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By RON FANFAIR
With technology evolving rapidly, cyber literacy and digital confidence matter.
Protecting internet-connected devices and services from hackers and spammers and the fear of making mistakes while using devices are concerns for many people and business owners.
To help businesses protect their systems from unauthorized access or theft, global information technology leader Claudette McGowan founded Protexxa which is a business-to-business Software-as-a-Service cybersecurity company.
Using AI, the Protexxa Defender platform rapidly identifies, evaluates, predicts and resolves common cyber issues.
Last July, the company closed $10 million Series A which is the largest round secured by a Black woman founder in Canada.
For the layman, what does this mean?
“When you start a company, you own it 100 per cent,” said McGowan who is pursuing a PhD in Computer Science at Toronto Metropolitan University. “Along the way, you might sell 10 per cent for X dollars. That sale comes with conditions like supporting me, promoting the business or bringing engineers to the table. In a sense, you are a partner. That is what we did.
“It is extremely hard to secure venture capital funding, especially for women. About two per cent goes to women and less than one per cent goes to a Black woman. When I did my seed round, I raised $5 million in 2022, and $10 million was raised in the last Series A. Overall, we have raised $15 million in funds from angel investors and venture capital to grow the business.”
The new capital will fund engineering and data science innovations on the platform and grow its sales and marketing teams as it expands into global markets.
Investors in Series A include Bell Ventures which is the venture arm of Bell Canada and Sandpiper Ventures which is a seed-stage venture capital investing in women and women’s innovation.
The interest shown in Protexxa does not surprise McGowan who the Black Business & Professional Association (BBPA) recognized as a Woman of Honour in 2015.
“We knew it was going to be challenging raising funds, but one of the main reasons people are investing is because their cyber issues need to be addressed,” she said. “The fact that we built a platform that will tell you how compromised you are, is very attractive to business owners and governments who are our clients. The other thing is we offer cyber training. My goal is to try to educate people and give them digital confidence.
“When it comes to cybercrime, most leaders think they are outnumbered, underfunded and ill-prepared. The fastest way to change that narrative is to activate their greatest strength which is people. Protexxa prioritizes people through assessments and training that improve cyber hygiene and create more secure organizations.”
One of the fastest-growing cybersecurity companies in Canada, Protexxa recently welcomed TMU Chancellor and philanthropist Donette Chin-Loy Chang as an advisor.
Before starting the global security platform and services company in 2021, McGowan led digital transformations and cybersecurity initiatives across prominent organizations, including the Bank of Montreal and TD Bank.
“With access to so many tools and resources in my roles at the banks, I have helped millions of people feel safe and protected,” said the Air Canada Board director. “There are billions of people online and I thought I could take some of this knowledge, skills and networks I have and apply it to more folks. Many people that I know tell me they don’t feel cyber literate and digitally confident. Part of getting better online is being those two things.”
Because of growing criminal activity targeting computer networks and networked devices, more companies are embracing best practices, even when they are not required.
Among the Women’s Executive Network distinguished list of Canada’s 100 Most Powerful Women in 2019, McGowan said it is a necessity.
“Companies should be training their people on the top threats and things to be mindful of,” she said. “Put an external warning banner on top of emails as cybercriminals might change the screen name. If you hover over the name, you will see that the email is not yours. Investing in a banner is very inexpensive.
“Other things are hygiene-related like turning on multi-factor authentication for your applications, ensuring you have a complex password and turning on a virtual private network if you are at an airport, hotel or coffee shop. In the same way that you have locks at your home for personal safety, you need to put a digital lock on your data and network for security.”
As cybersecurity companies increasingly rely on AI, there are huge risks and striking the right balance is challenging.
“From a defender standpoint, we can use artificial intelligence to find the needle in the haystack,” said McGowan who, in 2020, was recognized in the sixth edition of Bay Street Bull’s POWER 50 issue. “Someone who normally logs in at 9 a.m. in Toronto is doing so at 3 a.m. in a country outside Canada. To look for that will take a long time. Using AI to find that anomaly in a short period is super helpful. It is also being used for threat hunting to find those and it is quite proactive.
“On the other hand, malware campaigns leveraging AI are being created. That is done digitally, tapping into artificial intelligence instead of having someone do that manually.
“AI can be used for deepfakes in which a video of a person whose face or body has been digitally altered so that they appear to be someone else. One can use an app that says, ‘Use this voice, but make it say these words or use someone’s face and put it on this body.’ These are the things that AI can bring to life, so we have to look at how we label things so one can see it was created by AI.”
Starting her information technology (IT) career in health care at Wellesley and North York General hospitals, McGowan spent three years working in Toronto Police Service’s Computing & Telecommunications division as a key member of the desktop implementation program and mainframe operations group.
After four years with the Deloitte technology management team, she joined BMO in 2000 as a Help Desk manager.
In her two decades with the bank, McGowan held several high-profile positions in the technology & operations division.
As Director of Operations for Enterprise Desktop, Messaging & Trading Services, she managed a fleet of 110,000 computing devices and introduced iPhones & iPads for employees through an innovative ‘Bring Your Own Device’ program.
