KPMG adds Alex Benay as partner in Ottawa
KPMG Canada has appointed Alex Benay, the former chief information officer for the Canadian government, as a partner in the firm’s digital and government solutions practice.
Based out of KPMG’s Ottawa office, Benay will help public sector clients implement digital solutions such as AI, blockchain, cloud, data security and privacy, and digital identification.
He previously spent three months at Ottawa startup MindBridge AI, where he was chief client officer. In the role, he was responsible for guiding the global growth strategy of the company, which uses AI to help auditors and regulators analyze data and identify fraud. He will continue to serve as an advisor at MindBridge in addition to his work with KPMG.
Prior to that, Benay spent two-and-a-half years as CIO for the federal government, where he was responsible for modernizing the government’s digital infrastructure.
“Alex has incredible energy and drive, a wealth of digital knowledge and experience, and a deep understanding of the challenges and opportunities facing Canada’s public sector,” Elio Luongo, CEO of KPMG Canada, said. “We’re thrilled Alex is joining our rapidly growing digital team to help our public service clients adopt digitally-driven solutions to serve the evolving needs of Canadians.”
Before taking on the CIO role, Benay served as president and CEO of Ingenium, a crown corporation which oversees national science and technology museums. Before that, he spent five-and-a-half years at OpenText – a Waterloo-based enterprise information management software firm – where he held senior roles in industry marketing and customer enablement.
Earlier in his career, Benay spent nearly a decade at Global Affairs Canada, holding leadership positions in policy, program management, and information services. He has a bachelor of arts from the University of Ottawa.
Benay is the author of two books: “Canadian Failures,” a series of essays by prominent Canadians elucidating the role of failure in their success, and “Government Digital,” which examines the need for governments to adopt digital technology.
Other recent appointments at KPMG Canada include Hartaj Nijjar taking on the role of cybersecurity services leader, Justin Kutyan becoming national leader of KPMG Law, and Lucy Iacovelli taking over as head of the Canadian tax practice.
