Sarah Shortreed

Sarah Shortreed is currently the Chief Technology Officer at ATCO, a diversified corporation that provides the essential services of housing, energy, transportation, water, agriculture and real estate to customers globally.

Sarah has worked in the high-tech sector in Canada for over 25 years. She has global experience in many industries and executive roles spanning business consulting, complex multi-stakeholder program management, operations, P&L, sales, customer relationship management and product management. She graduated from Western Engineering 30 years ago and not only has a diversified career in Engineering, but has been an ongoing champion and advocate for the involvement and promotion of women in engineering.

Sarah specializes in combining strategy and operations to drive business growth using technology, and has delivered significant growth in the mobile and digital environments through alignment of new business models and forward thinking.

Sarah began her career at Union Gas upon graduation, where she held several technical and management roles and then moved to IBM in 1996. There, she was involved in various business units and quickly moved to executive positions in Global Technology and Business Development. In 2008, Sarah moved to Research in Motion/Blackberry as Vice Prescient. In this role, she was responsible for 400-person Shared Services and Chief of Staff functions.

In 2013, Sarah became CIO at Bruce Power and was responsible for their corporate innovation mandate. Currently, at ATCO, Sarah is an Officer and Executive Team member and is responsible for Cyber Security, IT operations and all technology projects. Sarah is recognized in industry for both her professional expertise and industry knowledge, as well as for her commitment to the growth of women in engineering and technology.

Throughout her career, Sarah has been committed to and involved in programs to promote women in engineering. She served on countless committees and was Chair of the PEO Women in Engineering Advisory Committee. In her industry roles, Sarah has been an executive mentor for women in engineering and technology. She has spoken in high schools, at events and conferences and is a diligent and enthusiastic supporter for women in engineering. Sarah is currently a member of the Calgary Chapter for the International Women’s Forum. She is also a member of the Western University Board of Governors.

Sarah’s career and community involvement over the last 30 years certainly exemplifies the value that women bring to the engineering profession and to society.