CIO of the Year winners—Bo Wandschneider and Dana Sanderson—bring decades of experience tackling technology, governance, and innovation in Canadian universities. In Bytes of Experience: CIOs Unplugged, they cut through the noise to discuss real challenges, real solutions, and the realities of IT leadership. Expect deep insights, candid discussions, and plenty of humor—because IT isn’t always glamorous, but it’s always interesting. Whether you’re a seasoned pro or new to the field, join them for an unfiltered look at the digital evolution of higher ed IT.
Episodes
Nov 3, 2025
Nov 3, 2025
32 min
In this episode Bo Wandschneider and Dana Sanderson talk with Brian Stewart, CIO at SFU, about Uniform, an administrative benchmarking system used in Canada, the UK and Australia, and how it helped the University of Alberta drive a major service consolidation and cost realignment.
They discuss what Uniform measures, the nuance needed when using its data, how benchmarking informed a service‑hub operating model, and the key lesson: re‑engineer processes and reduce effort before cutting staff to achieve sustainable transformation.
Oct 30, 2025
Oct 30, 2025
37 min
In this episode, Gayleen Gray, CTO at McMaster University, joins us to unpack why blanket budget cuts undermine institutional resilience when IT is treated as a cost center. Drawing on Alex Usher’s insights, we explore digital transformation gaps, the rise of shadow IT, benchmarking strategies, and how smart investments in people and platforms can drive efficiency, trust, and long-term savings.
Resources:
"No One is Coming to Save Us” June 12, 2024
🔗 Link to blog
“Nobody is Coming to Save Us, But…” March 17, 2025
🔗 Link to blog
“Where Canada Lies in Global Trends” (World of Higher Ed podcast) January 9, 2025
🔗 Podcast episode
Oct 14, 2025
Oct 14, 2025
37 min
Episode 7 welcomes CISO Isaac Straley to explore the evolving role of the CISO in higher education — from reporting lines and key relationships with CIOs, presidents, and budget offices to the human impact of breaches.
Bo and Dana discuss practical leadership lessons, collaborative security models like CANSOC, and how security programs should enable research and campus life rather than simply impose controls.
Key takeaways: prioritize people, translate technical controls into institutional outcomes, and build trust across campus to manage risk effectively.
Oct 14, 2025
Oct 14, 2025
20 min
In part two of their storytelling arc, Bo and Dana unpack the leadership lessons behind their most memorable IT projects. From trust-building in crisis to the art of triage and communication, they explore what it really takes to steer technology through chaos. With reflections on collaboration, resilience, and the occasional comic relief, this episode turns hard-won experience into practical wisdom for anyone leading tech in higher ed.
Oct 14, 2025
Oct 14, 2025
32 min
In this episode Bo and Dana share unfiltered stories of major IT challenges and wins from their careers in higher education — from a risky Office 365 migration and a campus-wide ERP rollout (Project Beacon) to building a Data Resource Center and a resilient campus network through COVID and Hurricane Fiona.
They highlight practical leadership lessons: communication and trust, listening to stakeholders, turning skeptics into allies, and focusing on student experience and process maturity. Expect candid insights on change management, collaboration across IT, libraries and research, and how persistence and transparency pay off.
Oct 14, 2025
Oct 14, 2025
42 min
In this episode of Bytes of Experience, Bo and Dana explore the cultural conflicts CIOs face in higher education—resistance to change, shared governance versus agility, misaligned priorities, reporting structures, security and innovation tensions, and uneven digital literacy.
They share examples from campus life, discuss strategies for turning conflict into opportunity through cultural change and storytelling, and present a day‑in‑the‑life profile of Dr. Abby Lee, a CIO balancing diplomacy, strategy, and rapid context switching.
Oct 14, 2025
Oct 14, 2025
33 min
Bo Wandschneider and Dana Sanderson discuss the modern CIO’s challenges in higher education, exploring five themes: translation between tech and stakeholders, navigating institutional culture and shared governance, strategic influence beyond IT, emotional intelligence in leadership, and metrics, wins, and accountability.
This is Part 1 of the episode series, highlighting storytelling, digital moments, building partnerships, trust during crises, and how to communicate wins; Part 2 will follow to cover cultural conflicts and a day-in-the-life CIO story.
Oct 14, 2025
Oct 14, 2025
36 min
Two recently retired CIOs, Bo Wandschneider and Dana Sanderson, reflect on decades of higher education IT evolution. They trace the journey from punch cards and mainframes to cloud platforms, discuss the tension between centralized and decentralized IT, and share lessons about culture, governance, funding, and strategic planning.
