GRANT'S DESI ACHIEVER
STAYING AHEAD OF THE CURVE IS VERY EXCITING
Ranji Narine is the Chief Information Officer at Intact Financial Corporation Canada. Image credit: JENNA MUIRHEAD.
By SHAGORIKA EASWAR
As Chief Information Officer for Intact Financial Corporation Canada, Ranji Narine is responsible for the strategy and execution of information technology for Canada’s largest P&C (property and casualty) insurance provider.
This includes everything from home and auto insurance to commercial. One in four Canadians and one in five Canadian businesses are insured with Intact.
Narine leads a department of 2000-plus staff focused on building and supporting industry-leading digital environments for customers, brokers, and employees. As the CIO his focus is on driving innovation, increasing productivity, improving operational resilience, and recruiting the best talent.
Talking about AI, Canada’s newest Nobel laureate Geoffrey Hinton, a computer scientist and a cognitive psychologist, has been quoted as saying, “These things could get smarter than us”.
How real, how imminent is the threat?
“We’re living in times that are changing rapidly with generative AI,” says Narine. “At Intact, we are very structured and well-governed for use of AI. We have strong governance frameworks in place to ensure AI is used safely. But AI can be used on the offence and on the defence, to accelerate attacks and to prevent attacks. The challenge of a CIO is how to protect the firm, and also, at the same time, to use it to the firm’s advantage. That’s what makes it fun!”
As for the rest of us, Narine recommends being alert by using multifactor authentication, rotating passwords and staying on the latest versions of software.
“Be pragmatic, but not fearful,” is how he puts it.
Doomsday scenarios and ‘experts’ predicting everything from nuclear wars, natural disasters and economic downturns have people on edge. Where is one to place one’s trust?
“First and foremost, do your own research,” he advises. “Make informed, solid decisions. I don’t trust myself to invest, I work with wealth planners. Diversify! We need multiple layers of defence, not just in security but also in financial planning. And don’t be overly reactive. Don’t act on fear, act on fact.”
With extensive expertise in technology transformation, Narine has overseen infrastructure modernization at large financial institutions.
Prior to Intact Narine held the role of Senior Vice President of Cloud & Transformation at the Royal Bank of Canada. He led the infrastructure modernization and next generation developer platforms for the eighth largest global bank. In his role Narine was responsible for unlocking developer productivity, operational excellence, and infrastructure efficiency initiatives across RBC. Prior to RBC, Narine was Vice President of Product Engineering at Scotiabank from where he led the global bank’s enterprise cloud program. Before that, he spent 18 years across several successful technology start-up organizations that led to IPOs including Nexj Systems and Janna Systems.
“Staying ahead of the technical curve,” he says. “It’s very exciting!”
On the Advisory Board of Inspire Toronto, he shares with other leaders what they see as the evolving challenges for CIOs – how to transform technology, how to stay secure, how to attract talent, and regulatory issues.
It’s an ecosystem of leaders where he interacts with the CIOs of Air Canada, Telus, Sunlife, Canadian Tire, and more.
What do a bunch of CIOs talk about when they meet casually?
“Oh, probably what we are most excited about – the latest in technology, the toughest challenge we faced that day and... sports?” says Narine with a laugh.
He has participated in panels on leadership in the future of work and says in a post-pandemic world, we’ve seen a hybrid environment can deliver the best of both worlds.
“Human interaction is important, and flexibility allows us to plan what works best. The ‘in-moment’ when we are together matters more because we’re not doing it five days a week. It allows us to work in a balanced way with our other life commitments.
“Expectations have changed for the new generation. Many have realized that realistically, they may never own a home and are looking instead for jobs that allow them flexibility in their lifestyle.”
Narine’s father came to Canada from Trinidad in 1956 to medical school in Dalhousie.
“He was a physician, who worked many emergency shifts at Queensway Hospital,” says his proud son. The youngest of four siblings, Narine was born in 1976 and raised in Mississauga.
