Waruna Jay
VP, Information Technology
Auxly
Waruna Jay joined Auxly in early 2022 with a vast wealth of experience in technology strategy development and implementation. Previously, he was with Labatt Breweries of Canada where he headed IT Operations across all aspects of the company. Throughout his career, he has been mainly in regulated industries where he has focused on technological transformation, applying innovative approaches to support and advance the overall business plan.
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Give us a brief overview of the path that led to your current role.
Often, I’m asked by young people interested in exploring an IT career, “what’s it like?” Well, for certain, you can’t stop learning! It’s one of the fastest-growing and ever-changing fields that rewards innovation and creativity, and demands accuracy and significant attention to detail. This is what gives you the drive to learn even more.
I started my career in the pharmaceutical business where I was responsible for architectural and network design, applications and security. This position provided excellent experience in applying different technology approaches in a larger and more complex business environment. Regulated businesses present interesting and unique challenges that require innovative approaches.
From there, I went to Labatt where initially I was involved specifically with Canada-wide initiatives, and I then soon led projects on a North American scale. During that time, I managed several business integrations, developed and applied application enhancements, and implemented security and disaster recovery systems. With all of these undertakings, there was also a strong focus on change management and organizational alignment – the bottom line was an improved customer experience and greater efficiencies and standardization. I’ve totally enjoyed the journey.
What is one of your guiding leadership principles?
Without a doubt, number one on my list is CUSTOMER SERVICE. This has been a priority for me since I started my career almost 20 years ago. It involves having a mindset that when you provide good service within your organization, you’re also helping the company succeed. There’s also a ripple effect that reaches and positively influences your external customer.
In my experience, the technology skills are a given; however, if you don’t have a full understanding of how IT fits into the business strategy and advances it, as well as how various departments and people support that strategy, the value IT brings is negligible. And, it’s the soft skills that make the difference – listening and taking the time to understand different perspectives; building strong relationships, trust and credibility; following through on things; clear and concise communication; and ensuring you have a strong IT team where everyone embraces these same values. This, I believe, is crucial for success.
With disruption being a key theme of the past year, where do you see your role as a CISO going in the next 1-2 years?
Advancing the business strategy and far greater digitization and information security, including cyber security, will be key. What makes this even more challenging is that we’re navigating unknown territory. Technological innovation is evolving so quickly – in fact, every day – and some of these innovations are almost imperceptible. The role of the IT executive is to help navigate through all the options and determine what technology is best for the organization to facilitate relevance to all stakeholders, growth, profitability, reinvestment and sustainability. A one-size-fits-all approach just won’t work.
What advice would you give to someone just starting out in the role as a CISO?
Get a firm grip on the direction the business and industry are going and have a full appreciation of the role technology will need to play. And with that, understand the importance of my #1 guiding principle – customer service.
Tell us 3 fun facts about yourself.
- I was a fierce rugby player. I started when I was a kid and love everything about the game – the endurance it takes to play, along with the speed, agility, balance. There’s also team camaraderie and with that comes mutual trust and respect, a shared common goal and the maximum focus on individual and collective potential.
- I also love to travel – meeting new people, experiencing new cultures and ways of life, learning new languages, and enjoying local foods and dishes – all those wonderful things that bring people closer together.
- And for the last fun fact, I like firing up the barbecue and grilling some awesome food for my family and friends, and having everyone just kick back, listen to music, and enjoy each other’s company.
What is the value of joining an Evanta community?
The opportunity to learn from other IT leaders from various industries and share best practices, new ideas and trends on critical issues is absolutely invaluable, especially with the degree of change and disruption that’s taking place in the IT space.
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