Digital Hero Honorees 2019

AppDirect annually recognizes individuals with the vision, courage, influence, determination, compassion, and curiosity to drive impactful business transformations.

Recognizing the Forces Driving Innovation in the Digital Economy

Digital leaders are emerging as a critical differentiator between companies that succeed in the digital economy and those that don't. These digital champions tackle difficult challenges at every turn, from planning, to gaining internal alignment, to shaking up entrenched company culture, to securing budget—and that's just the beginning. The people who go to work day after day and confront these issues head on are special individuals who deserve special recognition.

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What Defines A Digital Hero?

  • Vision

    A clear picture of what needs to be done and how to accomplish it.

  • Courage

    The strength to do what's difficult and persevere.

  • Influence

    The ability to have an effect on the ideas and actions of others.

  • Determination

    A firm sense of purpose and resolve to follow through.

  • Compassion

    The imperative to put people at the core of everything digital.

  • Curiosity

    The drive to constantly ask questions and seek new answers.

AppDirect's 2019 Digital Hero Honorees

Stéphane Boisvert

Pivotal

Stéphane has been leading digital transformation efforts since before the phenomenon really even had a name.

Pivotal

Stéphane Boisvert

Over the course of his 30-year career, Stéphane has worked to constantly challenge the status quo and solve complex business problems. He has held leadership positions at some of the world's largest technology companies, including IBM, Sun Microsystems, and Pivotal. As President of the Enterprise Group at Bell Canada, he ushered in the era of subscription commerce. Today, he is a Senior Executive Advisor at Pivotal as well as Chief Operating Officer at Solution-tek, and continues to drive digital innovation.

Khaled Chaar

CANCOM

Many small to mid-size businesses face a dilemma: They need technology, but it's next to impossible to find and manage all of the tools they require. Khaled is working to change that.

CANCOM

Khaled Chaar

In his role at CANCOM, Khaled analyzes markets, assesses new technologies, and evaluates new IT procurement models — all with an eye on making it easier for companies to access the software and services they need. "Cloud clutter" is the enemy, and guided by Khaled's vision, it is quickly becoming a thing of the past.

Jeremy Erlich

Spotify

The music industry was one of the first to confront the challenges of digital transformation. Jeremy has been at the forefront of proving that technology and the music business can coexist and thrive.

Spotify

Jeremy Erlich

In his role as Head of Music Strategy at Spotify, Jeremy is responsible for the company's editorial teams, strategy and operations, as well as helping Spotify’s relationships with the creative community. Through his work, he is helping millions of people—both musicians and fans—enjoy the benefits of streaming music.

Lori Haggart

Honeywell

How do you digitally transform a 113-year old company that is mainly known for hardware? It's a question that Lori Haggart focuses on every day.

Honeywell

Lori Haggart

At Honeywell, Lori has been the driving force behind building a software ecosystem and marketplace to enhance the company's products. Honeywell has more than 130,000 global employees, so alignment is never a given. But Lori uses the same intensity and focus that has defined her 20-year career at the world’s top information technology and telecommunications companies to do just that.

Murray Hidary

MindTravel

Music and technology have always been closely linked. Mozart wrote concertos for a newly invented device, the piano. Murray also uses a piano, but takes a 21st-century approach by combining technology and music to elevate people's consciousness.

MindTravel

Murray Hidary

A multi-disciplinary, creative visionary and tech pioneer, Murray founded his first company, one of the world's first internet consulting companies, at 22. Since then, he has founded numerous other technology companies while pursuing his interest in photography, travel, and rock climbing. Today, he is the founder and performer of MindTravel, a musical / digital experience intended to take audiences on provocative, transcendent journeys.

Farhan Irshad

NetHope

People often say that technology can make the world a better place, but Farhan has seen it first hand.

NetHope

Farhan Irshad

Farhan is board chair of NetHope, an organization that works with more than 60 technology companies and funding partners to help design, fund, implement, adapt, and scale innovative approaches to solve big problems, including humanitarian and conservation challenges. As part of the global NetHope community, Farhan has been instrumental in driving digital transformation and building a platform of hope, both for those who receive aid and those who deliver it.

Ron McMurtrie

Sage

When people say "digital transformation," many think it's the IT department's responsibility. Ron is proving that digital change works best when it comes from every part of an organization.

Sage

Ron McMurtrie

In his position, Ron leads marketing and business enablement at Sage, a company that provides technology to help companies of all sizes manage their businesses more efficiently. He believes in inspiring long-term relationships through creativity and innovation, helping to drive digital change both within the company and for Sage's customers.

Karl Perron

VMware

The benefits of digital technology aren't just important for end users. Karl is showing how helping telecom companies can create a virtuous cycle that helps everyone.

VMware

Karl Perron

At VMware, Karl helms of one of the company's fastest-growing businesses. His team has been on the forefront of bringing Workspace ONE—an integrated digital workspace platform—to the channel, enabling leading telecom organizations to achieve all-new heights in sales, service, and customer satisfaction success.

Marissa Polichene

Toast

APIs are the conduits that make digital ecosystems run nearly autonomously. As Marissa is showing, however, those systems would break down without individuals like her to facilitate connections between developers.

Toast

Marissa Polichene

In her role at Toast, a restaurant POS and management system, Marissa embodies the human side of digital transformation. She manages the evaluation, onboarding, and certification of software providers, educating and motivating both internal teams and company partners. With her guidance, Toast's partnerships have grown to 50+ and use of Toast's API has grown 100 percent year over year.

Jeff Scott

Q2

Some argue that digital technologies are making our connections to others more impersonal. Jeff is proving that doesn't have to be the case.

Q2

Jeff Scott

In his role at Q2, Jeff is helping to drive the company's financial experience (FinX) strategy. A big part of this is working to empower the financial institutions—small banks and credit unions—that are often the heart of their communities. With state-of-the-art digital tools, these institutions are competing with much larger banks, and helping to build stronger community ties.

Alison Suzuki

Google Cloud

The cloud has revolutionized the technology landscape, unleashing more computing power than the world has ever seen. But to take advantage of the cloud, people must know where to find it. Alison ensures everyone can harness the cloud's power.

Google Cloud

Alison Suzuki

Alison is the Head of Distribution for Google Cloud. In her role, she works with distributors and the broader channel ecosystem to bring the best of Google Cloud to enterprise and education customers. She helps these organizations work smarter, be more productive, work more collaboratively, and be able to get things done from anywhere with mobile cloud access.


The 2019 Digital Heroes Were Honored At Engage, The Digital Economy Summit

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