Massey Henry Seeking Chief Information Officer for Prairie Payments Joint Venture 

April 3, 2025 – The chief information officer is considered one of the most strategic roles in any organization. Still, recruiting within the function remains challenging, as skilled C-suite IT professionals are among the toughest to find, and move. Toronto-based executive search firm Massey Henry was recently retained by Prairie Payments Joint Venture (PPJV) to lead in its search for a new CIO.

Reporting to the CEO, the CIO is responsible for overseeing technology architecture, infrastructure management, information systems, and information security – either delivered in-house or through third-party partners. In collaboration with the PPJV leadership team, this executive develops and maintains the technology strategy and roadmap, ensuring alignment with emerging technologies, industry standards, and corporate objectives.

The search firm is looking for a seasoned technology executive with strong knowledge of the credit union ecosystem, payment systems, and broader Canadian financial services sector. With a deep understanding of digital transformation, open banking, enterprise payments, and mission-critical operations, the CIO will have successfully led large-scale technology initiatives and driven innovation within complex, regulated environments.

Candidates should have 15 years+ of senior management experience leading large-scale technology initiatives and strategy within a complex, highly regulated environment, preferably within the financial services sector. They must have experience aligning technology strategies with business objectives and delivering measurable outcomes in digital and core banking systems. Candidates should also have expert knowledge or be practitioner of legacy and emerging technology, including digital and core banking systems, cloud platforms, big data, API, Open Source, DevOps, Software Engineering, Security Services, etc.

Established in 2019, Prairie Payments Joint Venture is a credit union-owned entity dedicated to providing payments processing and services to prairie credit unions. Operating as a joint venture equally owned by the Provincial Credit Union Centrals of Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba, and supported by a team of 136 employees nationwide, PPJV serves over 60 clients across Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, and British Columbia.

Launched in 2021, Massey Henry is an executive search and board advisory firm specializing in financial services and the public sector. Michael Henry is the founder and managing partner of the firm. He said the firm’s aim was to set a new standard for executive recruiting with a streamlined, collaborative approach that enables organizations to recruit diverse top talent for urgent, transformational roles.

Mr. Henry specializes in leadership recruitment for financial institutions, asset management, insurance, financial and risk management, and securities and non-securities regulation organizations across Canada. In addition to his core executive search work, Mr. Henry serves as an advisor to boards of directors on their overall composition, capabilities, and succession planning strategies at public sector and financial services institutions.

Using artificial intelligence technology combined with sector expertise, Massey Henry provides candidate research and a diverse candidate pool, while using custom criteria to assess each candidate for fit. Clients have 24/7 access to their search process which is designed to enhance decision-making and reduce timelines by half.

The firm is backed by an experienced advisory board of top leaders, including George Cooke, board chair of OMERS; Bill Hatanaka, board chair of Ontario Health; Johanne Brossard, board director and former president and CEO of ING Direct Canada; Eric Wetlaufer, board director of Investment Management Corporation of Ontario and the TMX Group; Lynne Kilpatrick, board director and senior retail banking executive; and Sharon Pel, past chair and current member of the OPTrust board of trustees. She also currently serves as a board member with ATS Corporation, where she is chair of the corporate governance and nominating committee.

CIO Recruiting

Over the past year, a number of organizations have turned to executive search firms to help them find top flight CIOs. Here are a few of the top assignments tracked by Hunt Scanlon Media:

JM Search, a senior-level talent provider serving private equity investors, portfolio companies, and Fortune 1000s, recently helped to recruit Aurelian Sin as CIO of Subaru of America. Partners Bill Hogenauer and Ben Millrood led the assignment. “With more than 20 years of experience in IT leadership roles, Aurelian has developed successful IT strategies and roadmaps aligned with the business goals of each venture, making him the perfect fit for this position,” JM Search said. “Congratulations to Aurelian on his new role. We are excited for the continued success of Subaru and Aurelian.” Mr. Sin is a seasoned, IT and business executive noted for building high-performing teams and a talent for quickly understanding business needs to design and implement IT-based transformations. He has in-depth experience in ERP/SAP platforms, analytics, and cloud/SaaS technologies with hands-on operations and performance management experience. Mr. Sin has a track record of implementing global, enterprise-wide IT solutions across multiple industries/geographies and translating business needs into a comprehensive strategy.

The University of Vermont (UVM) recently called in CIO Partners to lead in its search for a chief information officer. Executive director Barry Cressley is leading assignment. Reporting to the president, the CIO is the lead executive responsible for information technology across the institution. The expectation is that the CIO will partner with the president and become fully integrated into the senior leadership team, demonstrating credibility and integrity and contributing to university efforts broadly as a subject matter expert in information technology. The CIO is responsible for the vision and long-term planning for information technology consistent with the mission and goals of the university and works with senior leaders, deans, faculty, and staff to maintain and grow a highly responsive and service-oriented IT environment. 

Executive recruitment firm Anthem Executive has placed Henry G. Torres as the new chief information officer Texas Woman’s University (TWU) in Denton, TX. Dr. Torres joins TWU from the Arkansas State University System, where he has served as vice president of information technology & CIO. In his role at Arkansas State, he led teams of IT professionals across seven system campuses and was instrumental in overseeing several key initiatives related to emerging technology, cloud services/hosting, and improving IT service. In his private-sector career, Dr. Torres has been an information technology executive specializing in the areas of distribution, logistics, store operations, and e-commerce. In his new position with TWU, Dr. Torres is responsible for advancing the university’s curriculum, providing leadership for the faculty, overseeing research, and developing strategic, innovative programs that complement Texas Woman’s mission and strengths.

Related: CIO Partners Recruits Portfolio President and CIO for AccelerEd

Contributed by Scott A. Scanlon, Editor-in-Chief and Dale M. Zupsansky, Executive Editor  – Hunt Scanlon Media