The episode also tackles pressing pressure points—security, privacy, accessibility, sustainability, and the impact of AI—while offering leadership takeaways about perseverance, listening, and collaborative strategy.
Resources:
Link to "The Crisis in Information Technology Support: Has Our Current Model Reached Its Limit "- Polley McClure
🎧 Episodes released - Season 1 - Part 1
S01-E01 -Unfiltered CIOs: People, Power & Campus Tech - BETA
S01-E02 From Mainframes to the Cloud: Higher Ed IT Unfiltered - BETA
S01-E03 CIO Tightrope: Balancing Tech Strategy and Campus Culture - Part 1 - BETA
S01-E04 CIO Tightrope: When Innovation Meets Tradition: Navigating Cultural Conflict - Part 2 - BETA
S01-E05 Where IT Nightmares Become Leadership Legends—And Sometimes, Laughs. Part 1 - BETA
S01-E06 Where IT Nightmares Become Leadership Legends—And Sometimes, Laughs. Part 2 - BETA
S01-E07 - Guest Isaac Straley - The CISO Tightrope: Balancing Boards, CIOs, and Campus Culture
S01-E08 -Cutting Ourselves Short: IT Strategy and the Budget Crisis → Guest - Gayleen Gray, CTO, McMaster University
S01-E09 - Benchmarking for change: Uniforum and the University if Alberta Model Guest - Brian Stewart, CIO SFU (former Director Service Excellence Transformation UofA)
S01-E10 - IT Is Something You Do With People, Not To People → Guest Keith McWhirter, former Director of Experiential Partnerships & Programs, Smith School of Business, Queen’s University
S01-E11- How CUCCIO United Canada’s University CIOs: The Untold Story → Guest Lori McMullen, Founding Executive Director of CUCCIO
S01-E12- Beyond the Silo: Translating Tech into Transformation - CIO Meets COO → Guest Maroquine Aziz COO and Founder of TopFractionalExecs
S01-E13- Leading Culture, Not Just Controls: Cybersecurity in Higher Ed → Guest David Shipley CEO and Co Founder, Beauceron Security
S01-E14 - Stronger Together: A CanSSOC Conversation Guest Isaac Straley
S01-E15- Uniting Forces: How uOttawa Aligns IT for Impact Guest Martin Bernier, CIO University of Ottawa
S01-E16 Year in Review — Leadership, Trust, and the Human Side of Tech CO Hosts Dana Sanderson and Bo Wandschnieder
S01-E17- From Servers Under Desks to a National Strategy: The CIO’s Role in Shaping Canada’s Digital Research Future Guest Lori McMullen, Interim VP Operations & Strategy
S01-E18- - IT Leadership at the Board Table: Lessons from Marc Denoncourt, Retired CIO McGill University
S01-E19-The Human Side of Transformation: Mark Humphries on Listening, Culture, and Trust Guest Mark Humphries, CIO University of Alberta
S01-E20 When Auditors Meet CIOs: Building Trust in University IT Governance Guest Alex Matos, Executive Director of Internal Auditor University of Toronto
🎧 Episodes released - Season 1 - Part 2
S01-E21 - Beyond IT: How CIOs Win Influence in the Boardroom Guest Kevin Magee, Global Director Cybersecurity Startups @ Microsoft for StartUps , University Board Member Brock University and UPEI
S01-E22-Crossing Systems, Building Culture: Jason Oliver on Leading Higher Ed IT in Canada
Guest Jason Oliver - CIO Western University
S01-E23- When Libraries and IT Converge: A Decade of Leadership at the University of Guelph
Guest Mike Ridley
S01-E24-Leading Across Borders: Higher Ed IT Lessons
Guest Richard Godsmark
S01-E25- Process Is Strategy: Gary Doucette on Culture, Change, and Continuous Improvement
Guest Gary Doucette - Strategic Advisor, Acadia University
01-E26-People First: How Culture Transforms Healthcare
Guest Michele James
S01-E27 - Curiosity, Consciousness, and Culture Change in Higher Ed Guest Meghan Kirwin
S01-E28: Stronger Together: Shared Security Models and Global Cyber Partnerships Guest - Kevin Paul - Cybera
S01-E29-Leading with Inclusion: Nela Petkovic on Collaboration, Culture, and Cybersecurity Guest - Nela Petkovic CIO Wilfred Laurier University
S01-E30 -Growing IT Leaders: Inside Cuccio’s Leadership Development Program Guests - Bob Cook, CUCCIO LDP Program Leader; Gayleen Gray, AVP & CTO McMaster University
S01-E31-Leading with Heart and Strategy: Lessons from the Toughest Guest - Sandeep Sidhu , CIO Emily Carr University of Art and Design
S01-E32 - The Power of Human Connection: Why Leaders Can’t Ignore It Anymore Guest - Pete Bombaci, Genwell
