Available for advisory, fractional & full-time CTO/CIO roles
Navigating the intersection of technology leadership & AI innovation.
Colin Smillie is a Toronto-based technology executive and AI strategy advisor with over 25 years of enterprise technology leadership. He has served as SVP of National Technology at YMCA Canada, leading technology alignment across 37 associations and 24,000 employees, and has held senior technology and product roles at Hill+Knowlton Strategies, Trader Corporation (Autotrader), and Refresh Partners. He advises organizations on AI adoption, digital transformation, and building high-performing technology teams.
- 25+Years in enterprise technology
- 37YMCA associations aligned
- 24,000Employees supported
Core strategic pillars
Over 25 years of product leadership: from building mobile security products at Certicom to leading Autotrader Canada’s print-to-digital transition, reaching 4 million monthly visitors and record revenue. Product discipline shapes how I approach every challenge: understand the customer, prioritize ruthlessly, ship and learn.
- Product Strategy & Roadmapping
- Digital Transformation
- Enterprise Platforms
As SVP of National Technology at YMCA Canada, led a large technology portfolio across 37 associations and 24,000 employees, aligning 300 technology leaders around a unified strategy. At Hill+Knowlton Strategies, managed a digital services team of 15 plus 4 external vendors, delivering hundreds of enterprise campaigns.
- Executive Strategy & Governance
- Team Building & Alignment
- Federated Organizations
AI strategy
Led one of the first enterprise AI pilots at YMCA Canada using Microsoft Copilot and ChatGPT across a 24,000-employee federation. Now advising organizations on practical AI adoption, from governance frameworks and leadership literacy to optimizing operations with AI chat agents. Ethical adoption, measurable outcomes.
- AI Governance & Ethics
- Enterprise AI Adoption
- Leadership AI Literacy
Experience highlights
A career defined by impact at some of Canada’s most vital organizations.