We've been in the trenches in large security operation centers.
We've been in the military.

Now we're on your side.

Our Leadership Team

Paul Hindo

Paul Hindo

Co-Founder, CEO, Chairman of the Board

A serial entrepreneur and active angel investor, Paul has been a successful developer of many businesses in Canada and internationally, including being the inaugural chair of DNA Genotek.

Keeping people safe and secure is one of Paul's guiding principles. He is a Director and member of the Ex Committee for the Canadian Defense Association institute, and was the Ontario Chair of the Canadian Forces Liaison Council, now Director Emeritus. In 2017, Paul was appointed by the Minister of National Defence as the Honorary Colonel of the Canadian Army, only the second person to ever hold this prestigious appointment.

Paul co-founded Cydef because he wanted to make the world a safer place. With cyber security being the new and ever evolving battleground, he believes that dramatically new innovations are the key to tackling those challenges.

Steve Rainville

Steve Rainville

President

Steve has over 20 years of experience in information technology, 15 of which are specifically in IT security services.

Steve brings extensive expertise in cyber security services, including Security Operations Centre (SOC) planning and optimization, SIEM solution deployments and security analytics for Canadian and global enterprises.

Over the years, he has guided and led multiple client projects with the objective of building their SOC, identifying gaps and creating security roadmaps to improve their compliance with corporate and legal requirements.

Elana Graham

Elana Graham

Chief Operating Officer

Elana gets stuff done.

She makes sure that we're all doing what we're supposed to be doing, and that the ship is on time and going in the right direction. After spending 14 years in the navy, she knows a thing or two about keeping ships on track. Actually, she knows a lot about keeping anything on track, especially big and complicated things.

At the Canadian Nuclear Laboratories, she led the charge for major tech transformations for IT Capital Projects. That's where she encountered cyber security infrastructure issues from a customer perspective. She sure wishes that she had options like Cyber Defence Corp when her team was looking for security solutions. So she's come on board to help us make that happen and give people tools she wishes she had.

Armed with an MBA, an engineering degree, and a military background, she gives the term "triple threat" new meaning.

Tiago de Jesus

Tiago de Jesus

Chief Technology Officer

Tiago is a former academic with his head in the clouds and his feet firmly planted on the ground.

With a PhD in mathematical physics, his passion has always been in the real world application of advanced mathematics. First in financial markets, then in nano-electronics, and now in cyber security.

For the last 10 years, Tiago has been working at the heart of the government's cyber security effort to keeping Canada safe from cyber threats. Working his way up from a SME [subject matter expert] to the I/C [in charge] of the RCMP (Royal Canadian Mounted Police) NSIC [National Security Criminal Investigation] cyber unit, Tiago worked closely with CSE (Canadian Security Establishment), CSIS (Canadian Security Intelligence Service), and DND (Department of National Defence). At Natural Resources Canada, he headed a lab tasked with protecting the nation's critical infrastructure from would be cyber attacks. Hundreds of industry professionals from nuclear, hydro-electric, and natural gas industry were trained on cyber security under programs created by Tiago.

Frustrated by the limitations of the tools at his disposal, Tiago created his own. SMARTSentinel is the platform he wishes he had.

Board of Directors

Our Board of Director is composed of the best minds in Canada's Defence and Intelligence Community, the Justice System, and Private Sector. We are honoured to have access to their expertise.

Right Honorable Beverley McLachlin

Right Honorable Beverley McLachlin

  • Former Chief Justice of Canada

  • Former Deputy of the Governor General of Canada

Richard Fadden

Richard Fadden

  • Former National Security Advisor

  • Former Director of CSIS (Canadian Security Intelligence Service)

Lieutenant General Guy Thibault

Lieutenant General Guy Thibault

  • Former Vice Chief of Defence of Staff (retired)

  • Former Chairman of the Inter American Defence Board (IADB) with the Organisation of American States

Blake Goldring

Blake Goldring

  • Co-Founder of Canada Company

  • Executive Chairman of AGF Financial

  • Former Honorary Colonel, Canadian Army (retired)

  • Appointed to the Order of Canada

Anatol von Hahn

Anatol von Hahn

  • Independent Director of Canadian Tire Corporation

  • Former Executive Vice President of Latin America of The Bank of Nova Scotia

  • Former Chair of the Executive Council at Canadian Bankers Association