“Who would not want, in my position, to start from scratch, a brand new ecosystem with best practices and modern ways of doing things?” asks Catherine Desgagnés-Belzil.
When she led the technology integration that followed the merger of La Capitale and SSQ Insurance to form Beneva, where she is now the executive vice president, business performance and information technology, she saw what most enterprise technology leaders rarely experience: the chance to build from the ground up.
Her recent recognition as the CanadianCIO Private Sector CIO of the Year by the CIO Association of Canada celebrated that decision.
“It was a dream come true,” says Desgagnés-Belzil.
The merger, she explains, provided an unusual opportunity to design a new digital foundation rather than simply modernize legacy systems.
Desgagnés-Belzil oversees five vice-presidential portfolios covering property and casualty insurance, group insurance, life and financial services, infrastructure, digital, and data. Her team of approximately 850 people manages the systems that support Beneva’s operations nationwide.
Her experience offers more than a leadership story. It’s an example of how large organizations can turn complexity into capability. One that demonstrates what it takes to modernize at scale, bridge cultures, and lead transformation that lasts.
The strategic value of starting from scratch
When Beneva began its integration process, Desgagnés-Belzil and her team set out not to combine aging systems but to build “a brand new ecosystem” guided by modern standards.
“I wasn’t from one or the other, which gave me an advantage,” she says. “In every case, we looked at what we had, what was good for now and the future, and if we didn’t have it, we chose the best out there.”
The decision to start fresh, she explains, was about sustainability more than speed. The legacy systems Beneva inherited had been developed over decades, with each adding a layer of complexity.
She notes that those systems had “taken 30 or 40 years to develop,” so the first version of the new platform “wouldn’t be perfect,” but it needed to be robust, adaptable, and built for the future.
That approach was as much about setting a new standard as it was about solving immediate needs.
Desgagnés-Belzil says building on modern architecture allowed Beneva to reduce its dependence on aging systems and create space to evolve without the constraints that often slow large organizations.
She was also guided by one statistic that struck her early on.
“Only 30% of enterprises that merge really get the synergies they promise the board,” she says, referencing an often cited statistic from a 2010 McKinsey report.
“Thirty per cent is very low, so how do you really get to be part of that 30%?” she asks. “We always had that in mind when we put together our governance and made choices in our ecosystem. Thankfully, we did happen to be in the 30% because we stuck to really important principles and stayed focused.”
A more recent Gartner survey shows that many CIOs view legacy-operating models as barriers to future growth.
Desgagnés-Belzil’s decision to re-architect Beneva’s ecosystem aligns with this shift, treating the merger as an opportunity to build systems that evolve rather than simply endure.
The human challenge in digital transformation
Technology was only part of the work.
“The most important challenge is always the same,” says Desgagnés-Belzil. “It’s the human challenge.”
Beneva’s integration brought together two IT teams with different structures, tools, and mindsets.
“At the beginning, there was a lot of us versus them,” she says. “It took about two years for the synergies and the team spirit to build.”
Desgagnés-Belzil made collaboration and communication the foundation of her leadership approach.
“I’m not there to serve you. I’m there to work with you to serve the end user, the client,” she says.
That mindset shaped every aspect of the transition. Monthly meetings with her 90-person management team and twice-yearly sessions with all IT employees created a rhythm of dialogue, visibility, and trust.
She also ensured that the IT function stayed closely aligned with business leaders throughout the process. As she explains, Beneva’s culture is built around “collective performance.” It’s not about individual wins, she says, but about “how we all work together to achieve our goal.”
This focus on shared accountability helped ease the friction of change.
By embedding governance, consistency, and openness into how the teams worked, she says Beneva maintained operational stability while building a new foundation.
The experience reaffirmed a principle for Desgagnés-Belzil that many leaders overlook, which is that transformation succeeds only when culture evolves at the same pace as technology.
The evolving CIO role: From public to private sector leader
Before joining Beneva, Desgagnés-Belzil served as Quebec’s government CIO, becoming the first woman to officially hold that position.
But moving into the private sector revealed similarities she did not expect.
“It’s exactly the same,” she says. “Public sector is not better or worse. The challenges are the same. The patterns are the same. It’s the same kind of projects.”
That observation speaks to a broader shift in how technology leaders operate. Across industries, the CIO role has expanded from technical oversight to strategic partnership.
“CIO now should stand for Chief Innovation Officer,” says Jim Keller, managing director at Quantiphi. “They’re charged with choosing the foundational technical capabilities and tools the enterprise needs to innovate. The pressure on CIOs to execute and deliver results has never been greater.”
Many CIOs now sit on executive committees, share accountability for business outcomes, and play a central role in shaping how organizations adapt to change.
As Shaun Guthrie, president and chair of the CIO Association of Canada, noted in Digital Journal, “The role of CIOs has changed. Today’s technology leaders are business leaders first.”
“Openness, agility, and rigour are key,” says Keller. “The most successful IT leaders now are those who engage the lines of business, have an appreciation for their voice, and link technology strategy directly to business outcomes.”
Desgagnés-Belzil’s experience reflects that evolution, showing how the CIO position has become as much about collaboration and leadership as it is about technology.
Her approach also reflects a growing emphasis on inclusion and representation in leadership.
Desgagnés-Belzil often credits her mother for sparking her interest in technology. She recalls how her mother, one of the few women in her community working with computers at the time, encouraged her to explore the field. That early exposure, she says, shaped her curiosity and confidence to pursue a career in IT long before diversity in tech was a conversation.
Over the years, Desgagnés-Belzil has supported several initiatives that promote women in technology, including Le code des filles and Numérique au féminin, which help women develop skills and pursue careers in IT and digital fields.
“I’ve been alone for so long in my career,” she says. “Now, just because a woman is the EVP leading IT, more women apply. That’s all it takes. Do you know how powerful that is?”
For Desgagnés-Belzil, that change signals progress. Leadership in technology now extends beyond systems and strategy to shaping cultures where diverse teams can contribute ideas and challenge assumptions — an essential ingredient for innovation.
What’s at stake for Canada’s innovation economy
Desgagnés-Belzil’s work as executive vice president at Beneva offers a clear example of how Canadian organizations can close the gap between ambition and execution. The merger required scale, discipline, and a long view.
These are qualities that remain essential for businesses navigating transformation across sectors.
Beneva’s experience shows how clear governance, accountable leadership, and investment in people can turn structural change into long-term capability. Rather than treating transformation as a technology project, Desgagnés-Belzil approached it as a connected system linking culture, process, and performance.
She says the work also reflects a broader reality for Canadian companies adapting to rapid change. Transformation, she says, takes time, coordination, and the willingness to learn in motion.
“We can solve persistent problems differently now, with less money and less risk,” she says. “But we have to think differently.”
Winning the CanadianCIO Private Sector CIO of the Year award, she adds, is less about recognition than reflection.
“What really makes a difference is the people you work with,” she says. “Along the way, I’ve met many great people who changed how I lead. I’m really here because they were there.”
For Desgagnés-Belzil, that shared success captures the essence of innovation itself, and that means building technical and human systems that can evolve together.
Final Shots:
- Building from scratch allowed Beneva to modernize without legacy constraints.
- Governance and communication proved essential to merging two IT cultures.
- Transformation succeeded because culture evolved alongside technology.
- The CIO role now blends business strategy, innovation, and inclusion.
- Canada’s competitiveness depends on leaders who can modernize systems and mindsets together.
