John Hewie, Technology Award
National Security Officer, Microsoft Canada
Computer Technology – Computing Science, Class of 1993
John Hewie’s first encounter with the personal computer was in his own home, in 1980, when he was 10. It was a Sinclair ZX80 with an 8-bit microprocessor, 1 KB of RAM, 4 KB of read-only memory and a 128-page manual. “X” represented the mystery ingredient.
It was a kit computer, assembly required.
Now the National Security Officer at Microsoft Canada, John enjoyed tinkering with the Sinclair ZX80 and later a Commodore 64 learning programming in BASIC and the new world of online Bulletin Board Systems (BBS) of the ’80s. But his path to studying computer science at Algonquin College was not a straight line.
“My father was an electronics engineer and, growing up, it seemed like he could figure out how to build or fix anything, long before there were YouTube DIY videos,” he said, laughing. “My mother was a nurse who cared for so many people both at and outside of work. She also somehow managed to complete a degree at University of Waterloo via correspondence while raising a family. Both of my parents had a big influence on me, instilling a strong work ethic, and the confidence to take on challenges and figure it out.”
During an extended post-secondary gap year, John built custom log homes, worked as a residential housing framer, and then spent 10 months apprenticing as a motorcycle mechanic at an Ottawa dealership.
He liked mechanics and building things but wasn’t sure if these recent experiences were the career for him. The tragic death, in a racetrack motorcycle crash, of a mentor and master mechanic he was apprenticing under, solidified his thinking.
He still wanted to be hands-on, so he entered college and, after studying electronics engineering for a year, switched to the computer science program. He never looked back. “I struggled academically in high school but by my second year at Algonquin, the motivation switched on and I was able to achieve top marks.
“The curriculum for computer science was a really great foundation for my career,” he said. “And it was interesting timing because this is the early ’90s when the internet was starting to become real and the hockey stick curve of technology innovation was accelerating.”
“I was fortunate to get in on the early stages and having that foundation of how networking works, how computers work and the fundamental logic of software. Technology runs much of the world today.”
“Having the base knowledge and understanding I developed at college gave me the confidence to take on new challenges and get comfortable operating outside my comfort zone.”
He added that college also instilled in him a belief in the importance of lifelong learning and the need to stay up to date in his field. This is supremely important in the rapidly changing technology industry and ensured his career was always moving in a forward direction, he added.
After graduation and a short break to travel to Oceania on the cheap, John quickly got a job as a software developer building databases and applications at the departments of Foreign Affairs and Justice and the Canada Revenue Agency. In 1996, he took on a software architecture role at the Kanata-based tech company Integrated Security Solutions and entered the security world.
“We were updating the software systems and building new products that operate physical security technology — badge readers, electronic locks, closed circuit television video systems and guard monitoring station interfaces” — and his expertise helped modernize the underlying software. The systems were deployed at major clients, including the Sydney Airport and the World Trade Centre.
He also caught the attention of Microsoft, today the No. 1 Canadian software vendor and digital transformation leader. He became their “fixer” in the late ’90s.
When big organizations called with a problem, he would fly somewhere in Canada and dig into the systems to figure out what went wrong. He says it was an amazing learning experience.
“In those high-pressure situations, systems are down, organizations are losing money, there’s a lot of human dynamics going on,” he said. “There are people trying to cover their behinds a bit, executives wanting answers, then there are those you are trying to coach with insights into what had gone wrong and doing it in a way that was supportive and empathetic. I learned a lot there.”
He was a teacher, too, beginning with training people on Microsoft’s risk framework at their Ottawa office. In those early years, John and another colleague at Microsoft also founded and grew a local community of developers who were interested in Microsoft .NET, a new software development framework at the time. “That took on a life of its own where we would have over 300 people come out to our developer events. Getting up on stage and speaking to big audiences was daunting, but I have learned one of the best ways to improve at public speaking is to just do more of it.”
After the early years with Microsoft, John shifted to sales and account management as a new learning and growth opportunity. His main clients were the Department of National Defence and Communications Security Establishment, which further opened doors to the cybersecurity world.
Today John is a sought-after thought-leader. He was a featured speaker at the Public Policy Forum’s Canada Growth Summit 2022 in April and served as the only industry witness to the March 2022 Parliamentary Standing Committee on National Defence about threats affecting Canada and the military’s operational readiness to meet those threats.
He is a frequent speaker and panelist at security events across Canada, where he aims to share practical guidance with Canadians on how they can benefit from technology while staying cyber safe. John is considered an expert on many issues that are at the intersection of policy and modern technology, such as digital sovereignty, cloud security and compliance with Canadian laws and regulations.
“I have been fortunate to work with many amazingly smart and passionate people within Microsoft, government, and industry on a range of complex topics over the years. I have had some great on-the-job learning experiences and always try to pay-it-forward mentoring others whenever I can.”
His current work as National Security Officer focuses on building cyber defence partnerships and programs with governments and other Canadian organizations. “Ensuring Canada’s economy and national security are resilient in today’s digital world requires industry, governments, academia and civil society working together in innovative ways to improve cyber defence outcomes.”
The advent of cloud computing in the early 2010’s and increasingly sophisticated cyberattacks accelerated the need for John’s expertise.
“What has motivated me over the last seven years in a security leadership role is what’s going on in cyberspace,” he said. “Attacks against hospitals, scams against Canadians — especially our seniors — disinformation and meddling in elections and democracy, growth in ransomware and nation states using cyber weapons to achieve their foreign policy objectives.”
Technology is a tool and it’s a weapon and, like many things, it has a dual use.
“Canadians and Canadian organizations are being attacked at scale and I know myself and most others in the security community pour passion into this work to prevent or reduce the harm and try to make a positive difference.”
Life is certainly not all about work, and John prioritizes his family above all else. “My wife Kelsey is an incredible partner who has supported my career journey at every turn. I am very thankful for her and the life we have created with our two boys.” John offsets the hours in front of the computer by staying active skiing, climbing, cycling, and hiking. In addition to coaching minor hockey in Ottawa, he has volunteered as a Canadian Ski Patroller and actively supported youth within the Nordic Ski community.
In 2018, John participated on an advisory board for Bow Valley College on the development of their new cybersecurity curriculum. “The diversity of talent required within the cybersecurity domain today is broad and many are not the traditional techie roles. These skills are in high demand and with the world becoming increasingly powered by technology, there will be many new jobs in cybersecurity-related fields with meaningful opportunity to shape the future in a responsible and inclusive way.”
At John’s convocation in June 1993, commencement speaker Dr. Helen K. Musselman shared a line from her own graduation many years earlier: “Service is the debt we pay for the space we occupy in this world.”
John Hewie started out tinkering with computers for fun, worked hard to achieve a leadership role at the world’s largest software company and became an industry authority on cybersecurity who takes the opportunity to make a wider contribution.
He has paid his service debt many times over.