Tiago H. Falk is a Full Professor at the Institut national de la recherche scientifique (INRS), University of Québec, Canada, where he is the Founder and Director of the Multisensory Signal Analysis and Enhancement Lab, as well as Co-Director of the INRS-UQO Research Centre on Cybersecurity and Digital Trust. He obtained his BSc from the Federal University of Pernambuco (Brazil) and his MSc and PhD from Queen’s University (Canada), all in Electrical and Computer Engineering. Prof.  

Falk’s research is aimed at building next-generation human-machine interfaces that place security, privacy, and sustainability at the forefront. His work has engendered numerous accolades, including, most recently, the 2025 IEEE Canada C. C. Gotlieb Computer Award and the 2024 NSERC Synergy Award for Innovation. Prof. Falk is a Member-at-Large of the IEEE Systems, Man, and Cybernetics Society Board of Governors and Co-Chair of the IEEE Future Directions Initiative on Telepresence. He is a Fellow of the IEEE. 

Since 2014, Mauranne Ste-Marie has served as a Research Analyst for the Sensitive and Specialized Investigative Services (SSIS) of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP). She holds a Master’s Degree in Criminology from the University of Ottawa. Over the past decade, Mauranne has spearheaded operational research on a wide array of subjects, including child sexual offending, female sex offenders, risk assessment and prioritization tools, sexual deviance, missing persons, serial offending, police homicide and much more. As a published researcher, she also provides specialized training sessions and workshops for law enforcement agencies across Canada and internationally, covering various SSIS-related crime topics. 

Jennifer Irish is Principal, Pendulum Geopolitical Risk Advisory, and leads its information integrity practice. Concurrently, she is an Adjunct Professor and Associate at the University of Ottawa’s Telfer School of Management, and serves as Program Co-Director of its executive security and intelligence leadership programming, and as a cyber simulation director at the uOttawa-IBM Cyber Range. She is the founding director of the University’s Information Integrity Lab, created to advance understanding of information distortion activities.  

Ms. Irish brings to these positions 36 years of prior leadership experience as an accomplished diplomat including in postings in Europe, Middle East, Latin America and the UN. As senior executive in the Canadian government she has led also national and international security efforts, including geostrategic analysis as Director General at the Integrated Threat Assessment Centre, and as the Director of Operations at the Intelligence Assessment Secretariat of Canada’s Privy Council Office. 

Serge Caron was appointed Deputy Chief Electoral Officer, Digital Transformation at Elections Canada in 2020. In this role, he leads the agency’s Digital Strategy to modernize operational processes, digital infrastructure and data management so Elections Canada can provide digital services that meet Canadians’ evolving needs. Mr. Caron also oversees the security of employees and physical and cyber assets and is head of the Human Resources division.  

In 2010, Mr. Caron joined Treasury Board Secretariat’s Chief Information Officer Branch as Senior Director, Information Services and Technology. In this role, he defined strategies, directions and government policy in information technology, among them the Government of Canada’s cloud adoption strategy.  

Before joining Treasury Board Secretariat, Mr. Caron worked at Nortel Networks as Senior Director in charge of planning and quality for research and development projects in the Carrier VoIP and Application Solutions division. From 2007 to 2009, he was Director of Operations, Research and Development for Nortel’s subsidiary in Türkiye. 

Mr. Caron has over 26 years of experience managing resources and leading complex technological projects, including working with international teams across multiple continents. He holds a Bachelor of Engineering (computer engineering) from Polytechnique Montréal.