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ABOUT LEADERS BEYOND

The Catalyst Between IT and Business

Empowering IT Professionals to Lead the Way

In 1993, we founded The CIO Summit Conference to bring together technology leaders from across Canada and discuss the challenges and opportunities facing the profession. One theme emerged repeatedly: while technology was becoming central to organizational success, many IT leaders still did not have a seat at the executive table.

They were respected for their technical expertise but often lacked the business perspective, financial knowledge, and strategic experience needed to influence enterprise-wide decisions. Those conversations shaped our mission: Transforming IT Professionals into Business Leaders.

They were respected for their technical expertise but often lacked the business perspective, financial knowledge, and strategic experience needed to influence enterprise-wide decisions. Those conversations shaped our mission: Transforming IT Professionals into Business Leaders.

In 2002, we launched a leadership development program to help technology professionals build the business acumen, strategic perspective, and leadership capabilities needed to contribute at the executive level.

In 2008, the program evolved into Leaders Beyond™, reflecting our belief that the most effective technology leaders are those who lead beyond their technical responsibilities and help shape the future of the business.

Over the years, the program has continued to evolve, offering open-enrollment programs in person and virtually to leaders at all levels, from emerging to executive. While our leadership framework has stood the test of time, our programs constantly reflect the technology landscape and business imperatives of the times. We have more than 2,000 technology professionals from 80 organizations globally have participated in our classroom and virtual programs.

Previous open-enrollment programs: Emerging IT Leader Program, Transformative IT Leader Program, Executive IT Leader Program 

Today, the rapid growth of AI and digital transformation is reshaping every industry, forcing organizations to rethink business models, organizational structures, workforce capabilities, and strategic priorities. As a result, leadership development can no longer be one-size-fits-all. One of the most important lessons we have learned over the years is that every organization is different. We know that leadership development is most effective when it is directly connected to the organization’s business objectives.

Tailored to Your Organization

To meet this need, we have shifted our emphasis to providing learning experiences that respond to both the needs and context of individual organizations, ensuring a positive return on learning investment. We work closely with you to understand the unique business drivers affecting your organization and customize each program to address your specific challenges, opportunities, and strategic goals. This ensures that every learning experience is relevant, practical, and directly aligned with your business outcomes.

Leveraging our knowledge and expertise, together we design a learning experience that addresses the specific capabilities leaders need to strengthen, whether that involves business acumen, strategic thinking, financial literacy, communication, innovation, change leadership, executive presence, or the effective application of AI in the business.

Our objective is simple: to ensure that leadership development translates into measurable business value. By aligning learning with organizational priorities, we help participants develop the skills and competencies needed to contribute more effectively, strengthen alignment between business and technology, and achieve the outcomes that matter most to the organization.

Every engagement begins with a conversation about what success looks like for the organization. Whether the goal is strengthening leadership capabilities, accelerating digital transformation, improving business and IT alignment, building succession pipelines, or preparing leaders for new strategic responsibilities, we tailor the program to support those outcomes.

Looking Ahead

The need that inspired us more than two decades ago remains as relevant today as it was then. Technology leaders are increasingly expected to shape business strategy, drive innovation, lead organizational change, and help their organizations realize the full value of AI and digital transformation.

While the technology landscape and business imperatives continue to evolve, our mission remains unchanged:

Transforming IT Professionals into Business Leaders

We invite you to explore how Leaders Beyond™ can help your organization develop the leaders it needs for the future. Contact us to start the conversation!

Please reach out to Barry Clavir at barry.clavir@leadersbeyond.com to explore partnership or custom content opportunities.

About the Founder

Barry Clavir

CEO

Barry brings over forty years of senior strategy experience to Leaders Beyond. His contributions, including conferences, seminars, training initiatives, and research undertakings have been instrumental in paving the way for executive-level business education for IT leaders and CIOs.

He has collaborated closely with numerous private and public sector entities to improve the operative abilities and strategic competencies of their senior executives and processes.

He has held key positions of responsibility such as membership on the Board of Governors for the Information Technology Association of Canada (ITAC), the Board of Governors of i-Canada Alliance, and board membership of The Municipal Information Systems Association (MISA).

He also founded the Young Navigators®, a non-profit organization aimed at guiding young adults to seek career opportunities in the information technology industry.

Linkedin - Barry Clavir

From our Alumni

Haventree Bank logo web
LEADERS BEYOND - BCNet logo
Leaders Beyond - University_Lethbridge logo web
Leaders Beyond - University of Calgary logo web

The training I had through the IT Leader Program helped me to get where I am today. It was probably the most engaging and fruitful training that I have taken. I would highly recommend it to all IT professionals who want to be a leader.

Workplace Safety and Insurance Board, Alumnus

The leadership and strategic skills I developed through Leaders Beyond continue to influence how I tackle challenges daily – it was truly a game-changer. Since then, I have sponsored team members to attend, and the results keep impressing me. Thanks to the Leaders Beyond team for creating a program that genuinely elevates IT leaders and helps them drive meaningful change.

CISO, Ontario Pension Board

For CIOs looking to build a pipeline of leaders who can communicate with the C‑suite, drive measurable outcomes, and think beyond the technical – Leaders Beyond programs work. It turns strong technologists into true business partners.

CIO, Haventree Bank

This program can transform you. I will think outside of the IT norms and, I will be more confident in my non-technical skills. It was a demanding yet great learning experience.

FCIB, Alumnus

I can’t recommend it highly enough. The program goes a long way in helping to transform high-potential techies into trusted advisors and business leaders. Having business-savvy IT staff is a critical success factor.

CIO, Ministry of Finance, Province of British Columbia

I recommend Leaders Beyond for their exceptional ability to cultivate a business mindset among IT staff. Their programs encourage strategic thinking and understanding of broader business outcomes. The involvement of CIOs and senior IT leaders in mentoring roles makes the material compelling and relevant. The skills and insights gained are not just a one-time learning experience, but continue to benefit leaders throughout their careers.

CIO, CAA Club Group of Companies