S01-E33-Leading Across Campus Cultures: Michael Barr on Polytech, Non‑U15, and U15 Realities Guest - Michael Barr, CIO USask
S01-E34 - From the Court to the Core: Ray Darling on Leadership, Data, and Student Experience Guest - Ray Darling , Registrar University of Windsor
S01-E35- Leadership in Practice: Lessons from a CUCCIO LDP Graduate Guest - Darren Schell, CIO University of Lethbridge
🎧 Future Episodes
(Working titles)
National Cybersecurity Collaboration: Where We Are, What’s Working, and What’s Holding Us Back
Guest - Axel Schulz , CANARIE
Advocacy, Research Ecosystems, and the Future of Sovereign Compute
Guest - Jennifer Arbour, AWS
Please send us your ideas for future episodes:
feedback@BytesofExperience.ca
Bo Wandschneider - Co Host
Bo Wandschneider is a nationally respected leader in higher education IT, known for driving innovation, resilience, and strategic transformation. As the recently retired CIO of the University of Toronto, Bo led one of Canada’s largest higher ed IT organizations through pivotal change—including the rapid shift to virtual learning and remote operations during the COVID-19 pandemic. His leadership fostered agility, cohesion, and a deep culture of service during a time of disruption.
In 2024, Bo was named CUCCIO CIO of the Year, recognizing his outstanding contributions to the sector and his role in shaping the future of digital infrastructure in Canadian higher education.
Bo’s influence reaches across Canada through his work on cybersecurity initiatives like ORION ON-CHEC and CANARIE’s CanSSOC, where he was a founding member. He’s also held senior roles at Queen’s University and the University of Guelph, and is a trusted collaborator among CIOs nationwide—championing shared solutions and sector-wide progress.
Renowned for building high-performing teams and empowering others, Bo leads with a collaborative ethos and a commitment to cultural transformation. He creates environments where innovation thrives, people feel valued, and institutions evolve to meet the future. His work is rooted in partnership—connecting organizations to achieve more together than they could alone.
Dana Sanderson - Co Host
Dana Sanderson recently retired as Chief Information Officer at the University of Prince Edward Island (UPEI), where he spent over a decade leading transformative initiatives that modernized the university’s technology landscape. A UPEI alumnus with an MBA from the University of Ottawa, Dana spearheaded UPEI’s first enterprise-wide ERP implementation, overhauled campus network infrastructure, and championed digital solutions that enhanced the student experience and supported institutional sustainability. Earlier in his career, Dana worked for J.D. Irving, Limited in a number of IT leadership roles.
With more than 25 years of IT leadership experience at J.D. Irving, Limited and UPEI Dana has a strong reputation as a strategic leader and “bridge-builder” between business needs and technology solutions. He actively represented the interests of UPEI as well as the Atlantic region through his board and member contributions to NBPEIECN, NREN, DRAC, and CUCCIO. His contributions to the Canadian higher education IT community were recognized with the 2023 CUCCIO Community Award, and he was a finalist for the 2019 ITAC Canadian CIO of the Year Award.
🎙️ Credits & Acknowledgments
We’re grateful to the many tools and voices that help bring Bytes of Experience to life:
- Recording & Editing: All episodes are recorded using Audacity, lightly cleaned and compressed before export as MP3 files.
- Publishing Platform: We publish through Podbean, using Podbean AI to enhance audio clarity and consistency.
- Transcripts: Auto-generated by Podbean AI and presented as-is, with minimal post-editing.
- Music: Our theme and interlude music are sourced from Pixabay and The Grand Project, under royalty-free licenses.
- Voiceover: The introduction voiceover is provided by Kimberly Colburn.
- Support: Support provided by CUCCIO LDP (Leadership Development Program) CUCCIO LDP
- Visuals: Podcast images and graphics are created using Copilot.
- Feedback & Questions: Reach us anytime at feedback@bytesofexperience.ca.
- LinkedIn: Follow our updates and behind-the-scenes insights on LinkedIn.