Women’s History Month is a timely opportunity to recognize the cybersecurity leaders helping shape how major Canadian organizations manage digital risk, resilience, and trust. Across software, payments, banking, higher education, and government, these executives are leading security programs that protect sensitive systems while supporting innovation, modernization, and long-term growth.
The leaders below reflect the breadth of female cybersecurity leadership in Canada today. Their backgrounds span enterprise security, risk management, cloud transformation, regulatory environments, and public-sector modernization, showing how deeply cybersecurity now intersects with business strategy and institutional trust.
Maggie Calle — VP & CISO, Varicent
Maggie Calle serves as VP and CISO at Varicent, where she leads the company’s information security strategy, roadmap, security operations, and third-party security risk management program. With more than 25 years of experience across cybersecurity and IT, she has built a career around aligning security and risk programs with business objectives, innovation, and digital transformation. Calle is also one of the more visible cybersecurity leaders in Canada, with recognition including honors from Risky Women, IFSEC Global, ITWC, and SiberX, alongside a strong presence in mentoring, STEM advocacy, and community leadership.
Ireen Birungi — VP, Information Security and CISO, Interac Corp.
Ireen Birungi is the VP of Information Security and CISO at Interac, where she oversees security for one of Canada’s most important financial infrastructure brands. Her career spans leadership roles at Interac, Thales, Rogers, eHealth Ontario, and BMO, giving her experience across payments, telecom, healthcare, and financial services. That breadth is reflected in her background across security operations, threat intelligence, incident response, risk management, secure delivery, and enterprise security advisory. At Interac, she represents the kind of cybersecurity leadership that combines operational rigor with the trust demands of consumer-facing financial networks.
Tracy Dallaire — Deputy CTO and Director, Information Security Services, McMaster University
Tracy Dallaire leads information security at McMaster University, where she has been responsible for developing and delivering the university’s information security strategy and roadmap. Her career brings together cybersecurity, enterprise architecture, audit, compliance, and risk leadership across higher education and the Ontario public sector. Earlier roles at Mohawk College, eHealth Ontario, and the Ontario government add depth in digital transformation, enterprise risk management, and public-sector modernization. Dallaire stands out for combining governance and strategy experience with a clear focus on building resilient, collaborative security programs in complex institutional environments.
Amanda Charlebois — CISO and Director, Tangerine
Amanda Charlebois serves as CISO and Director for Tangerine, Scotiabank’s digital banking subsidiary, where she leads cybersecurity and technology risk for a digital-first banking environment serving millions of Canadians. Her role centers on assessing and remediating complex technology risk while strengthening security controls in a fast-moving consumer banking context. Charlebois brings a mix of technical depth and executive leadership, with experience across cybersecurity, cloud security, engineering, and technology transformation. Her profile reflects the growing importance of leaders who can translate cyber risk into business decisions while enabling innovation in digital financial services.
Po Tea-Duncan — CISO and Executive Director of Cybersecurity, Government of Canada
Po Tea-Duncan serves as Chief Information Security Officer and Executive Director of Cybersecurity for the Government of Canada, bringing more than two decades of experience in public-sector cyber leadership. Her long tenure in government cybersecurity makes her one of the most established leaders on this list, with responsibility spanning enterprise security and executive oversight in a national government context. In a sector where security is closely tied to public trust, operational continuity, and national resilience, Tea-Duncan represents the kind of experienced leadership that helps define the cybersecurity posture of major public institutions.
Women shaping Canada’s cybersecurity future
Canada’s cybersecurity leadership community is being shaped by executives who do far more than oversee controls and compliance. The women in this feature are helping secure financial infrastructure, cloud software platforms, universities, and public institutions at a time when digital trust is becoming a strategic priority across every sector.
Their work reflects the range and strength of female cybersecurity leadership in Canada today, and why these leaders are worth watching well beyond Women’s History Month.
For more Women’s History Month features spotlighting influential women in security, explore the Women’s Month tag.