Canadian Blood Services welcomes Richard C. Smith as Chief Information Officer

Canadian Blood Services is pleased to welcome Richard C. Smith as chief information officer (CIO), following an extensive national search.

Leading the organization’s information technology (IT) division, Richard joins the executive management team with decades of knowledge and insight in digital transformation, systems partnership and integration.

With a career that began in the law enforcement field, extending to the healthcare sector and then a school board setting, Richard has extensive experience as a strategic and operational IT executive leader, with extensive technology and healthcare systems knowledge. He has successfully executed multiple IT business transformations to achieve operational excellence and drive value by leveraging technology to address strategic changes, digital transformation, and business performance through the adoption of technology outside of traditional office environments.

After working in various arms of the healthcare sector — including community access and acute care — Richard was particularly interested in the opportunity to join Canada’s Lifeline. The organization’s vision — to help every patient, to match every need, to serve every Canadian — resonated with his personal goals.

“This is an opportunity to work with an organization that truly makes a difference,” Richard says. “Knowing I could be a consumer of the product – at any time, myself or my family members or friends could need the products that Canadian Blood Services is responsible for – motivates me to support the journey of Canadian Blood Services to continue to strive for excellence. We have an opportunity to maximize technology to best meet the needs of donors, patients, and systems partners to enhance the digital experience for Canadians regardless of where the live, work or play, and I take that responsibility seriously.”

In addition to his rich experience in the field, Richard holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Information Technology Management from Toronto Metropolitan University (formerly Ryerson University), as well as a Masters of Business Administration from University of Leicester.

“We are looking forward to having Richard join our leadership team on June 20, 2022,” says CEO, Dr. Graham Sher. “His expertise is aligned with our operational pillars: safeguard, engage, improve, and his experience will most certainly play a key role in our strategic goal of enhancing system performance. Over the past ten years, our outgoing CIO Ralph Michaelis has led Canadian Blood Services to make great leaps forward in the digital technology space. After bringing many outstanding advancements to fruition, Ralph will step into his well-earned retirement on June 30, 2022.”