Growing up in the 1980s was very different from the Canada his own children are experiencing.
“I felt different from my classmates but had it easier than my brother who’s eight years older. He faced more challenges being a first generation Canadian. On the whole, though, we felt sheltered at home. Even though we knew we were different, we felt special. What stands out for me now as an adult is that we saw a lot of affluence around us, but we led simple lives. It was more about caring about people, not things, about helping others. My dad passed away when I was 21, but his way of thinking and living has influenced the way I think and live.”
His father passed on three lessons:
You need to be the nicest person possible.
You need to be the hardest working person.
You have to share whatever good happens – whether it be prosperity or lessons learned.
“He used to say if you did even one of these, good things would happen, and that’s what I teach my kids today. There was never any pressure to get an A, our parents wanted us to be better people.”
And yet, Narine graduated high school as the top Ontario scholar in 1995 with an average of 100%.
“Remove bias, fear, anxiety, stress. Park them. They are preventative, they can get in the way,” says Ranji Narine. Image credit: JENNA MUIRHEAD.
“That was about time management! And I had a photographic memory as a kid,” he says, by way of explanation. “I set a goal to get 100% when I was in grade 9 and I was lucky, my sister who is three years older than me – and brilliant – helped me.”
He was drawn to IT because of his love for technology and because he envisioned its impact on society.
“I love coding, I love being hands on, I love challenges. And then I saw how complex IT problems can be in finance, and here I am. My role brings together business outcomes, innovation and complexity.”
He describes his wife Sona as the CEO of their home. “With the crazy hours I keep, and all the travel involved, I couldn’t have done any of this without her constant understanding and support and the stability she brings to our family.’
Their son Dhillon, 13, and daughter Aria, 10, are both tech savvy. “I learn a thing or two from my son,” says Narine with a laugh.
Father and son actively follow F1 racing and he sits with his daughter when she’s doing her Math and French homework. Evenings and weekends are devoted to taking the kids to their after-school activities such as swimming or skating.
He has also started weightlifting again after a break of a few years when the kids were little.
“Lifting the heaviest weights gives me a ton of energy. And I love being by the water. Most vacations involve a beach!”
Working with the best team and seeing the large-scale impact they have on people’s lives is very rewarding, he says. “Seeing us help our customers, seeing my team win, makes me happy.”
Narine tells newcomers to believe in themselves.
“Remove bias, fear, anxiety, stress. Park them. Those are preventative, they can get in the way.
“Figure out what you love and see if there’s a job in it. Your ability has to match your desire. And desire is both internal, knowing what you want, and external. You have to show you want it.
“Network and be visible. Together, ability plus desire plus opportunity add up to success.
“Take chances. Success is not a linear path, sometimes there are lateral moves you have to make.
“Remember, it’s more about the questions you ask than what you say. This way you learn and have greater thought diversity.”
To encourage this 360 degrees thinking, he gets his kids to debate both sides. If they want something big or special, they have to create a Power Point presentation, listing every reason they should get it – and every reason they shouldn’t!
Narine also stresses the importance of storytelling. As in being able to explain what the organization needs and how you propose to get there as a narrative that’s easy to grasp.
“Being articulate helps align others to your cause.”
He also urges others not to lose their self-confidence.
“When you lose that, you’ve already lost. Who you spend time with is important, surround yourself with positive people.
“I am so grateful to all the people who have shown me the way, opened doors for me. Am I confident as a CIO? Absolutely! But do I have a massive ego? I am working hard not to develop one.
“Our team has the most wonderful, humble, down-to-earth people and I continue to learn a lot from them. I was always motivated by challenges, I think of myself as a guest travelling through life, I want to leave a good trail. I feel I’m not here to get attached. Laws of karma, you know?”
• Grant’s is proud to present this series about people who are making a difference in the community. Represented by PMA Canada (www.pmacanada.com).