McGowan also designed and launched BMO’s first Women in Technology affinity group to support women at the bank, developed a multi-year workplace technology strategy to benefit the 45,000 employees and served as Chief Information Officer for just over two years before joining TD Bank in April 2020 as Global Executive Officer, Protect Fusion and Cyber Experience.
She left that role in October 2022 to pay more attention to her business.
“I have always been interested in technology and my whole career has revolved around that,” said McGowan who, in 2019 was named one of the 50 Most Influential Torontonians by ‘Toronto Life’ magazine. “In the beginning, it was about getting everyone connected. It was about getting rid of the paper, automating the process and putting in a policy that does things that work for people. Now that we are all connected, the question is, ‘Are we protected?’
“When I was managing hundreds of thousands of devices for the banks, I knew you were at risk if you were connected without protection. Through my time in banking, I developed a passion for protecting people from criminals and themselves.”
In 2022, McGowan and Danielle Graham co-founded The Firehood which is a network of over 100 women angels who have invested over $4 million in women-led startups across Canada.
“We meet on the last Wednesday of every month and connect women with great ideas,” the 2024 University of the West Indies (Toronto Benefit Gala) Vice-Chancellor Award recipient said. “Some of them have concerns about who is tracking their businesses and where they can turn to for funding.
“A woman told me she has three jobs because she hopes to open a company one day. You can open your business if you get a $100,000 grant. You can pay yourself $50,000 annually and help build your company. Why are you working three jobs for seven or eight years? There are other ways to do things and I enjoy helping and connecting people.”
As preparations are made for the shift to quantum computing, McGowan is quietly working on quantum-resistant technologies.
“I like to see what is on the edge that most people are not thinking of today,” said the 2022 Women in IT Woman of the Year. “There will be challenges, like encryption being broken, when quantum computers are more prevalent.”
Quantum computers could be a billion times faster than conventional computers for solving certain complex problems.
A National Research Council of Canada study revealed the quantum sector will become a $139 billion industry in Canada with more than 200,000 jobs and $42 billion in returns by 2045, potentially contributing three per cent to the country’s Gross Domestic Product.
IBM, the leader in quantum computing hardware, predicts that quantum computers will outperform classical computers in specific tasks by 2027.
With a deep love and passion for giving back to her community, McGowan launched the Black Arts & Innovation Expo in 2015.
Seven years earlier, she started Excelovate Canada which collaborates with First Book Canada to host the Expo during Black History Month to celebrate forward-thinking Black creators who are working diligently under the radar to make a positive difference locally and globally.
Trailblazer awards and scholarships are presented at the annual celebration that will be held in February 2025 after a four-year hiatus because of COVID-19.
“The plan is to broaden it because, for the most part, it was Ontario-focused,” said McGowan who Carleton University honoured two years ago with an honorary degree. “I have now visited every province and was able to make connections in each one of them.”
A professional coaching firm registered with the International Coach Federation, Excelovate is also a full-service Canadian publishing house that assists organizations with specialized advisory services in publishing, mobile application development and coaching. It also creates productivity and gaming apps for a variety of platforms, including Apple iOS, Android, Windows and Blackberry.
While some standout people have helped to shape McGowan, experiences have played a major role in defining who she is.
“Whether you are taking a workload to the cloud, putting in a higher level of encryption around data and being able to leverage data, analytics and artificial intelligence in cyber security have all been great experiences for me,” she said.
What is McCowan’s advice to young girls considering pursuing technology?
“They have to be bold and courageous,” said the SickKids Foundation Board director who has authored five books to enhance children’s digital and financial literacy learning. “The only thing that will prevent them from achieving their goal is themselves. Going wide is okay but pick a place to go deep because technology is not just one field. Go deep in networks, AI, mainframe systems or quantum computing.
“When people are looking for an expert, could you give them a reason to point to you? Feeding your mind with the art of what is possible is also important. Find mentors and people who have done it before and lean on them.”
With all her stellar digital achievements and accompanying recognition, meeting and interviewing Michelle Obama is one of the high points of her life.
She interviewed the former United States First Lady at the Elevate Technology Conference in Toronto in October 2019.
“That was special and sometimes the magic happens behind the stage,” said the married mother of two children. “Before we stepped on stage, she rubbed my shoulder and said, ‘I am so proud of you and you are so brilliant.’ Coming from her, I was like, ‘Whoa’.
“She talked about my technological capability and what I have achieved. That was a very warm moment. She also asked if she could meet my daughter before she left. While it was a nice gesture, I didn’t think she had the time to follow through. After the interview, she inquired where my daughter was. They met and took photos. That is a treasured moment and it speaks to her character and spirit.”
There was a time when McGowan was thinking about becoming a nurse. Seeing her mother – a retired nurse who migrated to Canada over five decades ago – providing help and care for the sick and elderly was her motivation for considering that profession.
“When I got hooked on technology, I saw myself as a digital nurse, helping and healing for things online,” said McGowan who ELLE Canada magazine listed this year as one of the 20 Most Inspirational Black Canadians to Know. “That spirit of helping and enriching is something that my mother instilled in me.”
In her spare time, she enjoys playing tennis, golfing and flying drones.
